Outdoors

TOM VENESKY

March 1, 2010

Water-release program could be fatal to trout TOM VENESKY OUTDOORS

As a teenager, the days of spring and early summer were spent in one place: in the Lehigh River fishing for trout. With an old pair of shorts, sneakers and a fishing vest packed with extra hooks, salted minnows and spinners, my friends and I waded into the river on a daily basis, religiously fishing the stretch from White Haven Poconos to the town of White Haven.

We knew every hole and pocket along the stretch of river and we quit counting how many trout we caught and released every year once that total reached into the hundreds.

Aside from a few anglers here and there, we basically had the stretch of river to ourselves. The only interruption to our daily routine occurred when the dam released water, transforming the river into a deluge of whitewater that we, even as reckless teenagers, knew was too dangerous to be around.

While the whitewater forced us away from the river, it didn’t prevent us from fishing. While the Lehigh raged, we headed up one of the many tributaries that emptied into the river, fishing for native brooks and the stocked trout that sought refuge from the wicked current.

We caught and released most of the trout we landed, but occasionally a couple would be kept to be grilled for supper that evening.

The days and hours we spent fishing the river back then, we didn’t think about things such as water release schedules, water temperature and the struggle between the anglers and rafting industry for control of the Lehigh. All we cared about was casting away the hours of each day.

But today, on the Lehigh, there is a lot more to care about.

This year the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has scheduled 24 water releases from the dam. Unlike last year, there will be no releases in October as the Corps decided to congregate them so the bulk of the events occur in July and August.

That happens to be when the summer rafting season is at its peak, so the congregation of July and August releases will no doubt be good for the rafting businesses.

But there is more at stake, and at risk, on the river.

When it comes to the releases, it shouldn’t be about what’s best for the rafters, or the anglers for that matter.

It should be about the trout, the aquatic life and the ecology of the river itself.

And what exactly is best for those three aspects can be found in the depths of the dam.

“It’s all about conservation of the cold water pool behind the dam,” said Brian Wagner, vice president of the Pennsylvania State Council of Trout Unlimited.

“With each Lehigh River Flow Plan, the goal should be to lessen the impacts and duration of the thermal gap that occurs in late July and August. I have some concern over the bunching of releases during this time affecting the trout’s ability to seek and find thermal refuge.”

Basically, the cold water contained in the depths of the reservoir is usually exhausted during the May and June releases because the dam releases water from the bottom first. As the mid-summer heat warms the river, it also warms the water behind the dam.

Trout in the river are already stressed from the warm temperatures, so releasing a slug of sun-warmed water from the dam, especially if there is a drought this summer, is a risky proposition.

It’s a risk that, for the trout that inhabit the Lehigh, could be a fatal blow.

Tom Venesky covers the outdoors for The Times Leader.

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