Something new
A little fun
We certainly will miss Vance Baird’s guiding hand on this committee, but are happy to welcome Marcus Leach. He brings fresh ideas and a bit of youth to the table, not to mention a bit of talent in areas other than fishing. Take a look here at a video he has given me permission to use.
Southern Appalachian Brook Trout from Marcus Leach on Vimeo.
Marcus maintains his own blog at http://www.fishingwithmarcus.blogspot.com.
SC’s Quarterly Report to the EBJTV
EBTJV QUARTERLY REPORT
August 10, 2009
Conservation:
South Carolina’s Back the Brookie efforts continued during the summer of 2009:
-
South Carolina’s Department of Natural Resources electroshocked King and Crane Creeks in early July. For the first time since our brook trout restoration efforts began, the team found enough brookies in both creeks to use the 3-pass technique, which allows population estimates to be made. This is further evidence that restoration has been successful in these two creeks.
-
SCDNR has been hosting Michael Barnes, a volunteer intern student from Mansfield College in Pennsylvania. Michael is helping DNR collect updated information on water quality, in-stream habitat and fish population estimates in brook trout streams. Michael’s study for his internship will attempt to determine the relationship(s) between various habitat measures and brook trout population levels.
-
SCDNR has been formally notified by the USFWS and EBTJV that our proposal to restore brook trout in the Jocassee Gorges area streams has been funded at a level of $49,000. The DNR and USFS have further partnered to obtain an additional $50,000 in USFS Partnership funding, matched by an additional $50,000 by SCDNR, to be awarded to this project under a challenge-cost share agreement. This project is also being matched by a $10,000 Trout Unlimited EAS Grant. SCDNR has also received $25,000 from a private development community in the area to pursue habitat enhancement on Jocassee Gorges streams. Work on this project will commence in 2010.
-
Our Back the Brookie Committee will meet with Dan Rankin, SC DNR trout biologist, on August 14 to discuss plans for brookie restoration the coming Fall. Items on the agenda include habitat evaluation techniques to be used to find streams suitable for brookie restoration in the Jocassee Gorges, a wild and mountainous tract in western South Carolina, and work projects for TU members so the chapters will be more involved with the brook trout restoration efforts
Education:
-
On July 9th, our BTB coordinator was interviewed on SC public radio about out brook trout restoration efforts. This interview aired on all the public radio stations in the state.
-
Vance Baird, our BTB conservation chair, has accepted an offer from Michigan State University and will be leaving this month. Marcus Leach, a member of the Chattooga River Chapter, has agreed to take his place on the committee.
-
Our Back the Brookie Committee presented a program on July 7th on Stream Projects to the Chattooga River Chapter of TU. Several of the projects were centered on brook trout restoration.
David Van Lear
SC BTB coordinator
Brookie Update
South Carolina Department of Natural Resources electroshocked King and Crane Creeks in early July. They found good populations of brookies in both creeks, including reproduction. They received a big grant this spring from the National Fish Habitat Initiative for habitat evaluation of streams in the Jocasee Gorge for brook trout introduction. The Forest Service also received a grant for the same purpose. Both of these grants, coupled with our EAS grant should ensure that the brookie will be well established in the Jocasee Gorge in the near future.
A Masterpiece
Beautiful brookie not yet in full spawning colors.
An early display of fall spawning color only emphasizes the beauty of this collected Southern Appalachian Brookie from King Creek during an electroshocking for the Upstate Master Naturalist class. This is a major restocking success story evidenced also by the presence of natural reproduction. Congratulations to the team for a job well done!
Photo courtesy of Greg Lucas with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.
Posted in Intro | Edit | No Comments »
THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN BROOK TROUT – From Requiem to Renaissance
3. July 2008 by Dave.
The southern Appalachian Mountains of South Carolina are home to several species of trout. The rainbow trout, a non-native, is indigenous to the west coast of the United States and Canada, and the brown trout, another non-native, was introduced from Europe. Our only native trout is the brook trout, which is actually a char, a member of the genus Salvelinus. Unlike the rainbow and brown trout, members of this genus have no black spots on their bodies. Because the brook trout has been here so long – for tens of thousands of years or more – and because its presence requires cold, clean water, it is an icon of our beautiful mountains.
Posted in Intro, Uncategorized | Edit | No Comments »
SC Brookie.org
Male brookie in spawning colors.
With perhaps the least number of miles of trout streams of any Eastern Seaboard state, South Carolina is, nonetheless, just as passionate about maintaining and improving the quality of its coldwater resources as any. So it went almost without saying that, when the Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture was formed, South Carolina was right at the forefront willing to do its part.
The Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture (EBTJV) is the nation’s first pilot project under the National Fish Habitat Initiative, which directs locally-driven efforts that build private and public partnerships to improve fish habitat. Read more… .
The primary partnerships in South Carolina include the Chattooga River Chapter 556, Mountain Bridge Chapter, and the Saluda River Chapter of Trout Unlimited, in conjunction with SCDNR.
Young of the year - successful reproduction!
In 2005, the project team, which includes TU, the state Department of Natural Resources and the USDA Forest Service, removed non-native fish and stocked wild brookies in a Chattooga River tributary. The fish survived the winter and hopefully spawned successfully.
Meantime, TU volunteers are clearing brush and improving access to the second site, a tributary in the Little River watershed. TU’s Embrace-A-Stream program and the South Carolina Wildlife Federation are partially funding the projects, and Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Clemson University are providing strategic assistance. The team hopes to restore five streams by 2010.
The intention of this site is to document efforts of the South Carolina Back the Brookie committee in restoring the Southern Appalachian brook trout to its native habitat in as much as possible in order to re-establish a resource that can be enjoyed by future generations.
Posted in Article 1 | Edit | No Comments »
Welcome to our changeover!
9. January 2008 by admin.
Converting to a blog nature would seem a good way to keep fresh content coming in and avoid the long delays with communicating with the sole editor, especially in the event of absence due to unforseen or unalterable events. So stay tuned as this site is re-populated with past articles, and new ones are added.
Posted in Intro | Edit | No Comments »