The Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) today announced the completion of a riverine habitat enhancement project within the Shetucket River in Sprague adjacent to the DEP-owned Salt Rock Campground. This project involved adding large woody habitat to the river in the form of three “Constructed Log Jam” and three “Floating Log Cover” type habitat structures that were then secured in place.
“During the last decade, the Inland Fisheries Division has been actively adding large woody habitat to river systems as a component of individual stream habitat restoration projects,” explained William Hyatt, acting Chief of DEP’s Bureau of Natural Resources. “Fisheries research has shown that large woody habitat is a very important natural component of a river’s biological diversity and health. Large wood provides a multitude of benefits including the enhancement of in-stream fish habitats, channel stabilization and entrapment of organic materials such as leaves that provide an important food source for aquatic insects.”
Large woody habitat structures can begin performing their intended functions almost immediately. “The combination of deep water and variable sizes of wood within the constructed log jams is a great recipe for providing shelter and overhead cover for fish,” said Brian D. Murphy, DEP Senior Fisheries Habitat Biologist. “Immediately after installation, we documented numerous fishes of various sizes using these structures, further adding to their reputation for providing instantaneous fish habitat.”
The Inland Fisheries Division received grant assistance from the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program (WHIP) to fund project implementation. Additional funding was provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program. The Thames Valley Chapter of Trout Unlimited also provided support.
The DEP Wildlife Division’s Wetland Habitat and Mosquito Management (WHAMM) Program was responsible for all habitat enhancement work associated with this project, while habitat construction management oversight was provided by DEP and NRCS biologists.
The Shetucket River supports a highly diverse fish community due to the presence of both inland and diadromous species. The river is managed as a Trophy Trout stream with a daily creel limit of 2 fish and an open season from the 3rd Saturday in April to the last day in February. In addition, the stretch of river from the Scotland Dam (Scotland) to the Occum Dam (Norwich) is also managed as an Atlantic salmon broodstock fishery. More information on fishing and fishing regulations can be found in the 2009 CT Angler’s Guide: http://www.ct.gov/dep/lib/dep/fishing/anglers_guide/anguide.pdf.
Since 1995, the DEP Inland Fisheries Division has successfully completed many stream habitat restoration projects throughout Connecticut. More information on stream habitat restoration projects can be found on the DEP fisheries website: www.ct.gov/dep/fishing (click “habitat restoration” under Featured Links). A six-page factsheet about large woody habitat management is also available at: http://www.ct.gov/dep/lib/dep/fishing/restoration/largewoodydebrisfactsheet.pdf.
