Dry Run Creek Project Receives National Recognition

[Tim Smith]

From the AFS message boards:

Dry Run Creek Project Receives National Recognition

By Arkansas Game and Fish <http://freshare.net/?ACT=17&mbr=132>

The American Fisheries Society recently recognized the Arkansas Game and

Fish Commission for its efforts to provide the public with high-quality

fishing opportunities and aquatic education programs.

The Fisheries Administrator's Section annually recognizes outstanding

fisheries conservation projects and programs that are funded from the U.S.

Fish and Wildlife Service's Sport Fish Restoration program, commonly known

as the Wallop-Breaux or Dingell-Johnson grant program.

Arkansas won the 2010 Outstanding Sport Fish Restoration Habitat

Improvement Award for its work on the Dry Run Creek Enhancement Project. Dry

Run Creek is a very popular trout fishery near Norfork Lake in northern

Arkansas near Mountain Home. Only youths under 16 and mobility impaired

anglers may fish Dry Run Creek.

The fishery was created with the completion of the Norfork dam and the

nearby Norfork National Fish Hatchery in the 1940s and 1950s. Over time, the

area suffered from erosion and the habitat was further degraded with a major

flood in April 2008.

Because of the importance and popularity of the fishery, the AGFC and a

consortium of partners, including the Friends of the Norfork National Fish

Hatchery, Trout Unlimited, USFWS and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,

pooled its resources and talents to enhance the habitat for the fish and to

provide better access for anglers.

The habitat improvements included deep pools to provide refuge, stabilizing

the eroding shoreline and reconstructing critical overhead cover destroyed

by the flood. These improvements have been very important to the local

economy because of the heavy use of the area by anglers. To learn more about

Dry Run Creek, go to: Dry Run Creek on the AGFC's website,

http://www.agfc.com <http://freshare.net/?URL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.agfc.com> .

AGFC Chief of Fisheries Mark Oliver (AFS member, '86) says he was honored to

receive the award on behalf of the agency.

"This is a very prestigious award. We have worked hard on this project and

made it an outstanding fishing opportunity for the anglers of Arkansas,"

Oliver said.

Three other agencies were recognized, including the Georgia Department of

Natural Resources, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and the

Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission.

The USFWS's Sport Fish Restoration Program has provided more than $6 billion

to state fisheries agencies since the program's inception in 1950. The

program provides critical funding to state agencies for their fisheries

conservation and management programs. Additional information on this program

can be found at

http://wsfrprograms.fws.gov/Subpages/GrantPrograms/SFR/SFR.htm

<http://freshare.net/?URL=http%3A%2F%2Fwsfrprograms.fws.gov%2FSubpages%2FGra

ntPrograms%2FSFR%2FSFR.htm> . The American Fisheries Society is the nation's

leading organization of professional fisheries scientists. Its membership

includes fisheries scientists from all 50 states, as well as international

members.