Photo By Scott Sturkol | Watershed Management Biologists Derek Maki and Garen Minser with the Colorado State...... read more read more
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Fort McCoy is home to miles and miles of streams and spring-fed tributaries filled with brook trout, brown trout, and more. And each year, natural-resources personnel conduct surveys to make sure those waterways are well cared for so the fish can thrive.
“From late May to the end of August each year, we conduct 65 habitat surveys on Fort McCoy streams,” said Derek Maki, a watershed management biologist with the Colorado State University (CSU) Center for the Environmental Management of Military Lands that supports the Directorate of Public Works Environmental Division Natural Resources Branch (NRB) through a cooperative agreement.
“Larger waterways, such as the La Crosse River and Silver Creek, can have as many as 11 sites and other smaller streams have as few as one site that we conduct habitat surveys on.
During a habitat survey, Maki said he and one other biologist collect water-quality data such as dissolved oxygen, water pH levels, water temperature, conductance, salinity, and stream flow.
“Measuring stream flow is testing how much water is moving through a cross section of the stream at one specific moment,” Maki said.
In each site, they also look at the substrate of the stream bottom, stream width, water depths, density of the canopy covering the stream, cover for adult trout, erosion, and the habitat surrounding the stream — whether it’s a woodland, grassland, or wetland, Maki said.
“These habitat surveys have been conducted on Fort McCoy streams for more than 20 years, so with this large composition of data, we are able to look at how the stream habitats have changed throughout time,” Maki said. “We can use the data collected to determine how a culvert should be placed or whether stream restoration is necessary.”
Fort McCoy Fisheries Biologist John Noble said he appreciates the work completed by CSU staff to collect the data and help improve Fort McCoy streams and rivers.
He also said they use two protocols for the surveys developed by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources — one for habitat assessments and the other for cold-water streams to assess the fish community.
“Measurements taken help us determine habitat trends for comparison to other streams,” Noble said.
“We tend to use this data for new culverts or bridge consideration for road and trail creation or improvements. We also use this data for stream restorations to reduce sedimentation and improve fish habitat.”
Noble said the collected data can also help determine if there are problems on any of the waterways.
“If we were to have a decline in the fish community or stream rating, we can look back at this data to figure out what might be effecting the stream resource or what might be limiting productivity for fish,” Noble said.
“We also obtain water-quality characteristics during these surveys that help us manage water quality as many of these streams flow away from the installation as well.”
“In all of the 65 sites where we conduct habitat surveys, we also will electroshock the site to look at the fish community,” Maki said. “We can then compare the fish community to the stream habitat to determine if changes are required to better improve the habitat.”
Noble said Fort McCoy’s streams have long been a good home for trout, and they want to keep it that way.
“These surveys allow us to follow trends and sustain high quality trout waters in the Driftless Area of Wisconsin,” he said.
Learn more about Fort McCoy online at https://home.army.mil/mccoy.
| Date Taken: | 06.12.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 06.12.2020 16:05 |
| Story ID: | 372049 |
| Location: | FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, US |
| Web Views: | 57 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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