|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Chapter Information: |
The Chapel Run Story With the complete cooperation
of Lee Warner, now the full owner at Ellerslie, we have taken on
successfully some major problems in the past twelve years beginning with
livestock having full access to the stream for watering.
Installation of the local Lord Fairfax Soil
and Water Conservation District’s Grazing Land Protection Program dealt
with this issue.
The Program involved fencing livestock out
of the mile of stream at the farm and installing off-stream watering
devices at eight separate locations.
The intent was to reduce erosion of the
stream banks and degradation of the stream bed from the impact of
thousands of cattle hooves.
Livestock had probably been causing stream
damage for more than a hundred years.
The cost of this Program has
probably exceeded $100,000, with Ellerslie Farm paying half and When we began we did not
fully understand the marl geology of the stream channel, but it did not
take long to recognize we were dealing with a major challenge.
While some of the stream had a stony
bottom, much of the stream bed was simply marl silt created by the
grinding up of very light, unconsolidated marl, by cattle hooves – a
unique characteristic of this stream’s watershed. During the early years we
installed bank protection devices at many locations in the lower half of
the stream, working upstream from the eastern property boundary.
While those devices were effective in
reducing bank erosion, they did not produce much trout habitat.
When Jack McAllister volunteered a suggestion that we
needed to install inverted “V” dams at suitable locations to create deep
plunge pools, with his demonstration of the technique at the site now
known as McAllister I, we began a new phase in our efforts to create
good trout habitat at Chapel Run.
During the five years beginning in about 1998, twelve inverted Vs were installed in the lower half of the stream and twelve more in the upper half mile. All of these structures have performed essentially as planned, although the pools created by some are more effective than others judging by the interest of fish in establishing residence. In the remaining years up
until today we have concentrated on the creation of additional bank
protection/cover at the inverted Vs and at many other locations where
steep marl banks erode heavily during flooding and with winter freezing
and thawing.
In addition, because of the availability of
hundreds of feet of boards produced from dead or fallen trees on the
site and logs from other fallen trees, we have narrowed the stream
channel in one major section through a long, slow stretch to create a
hard bottom by installing long wing dams. In all of this work we have
utilized at least 100 tons of limestone rock secured from many sources.
Most
of the work has been performed with manual labor by Chapter Members
during the monthly Saturday morning work sessions that began in 1996 and
continue to this day.
Through this long period we
have stocked thousands of trout in the stream.
We have tried all species, but not all
sizes of each species.
Our objective initially was to reserve the
upper half of the stream for brook trout because a small dam below the
road bridge prevents upstream migration of fish stocked below the dam,
where we hoped browns and rainbows might be successful.
Twelve inch hatchery brook trout stocked in
the upper stretch quickly disappeared, with only one hooked and that one
found downstream from the dam. Seven to nine inch brown
trout stocked downstream from the dam quickly disappeared as well,
although one fish survived at the dam long enough to reach 22-23 inches
and be hooked several times, but never landed.
Fifteen to sixteen inch browns stocked
above and below the dam survived for a year, but only one appeared long
enough to reach 22-23 inches and was hooked only once, but not landed. Rainbow trout have been stocked in all sizes in all
stretches of the stream, but none have been retained long enough for
natural reproduction to appear.
As we’ve attempted to analyze
our inability to keep stocked fish in the stream, and as a result of
several macroinvertebrate studies, we’ve concluded that lack of natural
food has played an important role.
The substantial amount of marl silt in the
stream bed has simply buried too much stone, rock and woody debris
available for healthy macroinvertebrate habitat.
Consequently, in 2007 we initiated an
artificial feeding program with the installation of a feeder system
which now provides fish pellets daily at two sites.
We continue to experiment with this system.
It does seem to help us hold large rainbow
trout, which we stocked early in 2008, although there is evidence that
these fish have been willing to move upstream from the upper feeder.
While the feeder system is
one component in our effort to support the stocked fish, we are finding
more and more evidence that another major problem must be addressed if
we are ever to achieve a sustained, naturally reproducing population of
trout in the stream.
We have long noted the presence of Great
Blue Herons on the stream, especially after our trout stockings.
In 2008, we’ve found evidence that at least
half of the twenty-one 15-18 inch rainbows stocked in early January have
been attacked by GBHs and sustained serious damage, and two fish were
found dead from these attacks.
It is likely others have succumbed that we
have not seen. Many well-meaning suggestions have been offered as
solutions to the GBH problem, but none so far have seemed feasible – we
continue to ponder the issue. The two large rainbows found
dead from GBH attacks were both females with large roe sacks.
Whether these fish would have spawned in
the spring or fall is unknown.
If some of the large fish survive long
enough to spawn this year - and the correct male/female relationships
exist – we would hope that naturally reproduced fry might have
sufficient instincts and suitable cover to survive and prosper. Work on the stream, and the Chapel Run saga, will continue. Follow this link for more photos of Chapel Run in our Photo Gallery.
|
Chapter Programs: Chapel Run
Click here to go to the TU's TIC website. TIC
|
