Journal of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies

Blue catfish (Ictalurus furcatus) were first detected in the Altamaha River, Georgia, during an access creel survey in 2005 and subsequently in 2006 during annual ictalurid sampling. Introduction of this species in the Altamaha River is believed to have occurred via escape from normal upstream reservoir releases from Lake Sinclair and Lake Oconee. Relative abundance, as indexed by electrofishing catch rate (fish per hour), has increased from 2.9 ± 1.0 SE in 2006 to 38.8 ± 8.2 SE in 2011. The size of blue catfish captured ranged from 56 to 820 mm total length and 0.001 to 7.7 kg. Using otoliths obtained in 2010 (n = 214), age of fish ranged from 0 to 6 yrs, which indicated a relatively young population. The catch-curve analysis resulted in an instantaneous mortality rate (Z) of 0.75.

While the downstream effects of dams on fish habitat have long been recognized, broad-scale assessments of tailwater fish habitat have rarely been conducted. In this paper, I report on the status of tailwater fisheries in Oklahoma as determined through a web-based survey of fisheries biologists with the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation conducted in July 2010. Respondents addressed 38 tailwaters, encompassing all major areas of the state. The majority of fish species comprising these fisheries included blue catfish (Ictalurus furcatus), followed by white bass (Morone chrysops), channel catfish (I. punctatus) and flathead catfish (Pylodictis olivaris). Most respondents indicated no or low concerns with fish habitat in tailwaters under their management supervision; only two tailwaters (Tenkiller Ferry and Fort Gibson) had the majority of concerns with fish habitat identified as high to moderately high.

No information existed on the recreational snag fishery for paddlefish (Polyodon spathula) in Cherokee Lake in eastern Tennessee, purportedly the largest such fishery in the state. Therefore, a roving creel survey was conducted during the 15-day season in March 2008, 2009, and 2010. The fishery could be characterized as a a destination fishery in that 448 anglers in 239 parties drove an average of 80 km one-way (± 2.43 SE; range: 2-352) to participate. Most (67%) anglers were Tennesseans, followed by residents of Virginia (26%) and three other states. Most (80%) anglers had fished previously for paddlefish; they averaged 6.8 (± 0.3 SE) years of paddlefish snagging experience. Annual fishing pressure ranged from 1,674 to 1,838 h each year. Pooled harvest rates were low in 2008 (0.088 fish/h) and declined further in 2009 and 2010 (0.020 and 0.021 fish/h, respectively). Thus, fewer paddlefish were harvested in 2009 (41-42) and 2010 (39-60) than in 2008 (169-237).

Brown trout (Salmo trutta) were first introduced as part of a put-and-take fishery in the Chattahoochee River below Buford Dam in the 1960s. Wild, young-of-year (YOY) brown trout were observed in the river in the 1990s and annually in subsequent years. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources implemented a stocking moratorium on brown trout between Buford Dam and Morgan Falls Dam beginning in 2005 and this study evaluated existing population monitoring data before and after implementation of the moratorium to better understand the potential of a completely wild brown trout fishery. Electrofishing catch per unit effort for adult brown trout did not decrease following the moratorium, YOY brown trout were observed in every year of the survey, and population size structure did not appear to shift. Brown trout were the most common trout species both before and after implementation of the moratorium.

Because of growing angler concern regarding excessive crappie (Pomoxis spp.) harvest in Poverty Point Reservoir, Louisiana, exploitation rate of white crappie (P. annularis) was estimated from 1 January to 31 May 2009, and data were collected on angler characteristics throughout the year at this relatively new reservoir. A reward-tag approach was utilized to assess exploitation, while angler characteristics were determined through a stratified, random, access-point creel survey. White crappie (n = 243) were tagged from January-March 2009 with Floy T-bar anchor tags labeled with REWARD and a sequential tag number. A total of 135 tagged crappie were harvested and reported by anglers by 31 May 2009. Exploitation was estimated at 59.3% based on the assumption of a 10% non-reporting rate and no tagging mortality, but could have exceeded 70% if mortality or non-reporting were higher than estimated.

More than 90,000 state-endangered lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) have been stocked into the French Broad River, Holston River, and Fort Loudoun Lake in the upper Tennessee River system. Although incidental reports of anglers catching these fish have increased, little is known about their fate after stocking. Therefore, this study was conducted to evaluate lake sturgeon dispersal throughout the system. Seven submersible ultrasonic receivers were deployed in the upper Tennessee River system and 37 juvenile fish (mean fork length = 660 mm) were surgically implanted with ultrasonic transmitters in the fall of 2007. These fish were stocked at two sites in the headwaters of Fort Loudoun Lake. The receivers logged 1,345 detections of tagged fish and manual tracking located 32 of the 37 tagged lake sturgeon over 21 months.

Largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) on the Arkansas River have been regulated by a 381-mm minimum-length limit (MLL) regulation since 1 January 1998; however, little evaluation of this regulation has been conducted. During 2004-2005 and 2010, largemouth bass populations were sampled from throughout all navigation pools in the Arkansas River. All bass were aged using sagittal otoliths, and population metrics were calculated to conduct simulation modeling using the Fisheries Analyses and Simulation Tools (FAST) software. Composite model parameters were developed using data from all 3 yrs of sampling. Model predictions of fishery yield, average size of harvested fish, and number of preferred-sized (≥381-mm TL) fish in the population were compared among the current MLL and three alternative limits: 430 mm (higher than the current MLL), 330 mm (lower than the current MLL), and 255 mm (representing no MLL).

In Georgia, where this study was conducted, the size of the fine a violator pays for a wildlife citation is dependent on the county and the specific court in which he or she is sentenced. A highly politicized court system and complex intergovernmental relationships have led to uneven enforcement of game and fish laws in the state. This lack of uniform enforcement reduces the deterrent effect of the work of conservation rangers. Data from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and interviews with stakeholders in the system confirm greatly enhanced power in local courts, where convictions and fines are often a matter of politics and personal opinion rather than law. Even the perpetrator's chances of getting caught are linked to the ability of the conservation ranger to effectively perform the work due to the politics that surround enforcement of hunting and fishing laws.

Wildlife management areas (WMAs) provide opportunity for both traditional hunting and fishing recreation as well as non-consumptive wildlife-related recreation. Although declining participation in traditional wildlife recreation is well documented, little information exists regarding non-traditional stakeholders who recreate on public hunting and fishing lands; non-consumptive use is perceived to be increasing. Our purpose was to characterize recreational users on WMAs owned by the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF) and estimate how much use these areas receive. We conducted >4,000 visitor interviews at 10 selected WMAs from September 2009 through August 2010. We obtained information about stakeholders' use (e.g., type of activity, frequency of visits) of the WMA, satisfaction, and opinions regarding common management practices and imposition of a WMA user fee. We developed overall use estimates, by activity, at each of the 10 WMAs.

The use of detection dogs in ecological research and management continues to grow. Two years ago, a collaborative effort was formed at Auburn University with the goal of training detection dogs for use in ecological research. Here we provide details about the projects for which we have used dogs, measures of success for those projects, and lessons learned. We have successfully used dogs in the field to find scat from black bear (Ursus americanus), bobcat (Lynx rufus), gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus), and coyote (Canis latrans). We have also used dogs to locate live pythons (Python sp.) as well as root fungi (Leptographium sp. and Ophiostoma sp.) responsible for pine decline. Typically, sampling for scat using detection dogs has provided us with larger sample sizes than more traditional methods.

Despite a long history of research on northern bobwhites (Colinus virginianus; hereafter, bobwhites), there has not been a comprehensive assessment of how bobwhite productivity varies across a landscape in relation to environmental factors such as weather. Due to concerns of global climate change and range-wide decline of the bobwhite, further understanding the relationship between weather and bobwhite population dynamics is needed. The objectives of this study were to determine 1) how do among-year bobwhite masses, age ratios, and sex ratios change at the landscape scale, 2) can fall age ratios be predicted by breeding season (April-August) precipitation at the south Texas landscape scale, 3) what is the impact of summer mean maximum temperature on fall age ratios? We based our investigation on data collected from 31 private ranches located on south Texas plains.

Rice fields are important agricultural habitats for waterbirds (waterfowl, shorebirds, wading birds) worldwide. In the Texas Mid-Coast (TMC) and Louisiana Chenier Plain (LCP), >167,458 ha of rice are cultivated annually. Precise estimates of abundance of waste grain and natural seeds in harvested and idle rice fields are needed to guide conservation of waterbird habitat in this region, which is part of the Gulf Coast Joint Venture (GCJV) of the North American Waterfowl Management Plan. Our objectives were to estimate and compare waste rice and moist-soil seed abundance among rice production systems, geographic regions, and time-periods relevant to waterfowl conservation planning, as well as to estimate waterbird density during autumn-winter on rice fields in the Gulf Coastal Prairies of Louisiana and Texas. We collected 2,000 soil cores from harvested and idle rice fields in the TMC and LCP during summer-fall 2010.

Habitat loss, habitat degradation, and agricultural intensification are primary factors contributing to the decline of many birds that use grasslands, including the endangered grasshopper sparrow and the northern bobwhite. Current grazing practices in the Mid-South focus on getting high yields from dense, monotypic stands of non-native forages, which provide no bare ground, little vertical structure, and poor plant species richness. Few studies have examined the vegetative response of native warm-season forages to various grazing systems with respect to bird habitat, and none have been conducted in the Mid-South. We measured vegetative, invertebrate, and animal performance response to two grazing strategies on three native warm-season grass forages at three Research and Education Centers across Tennessee, May-July 2010.

The Louisiana black bear (Ursus americanus luteolus) was listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act as Threatened in 1992. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service cites loss of habitat as the primary cause of population decline, along with human-related mortality as a secondary cause. One of the delisting criteria in the Recovery Plan for the Louisiana black bear is that two of the three subpopulations must be viable, one in the Tensas River Basin and one of the two in the Atchafalaya River Basin. To determine population viability, accurate estimates of basic population parameters including abundance, growth rate, density, and apparent survival are necessary. My study will assess the status of the subpopulation located in the Upper Atchafalaya River Basin based on non-invasive DNA mark-recapture techniques. Hair samples were collected beginning in summer 2006, and I will continue to collect data annually through 2011 using barbed-wire sampling sites.

Common mid-rotation forest management practices in intensively-managed pine (Pinus spp.) stands include thinning, fertilization, herbicide use, and prescribed burning. However, greater herbicide use and less prescribed fire have generated questions regarding treatment effects on biological diversity within these systems. Therefore, we determined biodiversity response (songbirds, rodents, reptiles, amphibians, carabid beetles, understory vegetation) to factorial combinations of dormant season prescribed fire and imazapyr herbicide in thinned and fertilized, mid-rotation intensively managed pine stands in Kemper County, Mississippi. We used a randomized complete block design with six pine stands (blocks) divided into four 10-ha experimental units to which we applied randomly one of four treatments (burn only, herbicide only, burn + herbicide, control).

Many studies have reported that imported fire ants can have negative impacts to property, wildlife, and ecosystem integrity. Depredation by fire ants can reduce native insect diversity and survival of hatchling birds and reptiles, including gopher tortoises. Because of the potential impacts of fire ants on gopher tortoise recruitment, we assessed infestation levels of red imported fire ants on public and private forest lands in south Mississippi. Our study design focused on surveys for estimation of densities of fire ant mounds on suitable and priority soils for gopher tortoises. We surveyed 16 land bases and five forest cover types during summer 2010. Forest cover types included in our study were planted longleaf and loblolly pine ≤5 years of age, planted longleaf pine >5 to ≤15 years of age, longleaf and loblolly pine forests >15 years of age, and mixed pine hardwood forests >15 years of age.

In some regions used by nonbreeding waterfowl, conservation planners assume that food may be a limiting factor for waterfowl populations, and carrying capacity estimates are based on food availability. Conservation planners require precise estimates of parameters used in carrying capacity models, including characterizations of waterfowl diets, temporal trends in food availability in response to management actions, and estimation of a food availability threshold (FAT; i.e., food density when foraging becomes unprofitable because energy expended during or risk of continued searching exceed potential benefits gained from obtaining foods). We experimentally estimated FAT and identified factors that likely affect foraging thresholds and food depletion in moist-soil wetlands.

Conservation easements provide an important tool for agencies and organizations to protect environmentally sensitive areas and improve environmental quality. The Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 (i.e., Farm Bill) established the Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) with goals to “protect, restore, and enhance the functions and values of wetland ecosystems.” Since 1990, WRP objectives have expanded to include 1) provision of habitat for migratory birds and other wetland-dependent wildlife, 2) protection and improvement of water quality, and 3) floodwater attenuation and groundwater recharge. Currently, WRP includes approximately 1.9 million acres of permanent easements and 0.4 million acres of longterm contracts that protect wetlands and associated upland habitats, making WRP the largest USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) easement program.

In recent decades, coyote have greatly expanded their range and numbers in the eastern United States. Increasing populations of coyotes can affect ecological communities directly by predation or through competition with other carnivores, making their impact a potentially significant one that must be understood for effective management. Identifying and quantifying items in coyote diets is an important part of understanding the role of coyotes in newly inhabited ecosystems, such as the Central Appalachian region. Our objective was to determine the diets of coyotes in West Virginia. We examined stomachs (n = 326) and scat (n = 693) from throughout West Virginia from November 2009 to May 2011. Preliminary findings indicated that deer, at 61%, was the most commonly occurring item in samples followed by plant material (39%), small mammals (19%), and fruit and seeds (16%).

Harvest vulnerability is an important consideration for the proper management of a black bear population. To assess harvest vulnerability, we must first understand black bear and bear hunter spatial characteristics. Global positioning system (GPS) technology allows us to record this information with more accuracy and efficiency than previous methods used by researchers. We used GPS and a geographic information system (GIS) to examine the spatial characteristics of bears and bear hunters in Garrett County, Maryland during the 2005-2007 bear hunting seasons. We fitted 94 hunters and 8 female bears with GPS transmitters during the three hunting seasons. We examined data from these transmitters using GIS to compare the following variables for bears and hunters: distance to roads, distance to streams, elevation, habitat type, and slope. We also calculated total distance traveled and maximum distance traveled from starting points for hunters.

Although fire is recognized as an important disturbance in longleaf pine uplands of the southeastern United States, less is known about the importance of fire or other disturbances in the wetlands embedded in this system. Reticulated flatwoods salamanders (Ambystoma bishopi), a federally endangered species, breed in the grassy understory of ephemeral pine flatwoods wetlands. These areas contain water in the winter, but are dry by April or May in most years, making it possible for them to burn during the summer lightning season. Years of fire suppression allowed a dense mid-story of shrubs to develop in these wetlands, and the disappearance of a grassy understory not only removed a component of larval salamander habitat, but removed the fine fuels important for carrying a fire through the dry wetland in summer. Prescribed burns applied in winter rarely burn through ponds because of the presence of standing water at this time of year.

The American black duck (Anas rubripes) has been declining throughout its range since the 1950s, especially in the Mississippi Flyway. Loss of quality wintering habitat and competition and hybridization with mallards (A. platyrhynchos) have been suggested as factors contributing to black duck decline. Tennessee and Cross Creeks National Wildlife Refuges (NWRs) are two primary wintering areas for midcontinent black ducks recording long-term population declines. To better understand habitat selection and habitat-related survival of black ducks at Tennessee NWR (TNWR), we radio marked 64 female black ducks with harness-type, VHF transmitters on the Duck River Unit (DRU) of TNWR in winter 2010-2011. From December-March 2010-2011, we located radio marked ducks 1345 times on the DRU: moist soil (44.7%), open water (33.5%), forested/scrub-shrub (14.0%), agriculture (6.5%), and other (1.2%) habitats.

Hatchery-tagged rainbow trout (Oncorynchus mykiss, n = 3,867) were stocked from March to November 2009 in the Toccoa River tailwater, Georgia. Data from electrofishing and angler recaptures were used to assess mortality, growth, condition, and dispersal of stocked rainbow trout. Total annual mortality (A) as calculated using catch-curve regression was high (A = 96.7%). Annual angler catch rate was moderate (34.1%), but release rate was high (62.8%). As a result, angler harvest was only 12.7%. Growth of stocked trout was slow in terms of both length (5.0 mm/mo) and weight (4.6 g/mo), and stocked trout remained close to their stocking site. Body condition declined significantly between stocking and recapture. Slow growth and poor condition of stocked trout suggest that the Toccoa tail water's trout community is at or above carrying capacity. The apparent high density of stocked trout likely contributes to low survival over the first year post-stocking.

Lewis Smith Lake is an 8,853-ha recreational fishery within the Black Warrior River basin near Jasper, Alabama. A recent study found that striped bass Morone saxatilis do not significantly impact largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides and Alabama bass M. henshalli through competition and predation, though many anglers still believe this to be true. Costs incurred by the Alabama Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries annual striped bass stocking efforts on Lewis Smith Lake are compared with the regional economic gain from the existence of this fishery. The objectives of this study were to: 1) estimate total fishing effort and trip expenditures by target species; 2) estimate distribution of striped bass expenditures and tax revenue into local communities; and 3) understand the socioeconomic characteristics of striped bass anglers. Effort was estimated at 233,756.31 hours for all species.

In 2001, a cooperative effort was begun to restore native fish populations to the Pigeon River, once so polluted that all mollusks and many fish species were extirpated. Volunteers from federal and state agencies, industry, and private organizations created the Pigeon River Recovery Project to begin re-introduction of fish and other aquatic species. Early successes in Tennessee led to the expansion of the project into western North Carolina. More than 29,000 individuals representing 20 species of fish and 220,000 snails (six species) collected from the French Broad basin and the upper reaches of the Pigeon River have been re-introduced into the Pigeon River at selected sites in the two states. The first three candidates were the gilt, bluebreast and blueside darters, followed by the stripetail darter in 2003. Reproduction was first documented in gilt darters in 2003.