OBFN Conservation Director Report July 2010

Warmwater Fish Conservation Projects

Fish Habitat

ODFW assisted the OBF and Central Oregon Bass Club with plantings and the placement of “spider block” artificial fish habitat structures in selected areas at Prineville Res.    This year I requested approval from Bureau Of Reclamation and State Parks for 5 new additional sites.   After receiving approval we constructed and added another 45 structures in areas just below low pool of the reservoir.   The habitat is critical to the over-winter survival of young fish.

As a side benefit of placing the spider blocks in Prineville,  the State Park Manager asked if we could add habitat under their brand new handicap kids fishing pier.   We said yes of course and installed six deluxe spider blocks with cables that we attached to the uprights pilings.    In a recent event at Prineville the BOR and the State Parks staffs told us how well the structures were attracting fish for the handicapped kids pier and said thanks again.

Fish Stocking

COBC volunteers annually work with ODFW to augment the reservoir bass population with largemouth transferred from Davis Lake.   This year we collected and hauled an estimated 400 bass to Prineville Reservoir.    About half the fish were over 3 lbs.

Meetings of Interest

I continue to attend the quarterly Warm Water Working Groups meetings which were held this year in Salem and Clackamas.   The Clackamas meeting featured a proposed new study of Smallmouth Bass predation on salmon smolt on the Columbia River.   I have asked, but have not received the hardcopy of the presentation.    At the Salem meeting we heard ODFW biologists talk about the need for another predation study on SMB on the Umpqua.    Also at the Salem meeting we heard that Cottage Grove Lake has an illegal introduction of spotted bass.   Additionally, we were asked for our ideas on improving warmwater angling.   I directed them to the list we created back in April 2003 as a start.    They went off telling us why they couldn’t do the things that would actually improve warmwater fishing.    I will reexamine the value of attending further meeting after this year.

I am also a member of the Inland Fisheries Advisory Council.   I attend those meetings quarterly as well.  They were held in Roseburg and Springfield.    The Springfield meeting was hijacked by fly fishermen that wanted to ban bait on a large section of the McKenzie.   There were some heated exchanges but no one was assaulted.   At the Roseburg office we were finally asked for our ideas on how to improve freshwater angling.   I’m tempted to direct them to the April 2003 list of items we created, but I won’t.    I will build a new list for the next meeting in September.

As a member of the Crooked River Watershed Council, I attend monthly meetings with a focus on habitat and stream restoration projects in Crook Co.     Council members also participate in river cleanup days and other community activities.  This year I will again help monitor the water temps in the watershed.

I was again invited to participate in the Resource Advisory Council (2011) grant process.    The RAC considered 60+ grant request from 5 counties and a variety of conservation groups.   We awarded 2.5 million in grants to do tasks ranging from weed control to trail clearing.

I should also note that the state conservation directors were notified that our National Conservation Director at BASS, Chris Horton, will be leaving to take a position at the National Sportsmen’s Caucuses back in his home state of Arkansas.     ESPN/BASS will be looking for replacement.     Chris has been an effective voice for bass anglers on a national level.    He has worked for a national habitat program which included reservoir habitat.   He was tireless in his fight to retain access to waters above the high water mark.   He will be missed.

This year as the legislative officer for OBF, I was asked to review the qualifications of Alan Olsen for a possible endorsement as a candidate for the state senate.    I had already known Alan from his term as a OBF president and as a tournament bass angler.     My initial reaction was one of, why should we?     After examination of the responses he provided to some tough questions about his support for our organization and for the fiscal control needed in Oregon, I agreed to support his candidacy for Senator from District #20.

Oregon BASS Federation Nation –
Activities for January and February 2010 and upcoming scheduled events.

The Spider Block Project for 2010 is moving forward.    As of today 42 of the 50 planned structures have been built by myself and one of the newest members of the Central Oregon Bass Club.    The project will provide winter habitat for small fish during the extreme winter drawdown.    Terry Shrader, ODFW Central Oregon’s only warm water biologist has concluded that a lack of winter habitat to conceal the young fish born in the spring from the larger fish searching for food is a primary reason for the extremely poor recruitment of young fish year to year.   The continuing Spider Block Project will provide some of that needed cover.   This past fall, at the beginning of the drawdown anglers from COBC armed with  underwater video cameras verified that the Spider Blocks installed last year were holding young fish already.    They described the collection of moss and algae on the top of the structures like a thatched hut roof from above.      The Oregon BASS Federation and the Central Oregon Bass Club each offered funds to complete the project this year, however one generous member of the COBC anonymously donated the $800 worth of poly pipe and concrete blocks.   ODFW supplied 25 bags of concrete.     BOR advised me last week that they have completed their report and have passed the GPS locations of the proposed locations for the structures on to the artifacts people for final approval.   

Steve Memminger , manager of the State Park campground at Prineville Res. gave me a tour of the const ruction site for a new ADA fishing pier near the boat ramp and parking lot.   They are also adding a restroom and a fish cleaning station with a grinder.    Prineville is a major crappie destination.    Steve has been a huge supporter of the CAST for KIDS program which many of us participate in each year taking severely handicapped youngsters out fishing in our bass boats.   He asked if we could provide spider block structures that could be attached to the ADA pier pilings to attract fish to them.     I told him that we could, assuming that you would allow me to use some of the money offered for spider blocks already, which has not been used.   The estimated cost would be $150.   That would build 6 structures and include eye bolts to secure the blocks to the piers.    The Federation voted to approve the project expenses.

I have been appointed as a replacement member of the USDF RAC committee.   Formal appointment will be by the Secretary of Agriculture following their background check.   However,  I was invited to participate in the 2 day meeting Jan. 27th and 28th in Redmond.   The RAC consists of 20 individuals representing mining, agriculture, forestry, native fish, county governments, fire prevention, weed control and Oh yea, recreational angling.   The committee gets to choose where the federal timber tax contribution from each of 5 counties is spent.   This year we reviewed 65 grant requests for 2009 and 34 from 2010, and distributed about $1.8 million in funds.    The next meeting is scheduled for May, 2010.    It is a 4 year appointment.    

I have attended the monthly Crooked River Watershed Council Meetings in Prineville which I am an active board member     I am continually learning more about how our watershed functions and how activities effect angling.    In a recent meeting the Forest Service was giving us an overview of a proposed ATV and OHV trail system would be built from a few of the previously closed logging road and existing user build ATV trails.   The project will be 136 mile long.    One of the council members asked why the roads were closed in the first place?    An elderly retire USDFS engineer who was at the meeting explained that the logging roads and trails act just like new creek channels carrying the rain and snow melt down the hill and into the rivers and off to the ocean.    Prior to these roads the water would have an opportunity to soak into the ground and the aquifer below.   He told us that a study had been completed in 2001 that showed 30 % of the rise in the global oceans is due to the loss of water storage in the continental aquifers.    He later sent me a copy of the study and I confirmed what he had said.   The report also said that the ocean rise would be much greater but manmade reservoirs masked the true loss in storage.    This has implications for the global climate change argument, as well as management practices that can reduce the effects of roads worldwide.   

I attended the Warm Water Working Group Meeting in Salem last week.   One topic was the new invasive species permit for non-motorized crafts over 10ft. long.   Rich Boatner of ODFW explained how they will be monitoring the major hiways and also the major fishing events for dirty boats.     The other main topic was proposed statewide crappie regulations that would categorize waters into 3 types.   General, quality, or ESA.   ESA would have the “no limit” regulation we have everywhere now.   General would have a 50 fish limit and Quality would have a 50 fish limit and an 8 inch minimum size.   Each water body would fall into one of those types.   The changes represent a victory for the warm water anglers that have argued that this should be done for the past 30+ years.    The proposal will be shown to the commission in May and again in August for approval.

As a follow up to the McCall Idaho National Sportsman’s Caucus meeting I attended last October, I have been helping Rep. Esquivel of the Medford area organize a meeting of the Oregon Sportsman’s Caucus and Oregon outdoor equipment manufacturers and the major outdoor recreational organizations.   My job has been to collect the contact information for the proposed attendees.    I turned the list over to Rep. Esquivel .

Monday evening I will be attending the Inland Sport Fishery Advisory Committee meeting in Springfield.   The goal of this group is to implement the ODFW 25 year plan.   The group is made of fishing and native fish interests.    I will let you know if anything of interest ever happens develops.    

That’s it.

Spring 2009 Conservation Report.

On May 18th,19th  I joined Terry Shrader and Gary Galovich of ODFW at Davis Lake for the 3rd  annual electro-shock project.   Lonnie Johnson and Dave Height of ODFW came on the 19th to join in the fun and Scott Marr and Dan Skillings of the Central Oregon Bass Club worked with Terry on the 20th while I got some sleep.    On the 19th I delivered 234 bass to Prineville Res. via the ODFW trailer pictured below.   On the 20th I returned to Davis Lake and picked up another 200 bass for Prineville.   David Duke of the ODFW office in Pendleton took 200 bass to McKay Res. in his district.  Lonnie and Dave returned to Lost Creek with 200 bass for there efforts    Release boats from the Central Oregon Bass Club disbursed the fish that were delivered to Prineville each day.     A lot of hard work by ODFW staff and the volunteers resulted in another successful project.    

On May 16th Mary and I joined dozens of volunteers on the first annual Crooked River Cleanup Day.  Volunteers picked up cans, bottles, building materials, old tires, old appliances and clothing that had been discarded along the river bank.   Several tons were collected and taken to the dump/ 

I was invited to join other watershed restoration volunteers at Bend Community College on June 28th to address a group of school teacher from around Oregon.    The teachers were attending a class to raise awareness of the battle against invasive species.    The class was sponsored by Oregon State University and Sea Grants program.    The other volunteers and myself formed a panel to present stewardship project ideas that they might engage their student in back home.    Then we all piled in a bus and took a field trip to East Lake to get a lesson in aquatic plant identification by Prof. Sam Chan and an informative talk by a professor from U of O, about the newly discovered skin fungus that is killing frogs world wide.  I am also a member of the Crook Co. Weed Management Area, Invasive Species Early Detection Rapid Response subcommittee.

I hope everyone got to see the article in May BASS Times issue about our Spider Block project.   We had a huge group of volunteers show up to deliver and place the 45 structures in Prineville.

I have been attending the Crooked River Watershed Council Meetings monthly and participating in the local process which aims to provide more water from Prineville Res. for downstream migration of Salmon without disrupting the recreational uses of Prineville Res.   At the last meeting it was announced that Sen. Ron Wyden had offered to carry legislation to move the boundary of the Crooked River Wild and Scenic Area that starts in the center of Bowman Dam in order to enable PGE to place a small Hydro-electric generator there.   The announcement changed the process from a local community issue to a national political issue.   No addition meeting have be scheduled.



Oregon Bass Federation

Spider Block Project at Prineville Res. on 3/7/09.



Kids Pond