TPWD River Studies Program staff backpack electrofish a small pool remaining in the almost dry riverbed of the Blanco River in summer 2011. Photo credit: TPWD.

Fish Conservation Opportunity in Texas Drought

By Stephan Magnelia, Fisheries Biologist, TPWD River Studies Program

Despite their high ecological value, public funding for protection and restoration of southeastern US streams has lagged behind other regions of the US. In the summer of 2011, the record drought and heat that gripped Texas raised public awareness about the value of rivers and streams.  It also provided a rare opportunity on the Blanco River near Blanco, Texas for fish conservation, which has the potential to reintroduce the state fish, the Guadalupe bass, back into a river where it no longer exists.  This project, undertaken by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD), is part of a Southeastern Native Black Bass Keystone Initiative.  In 2010, TPWD, SARP, and a variety of other organizations, agencies, and universities from around the region came together in partnership with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation in an effort to gain public interest and support for the conservation of southeastern US streams by focusing on the preservation of native black bass species.  The Initiative aims to guide more than $30M over the next 10 years toward stream protection and restoration projects that address conservation issues affecting the long-term sustainability of regionally endemic species of black bass.

The headwaters of the Blanco River bubble up from springs in the hills roughly 16 miles west of the city of Blanco, eventually flowing into the San Marcos River, just east of the City of San Marcos. Historically this classic Hill Country river was home to a good population of the Texas state fish, the Guadalupe bass.  This endemic black bass species occurs nowhere else in the world except in Central Texas, with most of the populations located in small Hill Country streams within the Edwards Plateau ecoregion.  This species evolved in small streams and is popular with anglers who often refer to them as "Texas trout".  Unfortunately, the stocking of smallmouth bass in the 1970s and 1980s in the Blanco River and other Hill Country streams had unintended consequences.  While stocked smallmouth bass were well suited to the rocky stream habitat of the Texas Hill Country they also hybridized with endemic Guadalupe bass.  Soon it was difficult to tell one species from the other and extinction of Guadalupe bass became a real possibility.  Smallmouth bass stockings were discontinued, but in many streams, restoration of genetically pure Guadalupe bass populations was thought to be nearly impossible.  A recent study by Texas State University looked at the genetic integrity of Guadalupe bass throughout their range and found no pure Guadalupe bass in the Blanco River.  It was thought that removing smallmouth bass and hybrids would likely be impossible and the Guadalupe bass population in the Blanco River would be lost forever.  With the drought of 2011, opportunity knocked, and a plan came together which provided some hope for reintroduction of the species in at least a portion of the river. 

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St. Johns High School students help construct oyster reef.  Photo credit:  GTM NERR.

GTM Research Reserve Receives St. Johns County Schools Business Partner Award

Jeff Herrod with bullseye snakehead in a canal outside of Loxahatchee NWR.

Asian Carp  

Asian Carp are being discussed by SARP members as well as the rest of the Nation.  These Aquatic Nuisance Species continued to receive attention from Legislators and Natural Resource Managers alike.  The National Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force (ANSTF) has an approved plan for Asian Carp (Conover, G., R. Simmonds, and M. Whalen, editors 2007).  Management and control plan for bighead, black, grass, and silver carps in the United States.  Asian Carp Working Group, Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force, Washington, D.C. 223 pp.) This plan can be found on the ANSTF website with other approved plans by clicking here.  There is a Southern Division of AFS resolution pertaining to Asian Carp with a comment period until September 1, 2012.  To view click here.  There was a data call related to the ranking of the top 40 management actions in April which will be used to inform the next steps with implementing the plan.  State ANS Coordinators and SARP members are encouraged to examine their State ANS plans for specific Asian Carp action items.  If there are items identified in their State ANS Plans, please look to see if those items are also in the Asian carp management and control plan.   

Environmental DNA  

Environmental DNA (eDNA) is a potential tool which would support a region-wide Early Detection and Rapid Response (EDRR) network.  Molecular techniques may assist and enhance our ability to detect aquatic nuisance species early in the invasion process.  A great resource for papers is to use Google scholar and the search phrase "environmental DNA invasive species".  USFWS Region 4 has several projects that are assisting the development and refinement of these tools.  USFWS Region 4 Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) Program funded the proposal, "The Use Environmental DNA and qPCR to  

 
USFWS Loxahatchee NWR