Corps creates new fish habitats at Old Hickory Lake

Courtesy Photo | Alison Richardson, left, and Erica Nicolay, both team members with the Student Conservation Association sit on a work boat as it leaves Lone Branch Recreation Area, in Mt. Juliet, Tenn., Aug. 27, 2013. Members of the Student Conservation Association will position prepared tree bundles, to be used as submerged fish attractors at Old Hickory Lake. (U.S. Army photo by Michael Vasquez/Released)  

MOUNT JULIET, TN, UNITED STATES

09.03.2013

Story by Amy Redmond 

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Nashville District

HENDERSONVILLE, Tenn. - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at Old Hickory Lake and members of the Student Conservation Association made a splash Aug. 27 when they installed the remaining fish attractors made possible by Old Hickory Lake’s Christmas Tree Recycling Program.

Lasting seven to 10 years in the lake, the tied bundles of evergreen trees make a good biodegradable habitat structure for fish and are also beneficial for aquatic insects and other plant life, which are an essential food source for many fish species.

Natural Resource Specialist Allen Earhart said the two-year-old program has become an increasingly popular environmental stewardship program for the lake.

“We collected 120 evergreens this year and established three new fish attractor sites at Lone Branch and Shutes Branch Recreation Areas in Mt. Juliet, as well as one within Barton’s Creek in Lebanon,” said Earhart. “In total, we have 15 submerged fish attractor sites around the lake marked by indicator buoys.”

Fishermen can find Old Hickory Lake’s fish attractors near Rockland Recreation Area, Hendersonville, Tenn.; Avondale Recreation Area, Gallatin, Tenn.; Cages Bend Campground, Gallatin, Tenn.; Cedar Creek Campground, Mt. Juliet, Tenn.; and Shutes Branch Recreation Area, Mt. Juliet, Tenn.

Old Hickory Lake plans to continue the annual recycling tree collection this winter. The public can donate their live, Christmas trees (no-artificial) at Rockland Recreation Area’s Boat Ramp, Hendersonville, Tenn., beginning Thursday, Dec. 26, 2013 through Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2014. Please note that all ornaments, lights, and tinsel must be removed before drop-off.

For more information about this program please contact Natural Resource Specialist Allen Earhart at the Old Hickory Lake Resource Manager’s Office at [phone] or [phone].

For more news, information and updates please follow the Nashville District on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/nashvillecorps and Old Hickory Lake at http://www.facebook.com/oldhickorylake.

• Date Taken: 09.03.2013
• Date Posted: 09.03.2013 11:54
• Story ID: 113000
• Location: MOUNT JULIET, TN, US