As addressed in previous blogs the Dog River used to hold a trout population that was plentiful. However, todays population is not quite large. We are going to talk about some common methods of conservation to reestablish healthy trout populations.
Culverts
Culverts is the first method that can improve trout habitat by converting from traditional style culverts that are a full cylinder, to new natural bottom culverts. Over time these cylindrical culverts washout and create a waterfall effect that is impassable for these native fish to move up into spawning areas. It is important however to meet the specifications for these natural bottom culverts. The bank full width is the distance from the closest tree on each side of the river bank. These culverts must reach this span so that if the high water flows ever reach full height they do not get washed out. The next is the natural substrate that is the same as the river bed that is running through. The reason this is all so important is because if you take out one small creek that is critical to fish reproduction, then the ecosystems population is going to exponentially decline and effect the entire rivers aquatic life.
To address this problem these culverts, need to be replaced.
Bank Erosion
Another method is to address bank erosion. Although not a very large problem on the Dog River it has been seen on the stretch along Water St. where rocks of various sizes were brought in and a sturdy bank was constructed to prevent the road from washing out. Eroding banks can lead to washed out and shallow rivers not allowing the trout to have natural cover from aerial predators. This can be prevented by placing vegetation on the bank to create a rook system to stabilize the bank even farther. A double benefit to this solution is that it can create natural cover and shade to the water depending on size of vegetation and even farther is a food supply from insects falling off the leaves.
Habitat Construction
Similar to bank erosion by adding vegetation and fallen trees into stream it can provide natural cover and insect habitat. If trout have not cover then they are easily preyed on by many predators, such as birds of prey, beavers, river otters, etc. There are some areas along the Dog that have natural cover, and even deep holes can act as this, but there could definitely be more throughout the river.
Stream Clean ups
This is a simple answer to many problems. Removing litter along a river bed is simply going to remove pollutants and unnatural objects from the river. By doing this it allows the natural ecosystem to grow undisturbed and keeps waters clean. A good rule of thumb is to always bring a bag with you when you venture to the river. This is going to fill itself with litter within the first 10 minutes on the water and it is quite sad sometimes to see how much trash people leave. Removing this is such a powerful solution to a large problem that will never end.
