The November 20 issue of the Currents newsletter from the Fish and Boat Commission features a story on the innovative partnership between The Nature Conservancy and the Commission to develop ecosystem flow studies for the Susquehanna and Ohio river basins.

Commission staff recently completed a milestone in the agency’s strategic plan by helping the Nature Conservancy produce a report that provides recommendations for flows that support ecological processes, animals and plants in the Susquehanna and Ohio River basins.

The Commission’s role has been to help characterize stream types and specific life stages and functions of aquatic life, reptiles and amphibians which may be affected by various components of seasonal flows.

Agencies and scientists use the flow recommendations to preserve ecological functions of different stream types by minimizing effects of flow alteration at key times. For example, recommendations from the research was used to develop the Susquehanna River Basin Commission’s revised Low Flow Protection Policy, adopted in December 2012.

Studies and recommendations for the Potomac River Basin Ecosystem and for the Great Lakes tributaries were completed earlier this year. A similar study for the Delaware River basin is expected to be done in December. When complete, all major river basins in Pennsylvania will have been studied and flow recommendations generated, fulfilling a PFBC strategic goal first outlined in 2010.

Click Here for the conservancy’s completed studies and more background.

Other stories include: Water quality improvements in Northcentral streams allow more fish stocking, New life jacket requirements, Building a habitat project on Loyalhanna Creek, Volunteer award for SMART Angler Fishing Program and buying fishing licenses for the holidays.

11/25/2013