Reservoir Fisheries Habitat Restoration: Innovative Techniques to Restore Habitat in our Nation's Impoundments Session I (Symposium)

Monday, August 22, 2016: 9:40 AM-5:00 PM
Atlanta (Sheraton at Crown Center)
This symposium will build on the highly successful reservoir habitat restoration symposium presented at the 2014 AFS Annual Meeting in Little Rock. The Reservoir Fisheries Habitat Partnership (RFHP), one of 19 Fish Habitat Partnerships comprising the National Fish Habitat Partnership, has been providing granting and networking opportunities to fisheries professionals and lay users of reservoir resources since 2010. A national assessment on reservoir fisheries habitat impairments and a database on key reservoir metrics have been developed. Best Management Practices for reservoir habitat restoration have been compiled and made available online. Presentations on these efforts will be made. Partnering opportunities among fisheries management agencies, municipalities, corporations and anglers will be discussed. Agency habitat restoration programs will be highlighted and means of funding such programs will be shared. Most reservoirs were constructed for purposes other than providing fish habitat. The challenges of habitat restoration in the face of multi-use priorities will be discussed. The age-old question of whether adding structure to reservoirs serves simply as fish attractants or is a viable means of increasing productivity at the reservoir scale will be explored. Symposium participants will benefit from discussion of these topics and being informed of a path moving forward. Attendees should leave this symposium with the knowledge necessary to successfully encourage their employers to support the efforts to restore reservoir fisheries habitat on a national scale.
Moderator:
Jeff Boxrucker
Organizers:
Jeff Boxrucker and Tom Lang
10:20 AM
Inspiring the Will to Revitalize a Reservoir Tom Lang, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
10:40 AM
So Why Should a Fish Biologist Want to Play in the Dirt? Mark T. Porath, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission
11:00 AM
Best Management Practices for Reservoir Fish Habitats Leandro E. Miranda, U.S. Geological Survey, Mississippi Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit
11:40 AM
Monday Lunch Break
1:40 PM
Testing Hypotheses Linking Coarse Woody Habitat, Fish Populations, and Food Webs in Experimental Ecosystems Corey S. DeBoom, University of Illinois; David H. Wahl, Illinois Natural History Survey
2:00 PM
Towards a Predictive Framework of Habitat Enhancement Brian Graeb, South Dakota State University; Katie Bertrand, South Dakota State University; Jason Breeggemann, South Dakota State University; Chance Kirkeeng, South Dakota State University; Bob Lusk, Pond Boss; David W. Willis, South Dakota State University
2:20 PM
Changes in Largemouth Bass Growth, Condition, and Behavior in Response to a Large-Scale Habitat Enhancement in an Aging Reservoir Chance Kirkeeng, South Dakota State University; Jason Breeggemann, South Dakota State University; Katie Bertrand, South Dakota State University; Troy Grovenburg, South Dakota State University; Bob Lusk, Pond Boss Magazine; Brian Graeb, South Dakota State University
2:40 PM
Effects of Structural and Spatiotemporal Factors on Fish Use of Artificial Habitat Daniel Daugherty, Heart of the Hills Fisheries Science Center; M. Todd Driscoll, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department; Dan Ashe, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department; J. Warren Schlechte, Heart of the Hills Fisheries Science Center
3:00 PM
Monday Afternoon Break
3:20 PM
Creating Fish and Wildlife Habitat in New Florida Reservoir Dustin Everitt, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission; Marty Hale, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission; Steve Kramer, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission; Andrew Schaefer, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission; Brad Fontaine, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
3:40 PM
Evaluating Fisheries Habitat Improvements in a Newly Flooded Reservoir Brad Fontaine, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission; Dustin Everitt, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission; Ted Lange, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
4:00 PM
Artificial Habitat in Hatcheries and Reservoirs, Increasing Growth, Survival and Reproduction David Ewald, Fishiding Reclaimed Artificial Fish Habitat; Daniel Dembkowski, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point; Steven Fajfer, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources; Shane Titus, Seneca Nation of Indians
4:20 PM
Evaluating Degradation and Temporal Effectiveness of Juniperus Ashei Used As Fish Habitat in a Texas Hill Country Reservoir Chelsea Pavliska, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department; Marcos J. De Jesus, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
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