Stream reconstruction rules

[mtthwnvk]

I was fishing the other day in Bloomingdale and guy came down from the landscape place in town and told me he dig out the far side of the stream so it was a deep pool run. We didn't talk much more than that, but it got me thinking:

Are there any laws stopping any person from just going and 'fixing' streams and creeks in the woods? It seems there's a lot of creeks by me that hold trout but could be much healthier or better for trout. Can I just go and start working?


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[Pete]

Did he use machinery?
As I understand it, that would require a permit.

IMHO: A lot of well intentioned but poorly engineered streamwork, ends up doing more harm than good.

There's a pool on the Ramapo, that was deepened by a couple of locals, with a makeshift stone dam. It's a nice place to fish.
Unfortunately, they managed to direct the brunt of the flow (thalweg sp?) towards a steep bluff.
As time went by, that bluff eroded.
After Irene, it became obvious that the property owner at the top of the bluff (well above the flood plain) was loosing his backyard.
If it had been allowed to continue, a shed would have been in the river... then a septic system...and eventually a house.

 

[mtthwnvk]

Did he use machinery?
As I understand it, that would require a permit.

IMHO: A lot of well intentioned but poorly engineered streamwork, ends up doing more harm than good.

There's a pool on the Ramapo, that was deepened by a couple of locals, with a makeshift stone dam. It's a nice place to fish.
Unfortunately, they managed to direct the brunt of the flow (thalweg sp?) towards a steep bluff.
As time went by, that bluff eroded.
After Irene, it became obvious that the property owner at the top of the bluff (well above the flood plain) was loosing his backyard.
If it had been allowed to continue, a shed would have been in the river... then a septic system...and eventually a house.

Yeah that's what I figured, I wasn't talking about big stuff personally, I just meant moving rocks etc.

The guy in Bloomingdale said he used an excavator. It wasn't the pequannock, it was the other one that comes out of wanaque


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[Stenacron man]

​The biggest problem is the disturbance of the aquatic life IE insects. The next is reducing the DO. dissolved oxygen. These two results must not occur and it works out.


I do this work all the time with Trout Unlimited for native brook trout that are wild. It works out great if you understand and divide out the currents. Take a peak at one of my reconstructions of over a 1/4 mile for stream. We did this in 2012 by hand, rock by rock. The population of trout now is ridiculous ever cast = a fish most times. We made 6 spawning beds in this area about 3 weeks later. We did some follow up touch ups, but for the most part it is still the same even after that heavy winter last year.

My policy is,,,,,I place a rock where I best believe it helps the most & GOD and natural physics will make it what it should be.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPlBQCjO-mg

 

[Thursthouse]

​The biggest problem is the disturbance of the aquatic life IE insects. The next is reducing the DO. dissolved oxygen. These two results must not occur and it works out.


I do this work all the time with Trout Unlimited for native brook trout that are wild. It works out great if you understand and divide out the currents. Take a peak at one of my reconstructions of over a 1/4 mile for stream. We did this in 2012 by hand, rock by rock. The population of trout now is ridiculous ever cast = a fish most times. We made 6 spawning beds in this area about 3 weeks later. We did some follow up touch ups, but for the most part it is still the same even after that heavy winter last year.

My policy is,,,,,I place a rock where I best believe it helps the most & GOD and natural physics will make it what it should be.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPlBQCjO-mg

How drunk are you?

 

[Stenacron man]

only on my second beer :hubbahubba:

 

[lightenup]

only on my second beer :hubbahubba:

Lightweight...:beer:

 

[tomfly]

I believe that all restoration projects should contain 5 factors that should be established during the site survey. Rusty is probably the only on the site who has the expertise on the subject matter.

1 Can the stream maintain a breading population of trout? O2 level .

2 Is the stream capable of trout growth? Again 02 level needs to be higher then that of breading?

3 Is the stream able to produce adequate nutrition for trout growth? What is the percentage of dissolved compounds that may inhibit reproduction of invertebrates?

4 Can reintroduction of native species of insects over a period of time until established?

5 If the above 4 factors are all positive.
Allow the stream to heal. Close all human activity on the stream for a period of time. This will enable
populations to rebound.

 

[lightenup]

I believe that all restoration projects should contain 5 factors that should be established during the site survey. Rusty is probably the only on the site who has the expertise on the subject matter.

1 Can the stream maintain a breading population of trout? O2 level .

2 Is the stream capable of trout growth? Again 02 level needs to be higher then that of breading?

3 Is the stream able to produce adequate nutrition for trout growth? What is the percentage of dissolved compounds that may inhibit reproduction of invertebrates?

4 Can reintroduction of native species of insects over a period of time until established?

5 If the above 4 factors are all positive.
Allow the stream to heal. Close all human activity on the stream for a period of time. This will enable
populations to rebound.

Tom, trout should only be breaded after they are dead, and ready for the fryer....I believe you meant breeding?

 

[tompg]

I believe Leonard Wright is the author of a book titled "Neversink." It's a fun read about all the efforts he made trying to improve a small stretch of the Neversink. It includes a some lungburger and chunks of limestone.

 

[Rusty Spinner]

Rock rolling has been done for decades by anglers in an attempt to improve trout fishing. Nearly 100% of it is done incorrectly and leads to diminished aquatic life over time; the polar opposite of what was intended. But a knowledgeable person could make a positive impact in some streams assuming he/she knows what they are doing.

Any mechanized equipment entering a stream here in NJ (and likely all states) requires at least one permit if not more than one depending on the disturbance levels to the environment. I have no idea if the person you met was in the stream legally as many towns jumped in the greater Passaic River drainage after Hurricane Irene under emergency de-snagging permits and did far more harm than good. I know of several projects I and others successfully got stop work orders on because they were causing damage and not fixing damage.

The goal to any in-channel restoration is to move sediment downstream in all flows. That means performing many bed manipulation techniques under a proper permit with a sound survey and design vetted by the DEP and fisheries biologists and other experts. It's not just jumping in a river and digging a hole with an excavator. Pete mentioned how one such attempt later led to a failed bank which means increasing sediment into the river, the opposite result of what you want.

 

[Rusty Spinner]

If anyone truly has an interest in this topic, I give presentations on just this several times each month, year round. Many to TU chapters in NJ, PA and NY as well as town environmental commissions, town councils, other civic organizations, other conservation organizations, etc. Just PM me if you want more info or want to hear me drone on and on about river restoration.