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Warmwater Fisheries Issues

Conservation » Conservation Actions » Warmwater Fisheries Issues

Warmwater Fisheries Issues 

The EPA conducts standard aquatic surveys by site and state periodically and reports findings to Congress under provisions of the Clean Water Act.  The 2017 National Water Quality Inventory reports that 46% of river and stream miles are in poor biological condition, 21% of lakes are hypereutrophic and water quality of 32% of the Nation’s wetlands is degraded.  Contributing factors include nitrogen and phosphorus from fertilizer runoff; salinity; acidification; riparian disturbance; excess levels of streambed sediments; and effluents containing enterococci (bacteria).

Warmwater habitats are also experiencing adverse changes caused by invasion of non-native species.  Eurasian watermilfoil and elodea are unsuitable as shelter, food or habitat for native fish and aquatic insects and form dense vegetative mats that outcompete native plants.  Several species of invasive carp reduce vegetation abundance and diversity, stir up sediment, complete with native fish and invertebrates for food sources and increase phosphorus levels in water.  Invasive, non-native fishes compete directly with native fish for food and consume their young.  Invasive invertebrates (e.g.: New Zealand mud snails, zebra mussels, rusty crayfish) compete with native macroinvertebrates for habitat and food sources.

 

FFI's Actions

  • 01/10/2022 – Deputy State Director of Geospatial Services, BLM Eastern States Office – Letter requesting mineral leases be withdrawn from approximately 225,000 acres of National Forest Service Lands in the Rainey River/Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness for a period of 20 years and environmental analysis of the action.
     
  • 4/13/21 - Forest Service Legacy Roads and Trails (LRT) Remediation - Signed on to letter to House Appropriations Subcommittee urging House Interior-Environment Appropriators to support the Forest Service Legacy Roads and Trails (LRT) Remediation program for FY22. 
     
  • 3/30/21 - USGS Streamgaging - Signed on to letters to the Senate Appropriations Committee to show support FY222 funding for water data collection through the USGS’s streamgaging programs.
     
  • 3/23/21 - Everglades Restoration - Signed on to letter to the US Senate regarding continuation and expansion of funding for current and future Everglades restoration work in fiscal rear 2022 appropriation bills.
     
  • 3/10/21 - Public Lands and Waters - Signed on to letter to the Department of Interior regarding the development of Mitigation Policy for Federal Public Lands
     
  • 6/18/20 - Yazoo Pumps Project - Sign on to TRCP letter in opposition to the Yazoo Pumps project urging the Corps to abandon the plan to build the Yazoo Pumps on the Big Sunflower River in Mississippi
     
  •  5/15/20 - Signed on to a TRCP letter requesting House and Senate leadership include funding for Everglades restoration projects in the next possible stimulus/response package where conservation priorities may be considered.
     
  • 5/4/20 - Mapland Act - Signed on to a TRCP letter supporting the Modernizing Access to our Public Land Act (S. 3427 and H.R. 6169)
     
  • 4/21/20 - Menominee River and Aquila Mine - Signed onto a letter to the Wisconsin DNR and Michigan Department of Environment and Great Lakes regarding the delisting on the Menominee River in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.
     
  • 2/3/20- HR 5598 Boundary Waters Wilderness Protection and Pollution Prevention Act. Signed on to a letter with other conservation partners supporting Boundary Waters Wilderness Protection and Pollution Prevention Act (H.R. 5598). H.R. 5598 withdraws 234,328 acres of public land and waters in the Rainy River.
     
  • 10/12/19 - Aquila/Back Forty Mine - FFI signed onto a letter to investors in the Aquila/Back Forty Mine in Michigan's Upper Peninsula citing the many deficiencies in the mining plan.
     
  • 5/20/19 - Boundary Waters - BoundaryWatersTRCPLetter-May20

 

Black Bass Diversity - Their Conservation and Fly Fishing Opportunities with Brandon Barthel, hosted by Tom Logan The black bass are a group of freshwater fish native to eastern North America that are extremely popular with anglers. They can be caught in waterbodies that range from small order streams to mainstem rivers and from small ponds to large reservoirs. Historically, a few widely distributed bass species have received nearly all the attention. However, the discovery of numerous species over the last two decades has led to a growing interest in the diversity that exists within the group. Unique species can be captured in many southeastern US drainages, with different species often inhabiting separate habitats within a single river system. Management agencies and fishing groups have developed programs that recognize anglers that catch multiple bass species. It is hoped that this type of engagement will foster a greater appreciation for the lesser known black bass species and recognition of conservation threats that they face.

Black Bass Diversity - Their Conservation and Fly Fishing Opportunities with Brandon Barthel, hosted by Tom Logan The black bass are a group of freshwater fish native to eastern North America that are extremely popular with anglers. They can be caught in waterbodies that range from small order streams to mainstem rivers and from small ponds to large reservoirs. Historically, a few widely distributed bass species have received nearly all the attention. However, the discovery of numerous species over the last two decades has led to a growing interest in the diversity that exists within the group. Unique species can be captured in many southeastern US drainages, with different species often inhabiting separate habitats within a single river system. Management agencies and fishing groups have developed programs that recognize anglers that catch multiple bass species. It is hoped that this type of engagement will foster a greater appreciation for the lesser known black bass species and recognition of conservation threats that they face.

 

FFI's Actions

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