Free Flowing Stream Conservation Thread

[jdmidwest]

The otter thing is interesting, to say the least. There are streams that are full of otters and full of fish, and it appears that in those streams the otters are having little effect on the fish. But there are undeniably streams that appear to have been decimated by otters. Why some streams and not others?

Perhaps it's the amount of wintering habitat. Warm water game fish like smallmouth are easiest for an otter to catch in the winter, especially on streams that are less spring fed and colder. The fish are sluggish, the otters aren't. If the stream is fairly small, the wintering pools are small, and the otters can go in and really do a number on the fish in a wintering pool. Streams filling in with gravel don't help, either, reducing the amount and quality of wintering habitat.

I have hopes that we've seen the worst of the otter impacts, and that the otters and fish will reach an equilibrium, like any species and their food base. We saw an unbelievable explosion of otters when they were first introduced. You can say MDC should have known, but we were seeing otter reproduction rates in Missouri that were far in excess of anything in the scientific literature. I don't know where you get that MDC would never admit they were wrong...they have admitted over and over that there were unforeseen repercussions from the otter reintroduction, due to the reproductive rate and the speed in which they spread from the original stockings.

For one, there is no viable predator for the otters. Secondly, the species is supported by unnatural means, ie, farmers ponds. When there were here the first time we had the predators and there were not thousands of stocked fishing ponds for them to fatten up on and increase the reproductive rate. Most of the attacks on ponds I have witnessed have been in the winter time when they switch to an all fish diet after frogs, snakes, and crayfish go dormant. Man is helping them overpopulate and man is the only predator.

[Al Agnew]

One of the things that nobody has mentioned so far that might have a huge impact in the future is invasive species (other than spotted bass). It's getting scary the number of Asian carp that are showing up in the Mississippi tributaries. Snakeheads have been caught in lower Black River. Who knows what impact zebra mussels might have on Ozark streams?

[Tim Smith]

One of the things that nobody has mentioned so far that might have a huge impact in the future is invasive species (other than spotted bass). It's getting scary the number of Asian carp that are showing up in the Mississippi tributaries. Snakeheads have been caught in lower Black River. Who knows what impact zebra mussels might have on Ozark streams?

One thing at a time...

Invasive species are likely to be a huge potential problem, yes. You have walleye and smallmouth bass on the extreme southern end of their natural ranges in Arkansas. They're vulnerable to say the least. Make a smallmouth bass compete with spotted bass, or a largemouth bass compete with a snakehead in a slowly warming climate and you've got a serious pressure cooker on your hands.

[Outside Bend]

One of the things that nobody has mentioned so far that might have a huge impact in the future is invasive species (other than spotted bass). It's getting scary the number of Asian carp that are showing up in the Mississippi tributaries. Snakeheads have been caught in lower Black River. Who knows what impact zebra mussels might have on Ozark streams?

We've had some close calls with rusty crayfish in the state, a species which has seriously impaired sport fisheries in Wisconsin and other states. It'll also be interesting (couldn't think of a better word) to see how terrestrial invasives such as gypsy moths, emerald ash borers, walnut cankar, etc have on Ozark forests, and what effects those changes have on our stream ecosystems.

[Mitch f]

One of the things that nobody has mentioned so far that might have a huge impact in the future is invasive species (other than spotted bass). It's getting scary the number of Asian carp that are showing up in the Mississippi tributaries. Snakeheads have been caught in lower Black River. Who knows what impact zebra mussels might have on Ozark streams?

I vote for this being one of the biggest problems, last year I posted seeing thousands of asian carp at the confluence of the Meramec and Big Rivers. I have been there several times in the past few years and just noticed it last year. The amount of smallmouth in that area keeps getting less and less. That area has been a big fish spot in the past and I think it's almost completely dead now.

[OzarksRiverman]

It shows a total lack of understanding of river dynamics.

You nailed it right there, and Smallmouth Joe also touched on it. It's education (or lack thereof). The majority of people with consistent access and interaction with these creeks don't look at them in the same light as the angler or conservationist. They see the creek not as a fragile resource--instead it's just something that is a pain in the butt when the waters up and they can't get across the slab, and they have to drive 20 miles out of the way to get to work. It's just there.

Growing up in Southern Douglas county, I've seen the numerous misuses of the creeks, to both flora and fauna. However, I wouldn't consider the guilty malicious--just uninformed.

Currently, in my opinion, watershed protection isn't on the minds of the locals, and that may or may not ever change.