Unleash the trout: impaired stream ready for brook trout

Today we’re sharing a story written by reporter Karen Blackledge of The Danville News from Pennsylvania’s Central Susquehanna Valley. The news story features our efforts to assist private landowners in restoring homes for wildlife, including the eastern brook trout!

Thanks to habitat restoration, brook trout like this one will soon make their home in Limestone Run, a tributary of the West Branch Susquehanna River. Credit: Jaime Masterson/USFWS

LIMESTONEVILLE — For the first time ever, wild brook trout will soon be swimming in Limestone Run.

They are part of a stream restoration project in the works for  about 15 years, said Sean Levan, district manager and bay technician at the Montour County Conservation District.

He and other officials Wednesday showed work done on the farm of Jeff Smith where the state Fish and Boat Commission plans to release about 150 trout Oct. 7. They will range from fingerlings to about 9 inches long.

Dave Keller, a habitat manager, said there is no record of wild brook trout ever being in the stream. “The temperature in the last four years has been conducive to them surviving in the stream,” he said of the only trout native to Pennsylvania which is losing its foothold in habitats in the state.

Logs have been placed alongside and in Limestone Run to improve habit for insects, fish and other life. Photo courtesy of Karen Blackledge, The Danville News.

He said the drought shouldn’t affect introducing them to the stream.

Andy Shiels, director of fisheries for the fish and boat commission, expects multiple releases of fish for several years. They will remove fish from other streams.

Limestone Run, which is considered an impaired stream by the Environmental Protection Agency due to agriculture practices, currently has fish considered bait fish for wild brook trout.

Mark Roberts, of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said numerous partners, including federal and state agencies, nonprofit organizations, the Montour County Conservation District and universities, worked on the project to create buffer trees to keep cattle out and to install logs around the stream and in the stream.

Mark Roberts of our Pennsylvania field office stands by Limestone Run. Photo courtesy of Karen Blackledge, The Danville News.

Smith was one of the first farmers to work with the groups on creating shade to keep temperatures down in Limestone Run, he said. The logs create deeper pools and places for fish to hide.

Roberts credited the landowners along the run with working with them. “Without them, it would not have been possible,” he said of the voluntary program.

“It’s great to see where this has come,” said Levan who has been part of the project for 11 years.

He said the Chillisquaque-Limestone Watershed Association “got the ball rolling.” Tom Benfer, who taught biology and has a small farm betwen Exchange and White Hall, serves as president.

There is only one farm remaining with animals having access to the run and it is in Northumberland County, he said.

Jason Fellon, watershed manager with the state Department of Environmental Resources, said the the types of insects found in the run shows the quality is improving. The run is now impaired by too much sediment from embankment erosion, he said.

Levan said the work wasn’t expensive with the hemlock logs at $55 each and logs totaling 175 along with 200 tons of rock used. The Fish and Wildlife Service provided equipment with labor done by interns, Fellon said.

LeVan said the project was to improve the stream, from Seven Springs Farm in Montour County and continuing to Milton borough in Northumberland County, began with a biology teacher at Milton High School.

“The biggest thing was talking with landlowners who were willing to work with us,” he said of at least a dozen farmers whose properties are along the stream.

Another important part was working with Milton officials concerning Brown Avenue Park where kids now fish for trout.

“It’s great to see that many people working together,” he said.

Buffers and trees have been planted to keep animals out of the stream. Logs in the stream provide more oxygen and shaded areas.

The partners hope to create an environment for wild trout to reproduce. Next year, they will return to shock the water so the fish come to the surface. They will identify them and count them.

“We will see how they survived the year,” Levan said.

The stream currently is home to warm water fish including suckers, black- and red-nosed daces, shiners and chubs. He said they will be able to live in a now cooler stream and use the structures in place. “They improve the water quality of all fish there,” he said.

Besides landowners, partners in the Limestone Run Watershed include Mike Yeage and Karen Avery of Milton High School, the Chillisquaque/Limestone Watershed Association, DEP Growing Greener, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, state Fish and Boat Commission, Renee Carey of the Northcentral PA Conservancy, Montour County Conservation District, Northumberland County Conservation District, Natural Resource Conservation Service, Susquehanna University and Bloomsburg University.

The Limestone Run work is the 10th project since the partnership began seven years ago of the state Department of Envrionmental Protection, fish and boat commission and conservation organizations.

More than 90 projects have been completed along nearly seven miles of agricultually impaired streams in North Central Pennsylvania. They won a Governor’s Award for Environmental Excellence in 2014.

Check out the original story on The Daily Item’s website. You can reach the writer at  kblackledge@thedanvillenews.com.

Working lands for wildlife!

Happy Friday, everyone! Today we’re sharing a fun infographic from our partner in the Working Lands for Wildlife program, USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service.

Working Lands for Wildlife was launched in 2012 as an innovative approach to work with farmers and forest landowners to restore and protect habitat for seven specific wildlife species–three of which are found in the Northeast: the New England cottontail, the golden-winged warbler and the bog turtle. Through this partnership, landowners can get technical and financial assistance by volunteering to restore habitat on their land.

New England cottontail: This rare rabbit can be found east of the Hudson River in New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Maine. It favors habitat with thick, tangled plants, or thickets, which also benefits other species like deer and wild turkey. Partners in the New England cottontail initiative have committed to restoring young forest on 27,000 acres across these states by cutting, shrub planting and prescribed burns, and as of March, we’ve implemented 6,700-8,700 acres. The thickets help ensure the New England cottontail isn’t forced to feed in areas with threats of predators. This photo by Amanda Cheeseman is from a study in Putnam County, New York, where researchers are helping us better understand the population there.

Bog turtle: The smallest turtle in North America, the bog turtle has been protected as threatened under the Endangered Species Act since 1997. The bog turtle’s wetland home has critically diminished because of severe development, which causes draining and filling of its habitat. Bog turtles serve as good indicators of water quality and wetland function. Biologists restore its open canopy habitat by controlling grazing by cows, sheep and goats and by removing some trees and shrubs. Credit: Gary Peeples/USFWS

Golden-winged warbler: The Upper Midwest and Appalachian Mountains were once a fortress for this migratory bird. Like others, the golden winged warbler has experienced threats of degradation to their shrubby, thicket habitat, which has caused its drastic population decline. Through NRCS’ Working Lands for Wildlife Initiative, private landowners have enhanced about 10,000 acres of young forest habitat for this at-risk songbird species. Credit: Walt Ford/USFWS

Own land and want to help? Check out these frequently asked questions. Read the rest of the blog post at USDA-NRCS.

W.V. Pocahontas County farm forever protected

This post originally appeared on our partner the West Virginia Land Trust’s site. We’ve worked with Hevener farm to install conservation fencing, which is livestock exclusion fencing that helps keep nutrients on farms and reduce nutrient input into streams and forest. Projects at Hevener farm have restored about 16.4 acres of riverside (riparian) habitat and 1.5 miles of streambank. A third project this year will restore an additional 3.9 riverside acres and ½ mile of streambank.

A view of Hevener Farm in Pocahontas County, West Virginia. Photo courtesy of the West Virginia Land Trust.

The West Virginia Land Trust and the owners of the Hevener Farm in Pocahontas County have announced the recording of a conservation easement that will forever protect 384 acres of this historic property. The tract of land, which is only a portion of the total acreage owned by the Heveners, has been in the family for over 160 years.

“Our great-grandfather Uriah Hevener settled here before the Civil War in 1851,” said Bill Hevener, co-owner of the farm. “Our father, Howard, who would have been 100 this year, lived and worked the farm all his life. The farm has remained the same for as long as I can remember and we are proud that with the help and support of the West Virginia Land Trust it will remain this way forever.”

From left: Patsy Cummings, Brent Bailey, and Bill Hevener signing the deed of conservation easement. Photo courtesy of West Virginia Land Trust.

The Heveners continue to preserve the family tradition of farming the land, one of the motivating reasons to seek its permanent protection. The farm sits in the scenic Deer Creek Valley and adjoins the Monongahela National Forest, the National Radio Astronomy Observatory buffer zone, and other nearby protected farms. With this protection, the scenic landscape that is characteristic of Pocahontas County has been further extended to incorporate this important parcel.

The West Virginia Land Trust works with property owners who voluntarily seek ways to protect their land from certain types of future development and who are interested in maintaining the natural beauty and ecology of their property. One way of achieving this protection is through the use of a deed of conservation easement which places protections on the land in perpetuity.

Another view of the Hevener Farm. Photo Courtesy of the West Virginia Land Trust.

“A conservation easement is a huge step for many owners who are debating how to handle the future of their land,” said Brent Bailey, the land trust’s Executive Director. “We spent many months working with Bill and his sister Patsy Cummings, the farm’s co-owner, in developing an easement document that really reflected their vision and our desire to ensure that Deer Creek, the scenic view shed, and the agricultural nature of the property remain unspoiled for years to come. It’s really gratifying when we are able to work with owners like Bill and Patsy whose passion for their land contributes to preserving the scenic and rural heritage of their community and our state.”

Members of the conservation fence construction crew, a partnership between Trout Unlimited and our agency, installing fence on a West Virginia farm. This partnership, which includes a number of other organizations and agencies, have installed more than 1 million feet of conservation fence throughout West Virginia! Livestock exclusion fencing is a conservation tool that helps to keep nutrients on the farm and reduces nutrient input into streams throughout the watershed. This habitat treatment also benefits surrounding forest health, water quality, cattle herd health and helps to keep farmers compliant with best management practices. Credit: USFWS

Preserving the farm’s heritage and that of the surrounding area is especially important to Cummings, who said “I am very comforted that this farm that has been in our family since the mid-1800s will remain as it is for generations to come. I loved growing up nearby and spent lots of time here, and now I love to come back and enjoy our farm in the valley nestled in the mountains. It brings me a sense of renewal and peace, and now with the conservation easement with the West Virginia Land Trust, the property will continue in the same manner.”

“We enjoy working with such conservation-minded landowners and are thrilled they have placed the farm under a conservation easement with the West Virginia Land Trust so this working farm will remain so,” said John Schmidt, the head of our agency’s West Virginia Field Office.