Lakes Benefit from Habitat Projects in New Jersey
September 24, 2008
The Bureau of Freshwater Fisheries completed four artificial habitat projects in 2007 and 2008 at Union Lake, Lake Lenape (Atlantic County), Hammonton Lake, and Penbryn Lake. These projects were made possible through partnerships with the Boy Scouts, South Jersey Bass Club Association, Hammonton Lake Water Quality Committee, and Atlantic County Division of Parks and Recreation.
Artificial habitat projects are well documented to be effective in increasing angler catch rates as a result of improved habitat. The Division of Fish and Wildlife has cooperatively worked with local-fishing organizations to enhance the habitat in many of New Jersey’s lakes, ponds, and reservoirs for years. The locations of artificial habitats have been mapped with GPS coordinates.
Other projects recently completed at Assunpink Lake, Stone Tavern Lake, and Mercer Lake (2006) were highlighted in the feature article, “Local Lakes Get Home Makeover.”
Descriptions of the most recent projects are as follows:
A lake habitat enhancement project was completed at Lake Lenape, Atlantic County on February 22, 2008. A total of thirteen individuals comprised of Atlantic County Parks staff, members of the Cedarwater Bassmasters and Bucketmouth Brigade Bass Club, and a volunteer from the local rowing association completed the project on a cold winter day. Park staff and the rowing association provided boats to deploy the habitat structures. Structures were placed in eight locations in the deeper section of the lake near the dam, which had the least amount of cover. A total of 300 discarded evergreen trees were dispersed at the six locations.
| Lake Lenape | ||
| Site # | Habitat Coordinates | |
| 1 | 39° 27′ 24.0″ N | 74° 44′ 01.7″ W |
| 2 | 39° 27′ 24.6″ N | 74° 44′ 10.8″ W |
| 3 | 39° 27′ 23.0″ N | 74° 44′ 14.7″ W |
| 4 | 39° 27′ 20.0″ N | 74° 44′ 16.0″ W |
| 5 | 39° 27′ 15.7″ N | 74° 44′ 17.3″ W |
| 6 | 39° 27′ 15.9″ N | 74° 44′ 16.2″ W |
| 7 | 39° 27′ 40.7″ N | 74° 44′ 23.8″ W |
| 8 | 39° 27′ 44.4″ N | 74° 44′ 25.4″ W |
UNION LAKE
Tom Ritterhoff, a Boy Scout from Cape May Court House, NJ, was instrumental in the Union Lake project. The structures were deployed by fisheries biologists from the Bureau of Freshwater Fisheries. Tom obtained all materials and built the structures with the assistance of members from Troop 65.
A total of 25 structures were deployed at two existing habitat structure locations in Union Lake. The structures were constructed from PVC pipe and plastic buckets and were placed in 10 - 12 feet of water. Warmwater fish species including largemouth and smallmouth bass, black crappie, bluegill, and chain pickerel will greatly benefit from this
| Union Lake | ||
| Site # | Habitat Coordinates | |
| 1 | 39° 25′ 01.9″ N | 75° 03′ 53.8″ W |
| 2 | 39° 24′ 25.5″ N | 75° 03′ 51.5″ W |
| 3 | 39° 24′ 42.4″ N | 75° 3′ 52.5″ W |
| 4 | 39° 24′ 58.7″ N | 75° 3′ 56.4″ W |
| 5 | 39° 24′ 58.7″ N | 75° 3′ 32.6″ W |
| 6 | 39° 24′ 45.5″ N | 75° 3′ 23.2″ W |
| 7 | 39° 24′ 20.6″ N | 75° 3′ 29.4″ W |
| 8 | 39° 25′ 27.4″ N | 75° 3′ 42.8″ W |
| 9 | 39° 25′ 29.7″ N | 75° 3′ 56.8″ W |
| 10 | 39° 24′ 8.8″ N | 75° 3′ 39.6″ W |
| 11 | 39° 24′ 26.4″ N | 75° 3′ 54.0″ W |
| 12 | 39° 24′ 19.9″ N | 75° 3′ 14.3″ W |
| BOLD indicates locations of new structures | ||
A lake habitat enhancement project was completed at Hammonton Lake, Atlantic County on May 13, 2008. Structures were placed in three locations in the deeper section of the lake. A total of 35 discarded evergreen trees were dispersed at the three locations. Phase two of this project, consisting of 30 additional structures constructed by a local fishing organization, will be completed during the fall of 2008.
| Hammonton Lake | ||
| Site # | Habitat Coordinates | |
| 1 | 39° 37′ 46.4″ N | 74° 46′ 41.8″ W |
| 2 | 39° 37′ 46.9″ N | 74° 46′ 36.0″ W |
| 3 | 39° 37′ 50.5″ N | 74° 46′ 22.0″ W |
PENBRYN LAKE
A fisheries management plan was completed in 2005 for Penbryn Lake, and recommendations were made to deploy artificial habitat structures to improve the largemouth bass and black crappie fisheries. The Penbryn Lake project was completed through a partnership with Patrick Fuzer, an Eagle Scout from Mount Laurel. The project was completed on April 12, 2007. Eight scouts and three parents assisted with the project. The scouts provided all materials including evergreen trees, concrete block and rope. More than 190 trees were deployed in the lake. Locations were predetermined utilizing a bathymetric map, GPS, and depth finder. Structures were placed in 10 to 25 feet of water.
| Penbryn Lake | ||
| Site # | Habitat Coordinates | |
| 1 | 39° 45′ 59.3″ N | 74° 56′ 16.5″ W |
| 2 | 39° 45′ 57.9″ N | 74° 56′ 32.3″ W |
| 3 | 39° 45′ 53.6″ N | 74° 56′ 31.7″ W |
| 4 | 39° 45′ 54.7″ N | 74° 56′ 21.0″ W |
| 5 | 39° 45′ 55.0″ N | 74° 56′ 16.2″ W |
| 6 | 39° 45′ 58.1″ N | 74° 56′ 14.3″ W |
| 7 | 39° 45′ 59.1″ N | 74° 56′ 21.6″ W |
| 8 | 39° 45′ 58.4″ N | 74° 56′ 32.5″ W |
| 9 | 39° 45′ 57.8″ N | 74° 56′ 25.0″ W |
The staff of the Bureau of Freshwater Fisheries is continually working to improve fishing opportunities throughout the state of New Jersey and welcomes the input of independent anglers and of organized clubs.
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Mountain Lake Guide 2008 Edition Now Available
June 10, 2008
More than four decades ago, fisheries biologist Pat Marcuson started keeping meticulous notes on the natural lakes that dot the major mountain ranges of south central Montana. Fish species. Maximum, minimum and average fish size and weight. Stocking details. Availability of firewood and camp sites. Elevation and distance from trails. Trail length and incline. And detailed observations by biologists about every inlet, outlet, lakebed and spawning opportunity.
Every year since 1967, biologists and fisheries technicians working for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Region 5 have updated and added to the information. Eventually they worked it into an ever-expanding electronic database. Today they consider it the most complete and detailed document of its kind.
This spring, the 2008 Mountain Lakes Guide to the Absaroka-Beartooth and Crazy Mountains went online. For the first time, this year’s guide includes GPS coordinates for those who find their way around the wilderness with help of electronics.
Marcuson, who is retired and now lives in Salmon, Idaho, said mountain lakes in the Beartooths did not get much attention from fisheries biologists before the 1960s. Most information about fish populations came from wardens who stopped and fished during their patrols.
By the early 1960s, Marcuson said, people were hauling fish between mountain lakes in buckets to try to increase high-country fishing opportunities. Illegally planted brook trout squeezed native cutthroats and other species out of their historical habitat.
The problem was compounded, Marcuson said, when the state tried to plant fish in the lakes with airplanes. Pilots – many of them contracted – could not tell the difference between lakes and frequently dumped fish in the wrong bodies of water, he said.
So, in 1967, Marcuson and other state biologists began trying to get a handle on mountain lakes. Montana Fish and Game (as it was known then) hired temporary employees to help Marcuson survey lakes during the summer. They backpacked 125-foot-long gill nets and a 100 lb. inflatable boat into the wilderness to conduct their surveys. The first summer they surveyed 20 lakes. In later years, they became more efficient and were able to study 50 or more lakes per summer.
When money got tight, however, the temporary positions were the first cut. Marcuson got money from outside organizations, including the U.S. Forest Service, to continue the effort. In exchange, federal officials wanted the survey to include camping opportunities and numbers of campfire rings at each lake. That information was added to Marcuson’s report and remains there today, even though gasoline and propane backpacking stoves now are more common than campfires in the wilderness.
The guide came along later when a Helena publisher wanted to print a book about the best fishing spots in the Absaroka-Beartooth Mountains. Marcuson was afraid that such a book would list only the best fishing spots and could endanger some lakes by concentrating people to just a few places. So he printed his own version of the guide, listing every lake, with the intent of spreading out fishing pressure.
Every summer since, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks biologists and technicians have scaled thousands of vertical feet of trails in the Absaroka-Beartooth and Crazy Mountains to update the document and recommend planting schedules and management priorities.
For the past 20 years, Mike Vaughn has kept the guide updated annually. Earl Radonski, the full-time fisheries technician at Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks in Billings, has overseen the backcountry surveys and helped with data analysis and publication.
The result is a comprehensive, dynamic and constantly update document that gives Montana anglers and hikers some of the most complete data of its kind on 20 lakes in the Crazy Mountains and 320 lakes in the Absaroka-Beartooth Mountains.
On the Internet, the guide is available as a .pdf document at http://fwp.mt.gov/r5/mountainlakes.html
. A limited number of printed editions of the 90-page booklet are available at the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Region 5 office in Billings.
Captions for attached photos A Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks fisheries technician sets a net in Little Washtub Lake in the Beartooth Mountains in 2005. Sampling found little evidence of grayling that were stocked in the 2.2-acre lake during the 1990s. — Fisheries technician Earl Radonski, right, leads the 2006 FWP mountain-lakes survey crew, which adds data annually to the department’s Mountain Lakes Guide to the Absaroka-Beartooth and Crazy Mountains.
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Kansas State Park Users Are (”GEO”)caching In
May 13, 2008
High-tech “treasure hunt” contest offered at 29 locations this year
PRATT — Kansans throughout the state are excited about a new outdoor activity called geocaching, and the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks (KDWP) is making participation easier. As the sport has gained in popularity, KDWP has offered more opportunity in state parks and other agency property.
This year, KDWP is sponsoring the first statewide geocaching contest at 29 official participating locations that each have two geocaches. First-place prizes (50 winners) will be a choice between a two-night stay in a state park camping cabin or one annual camping permit for 2009. Second-place prizes (100 winners) will be a choice between a one-night stay in a camping cabin or a 14-day camping permit for 2009. For information on participating, go to the KDWP website, www.kdwp.state.ks.us, click “State Parks” in the top menu bar, then ” Geocaching Contest” in the upper right-hand menu.
Geocaching is a “treasure hunt” that uses satellite and computer technology to find hidden, registered sites. A typical cache is a container with trinkets for trading and a log book. Visitors sign the logbook and may note their visits online to help keep records for each site current.
To join the chase, go online to geocaching.com, a website of all registered geocaches by zip code. Exact coordinates of each “treasure chest” may be found here. Using a handheld global position system (GPS) receiver, participants may then locate each cache. Website information provides details for each cache, including difficulty of terrain and how hard it is to find.
This high-tech game combines exercise and imagination with exploration of KDWP lands. GPS coordinates are used to drive to a general location. Then it’s a matter of hiking to reach the final hiding place. Some caches are easily found, while others are camouflaged. Most receivers allow the hunter to get within 20 feet or closer. Water or other hiding places can make the hunt even more intriguing. It takes a keen eye to spot containers that might be as small as a film canister.
Geocaching etiquette allows trading one “treasure” from the container for another left in its place (nonfood items only). Anticipating what might be discovered at each cache is part of the fun. Some caches might contain “travelbugs” or “geocoins.” These commercial items are stamped with numbers that are logged online. Finders carry them to other geocaches, and their travels can be followed on the internet. Some travelbugs make it around the world.
For a video clip on geocaching Kansas, click ” KDWP TV” on the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks’ website, then click the “Geocaching” box.
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