New Rule Governs Release of Mute Swans
July 28, 2008
RALEIGH, N.C. – The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission hopes a new regulation concerning mute swans will protect the state’s native waterfowl and aquatic vegetation.
The law, effective July 1, makes it unlawful for an individual to release mute swans into public waters. It also requires individuals who release the swans into private waters to properly pinion them – trimming their wings to ensure they won’t relocate to public waters.
“By prohibiting the release of mute swans into the public waters of North Carolina, we believe that over the long-term, the likely negative impacts of mute swans to native aquatic vegetation and wildlife species will be minimized,” said Joe Fuller, the commission’s migratory game bird coordinator. “Furthermore, the required pinioning of mute swan released on private ponds will help ensure that these birds do not subsequently move from their release location.”
Indigenous to Europe and Asia, mute swans were introduced to North America and escaped into the wild in about 1910. In states with mounting numbers of the birds, evidence shows mute swans can harm submerged aquatic vegetation. In addition, the animals’ antagonistic behavior can displace native waterfowl, and there has been evidence of aggression toward humans.
While the exact number of mute swans in North Carolina is unknown, the commission suspects it is low compared to other states, and they have caused little impact. However, commission biologists believe the new rule will prevent future damage if the population grows.
For more information on North Carolina’s waterfowl, click here.
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DNR Announces Over $1 Million in Grants For 26 Lake and River Enhancement Projects in 26 Counties
July 24, 2008
More than $1 million in grants will go toward care of 26 of Indiana’s waterways this year through the DNR’s Lake and River Enhancement (LARE) program, part of the DNR’s Division of Fish and Wildlife.
“Boaters make these grants possible through the Lake Enhancement Fee paid when they register their boats,” said DNR director Robert E. Carter Jr. in announcing the awards. “These funds, in turn, provide money for projects targeted to protect and enhance the very resources used in aquatic recreational pursuits, including fishing and boating.”
The 26 projects approved total $1,055,110, and were submitted by local sponsors and include the commitment of each to share a portion of the total project cost.
“The LARE grants provide crucial financial assistance to local groups in tackling natural resource issues that can be very expensive and perhaps impossible for them to address on their own,” said Jim Ray, section chief for the LARE program.
Ray added that these projects can require years of planning and diligence to complete. The grants for 2008-09 feature both biological and engineering projects, including diagnostic, design, and engineering feasibility studies, as well as construction projects. Several watershed land-treatment projects received funding to provide assistance to landowners with water-quality concerns near locally important streams. These grants complement the $1.19 million in more specifically targeted LARE grant awards that Carter announced in March to address nuisance aquatic vegetation and dredging of sediment.
Funding for the newly announced targeted projects comes from the LARE fee paid annually by boat owners to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, which is a variable fee based on the value of the boat when new.
“A positive local and state economic impact occurs with access to improved water resources,” Ray said. “People are able to more fully enjoy boating, fishing and other activities, while at the same time supporting projects that enhance and improve the aquatic environment for fish and other inhabitants of Indiana’s waters.”
A list of projects by water body, county, project type and grant award follow:
| Water body (County) | Project Type | Grant Award |
| Galena River (LaPorte) | Watershed Diagnostic | 29,700 |
| Knox County Streams (Knox) | Watershed Diagnostic | 34,650 |
| Loefler & Scott Ditches (Gibson) | Watershed Diagnostic | 42,030 |
| Geist Reservoir (Marion, Hamilton, Hancock, Madison, Henry) | Strategic Management Plan | 54,000 |
| Koontz Lake (Starke/Marshall) | Strategic Management Plan | 52,200 |
| Morse Reservoir (Hamilton, Boone, Tipton, Clinton) |
Strategic Management Plan | 47,700 |
| Big & Crooked Lakes (Whitley/Noble) | Engineering Feasibility | 39,600 |
| Palestine Lake (Kosciusko) | Engineering Feasibility | 36,000 |
| Salt Creek (Porter) | Engineering Feasibility | 49,375 |
| West Otter Lake (Steuben) | Engineering Feasibility | 18,000 |
| Lake Sullivan (Sullivan) | Engineering Feasibility/Dredging Plan | 45,000 |
| Center Lake (Kosciusko) | Engineering Feasibility/Design | 27,000 |
| Lake James (Steuben) | Engineering Feasibility/Design | 50,580 |
| Griffy Lake (Monroe) | Design | 31,500 |
| Blue Lake (Whitley) | Design/Construction | 44,970 |
| Winona Lake (Kosciusko) | Design/Construction | 63,375 |
| Dewart Lake (Kosciusko) | Construction | 34,875 |
| Lake Gage (Steuben) | Construction | 50,775 |
| Ball Lake Watershed (DeKalb/Steuben) | Watershed Land Treatment | 20,000 |
| Chain O’Lakes Watershed (Noble) | Watershed Land Treatment | 28,780 |
| Elkhart River Watershed (LaGrange) | Watershed Land Treatment | 20,000 |
| Locust Creek Watershed (Vanderburgh) | Watershed Land Treatment | 30,000 |
| Lost River Watershed (Orange) | Watershed Land Treatment | 40,000 |
| Pigeon Creek Watershed (Steuben) | Watershed Land Treatment | 70,000 |
| Ramp Creek Watershed (Putnam) | Watershed Land Treatment | 20,000 |
| Sand Creek Watershed (Decatur/Jennings) | Watershed Land Treatment | 75,000 |
| Total | $1,055,110 |
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Three Eastern Nebraska Lakes Experience Severe Die-Offs
May 13, 2008
LINCOLN, Neb. – Three popular eastern Nebraska lakes experienced severe winter die-offs, causing Nebraska Game and Parks Commission biologists to restock them and adjust management practices to help prevent future similar occurrences.
The lakes involved were Memphis Lake at Memphis State Recreation Area (SRA) in Saunders County, and Lakes Nos. 4 and 7/8 at Fremont Lakes SRA in Dodge County.
Mark Porath, a Commission biologist, explained what causes this type of die-off. “During an extended winter, abundant aquatic vegetation that dies off and begins to decay removes oxygen from the water column making the conditions tougher for fish to survive, especially larger bodied species that have higher oxygen needs. The more severe the depletion of oxygen, the smaller a fish has to be to survive,” he said.
“The amount of decaying matter and the production of new oxygen into the system is what determines how low levels drop. The high water events that flooded and shaded vegetation last year resulted in some die-offs prior to fall, but the extended ice and snow cover this winter was the final blow.”
Memphis Lake was rehabilitated in 2002, stocked with fish, and had recently become known as a hot fishing spot for largemouth bass, large bluegill, redear sunfish and channel catfish. Then, during the winter of 2007-08, the lake experienced a severe die-off. “While there are still plenty of bluegill, they are very small and almost no largemouth bass were found,” Porath said.
“We have seen several cases before of severe die-offs in our full rehabilitation reservoirs. When we refill the reservoirs after rehabilitation, the expansive stands of vegetation supply a tremendous amount of food for the fish population, which responds by producing above average growth and quickly gets the fishery back online. But, often fish numbers temporarily exceed the carrying capacity of the system until mother nature steps in and provides a correction,” Porath said. “The timing of this natural correction with a severe winter probably contributed significantly to the situation at Memphis. It is unfortunate because we expected a stellar fishing season this year. Now we will have to evaluate the surviving population this spring and adjust our management to get it back on track for the following year.”
“The winterkill at Fremont Lakes SRA Lake No. 4, located in the area’s north complex of lakes, left only a few largemouth bass and a few small bluegill alive,” said Jeff Schuckman, the Commission’s Fisheries Division district supervisor in Norfolk. “And, only a few carp and a few crappie survived the die-off in Lake No. 7/8, also located in the north complex.”
“We had received reports that people had seen some dead fish in Lake No. 16 in the south complex, but when we checked, we found good numbers of healthy largemouth bass, bluegill, crappie and channel catfish, so we think the lake is in good shape. The dead fish the people saw may have been gizzard shad, which is normal in the spring. When we sampled the lake, we didn’t find any white perch in the sample, which is a good sign.”
Schuckman said the Commission has already restocked 2-inch bluegill in Lake Nos. 4 and 7/8 and he expects there may be a few that reach catchable size by this fall, but the majority won’t reach that size until next spring. He also said there are plans to restock largemouth bass this year and any bass salvaged from other lakes will be put into these two lakes.
Schuckman also had good news for muskie anglers who fish Fremont Lakes SRA. He said the Commission recently stocked 25 advanced-size muskies – fish 10- to 15-inches long – in Lake No. 7/8; 75 more in Lake No. 2; and 71 in Lake No. 20 in the south complex. Lake No. 20 had been plagued with severe blue-green algae problems for the past few years, but the lake has been treated with alum, which has apparently eliminated the problem and left the water there “crystal-clear.”
Schuckman said the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality will monitor water quality in several Fremont SRA lakes this year.
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