A question for Rusty

[tomfly]

When I was in my youth I can remember the substantial March brown and Hendrickson hatches on the Musky. My father told me stories about the great hatches from when he was growing up. He would tell me of 4 or 5 species of May flies hatching at the same time in swarms. Sadly this not the case today. On a positive note I did observe a fairly decent Quill Gordon hatch in the early spring on the South Branch last year. We all know we have a good Sulfur hatch each year with a few Golden Drakes in the mix. But most other species May Fly hatches are non existent or sporadic at best.

I have read online that some states are taking stream restoration to the next level and reintroducing Aquatic Invertebrates back in to the streams systems. This layered approach to restoration seems to make sense. By restoring a suitable habitat for the insects and reintroducing them to the environment. If the insects can reestablish themselves it should make a better environment for trout populations to flourish.

Does TU or the state have any long turn plans for reestablishment of insect species into NJ waterways as part of stream restoration? If not would this be something to consider in future restoration projects? I would hope to think that our streams are not that far gone that this could not be accomplished.

 

[Rusty Spinner]

You only really need to reintroduce aquatic macroinvertebrates when they no longer exist for some reason (like a chemical spill for example or acid rain). The Musky, just like so very many other Eastern trout rivers, suffers from decades of out of control development throughout its watershed which has added significant sedimentation to the river's channel, widened the channel and covered up so much of the cobble where insects live. Certain insects tolerate sediment better than others and the sulphurs seem to be one of those. As we focus on channel restoration in certain stretches, the idea is to narrow the river back down in low flows by adding control structures via a technique known as "bedload manipulation". The control structures take to form of weirs, pocket water and restored point bars. The weirs are built using large boulders buried in compression that allows for a deep pool below and the weir takes the look of a riffle. Large boulder clusters both direct flows and provide scouring around them which keeps the cobble clean and silt-free. The alternating point bars are made from the materials we dredge out of our pools and are a natural feature in a health freestone river like the Musky and all the rest of our local streams and rivers. These structures are all designed to work in low flows to keep the river's width tight and keep sediment moving downstream which is the primary function of any river - to wash away the mountain that it flows off of. In high water events, the flood waters simply flow over these structures and the river is free to enter its floodplain while the main velocity of the river's energy stays in the channel and scours the bed. The more we can transport sediment downstream without it depositing in the thalweg (deepest section of any river's channel and a great river-geek word), the better off we are with our macroinvertebrates.

Once the river channel is restored, the insect hatches will come back quickly on their own as Hendricksons are still prevalent in the river, just not to the extent they once were. We also need better focus on aging storm water systems which also add so much sedimentation. That is a growing focus of mine this year, in fact, and an area I set aside funding for in my budget to learn more about. Hope I answered your questions?