Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency
Region 4
Stream Management
Left Prong Hampton Creek Brook Trout Restoration
The purpose of the Left Prong Hampton Creek project is to aid in returning a viable population of native brook trout to this stream. The watershed encompasses some 750 acres administered by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) and managed by the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy (SAHC). Hampton Cove is a unique natural area in the Roan Mountain Massif which permits limited agricultural use while managing for significant natural elements.
The Hampton Cove State Natural Area represents the largest non-federal component of the globally significant Highlands of Roan Conservation Initiative. This includes more than 20,000 acres of the Roan Mountain Massif. The natural area adjacent to National Forest land represents nearly all of the non-federal land in this watershed. Very few brook trout streams occur on non-federal land at the present time. This project represents the first of its kind on a State Natural Area and on non-federal land.
In 1997, the Overmountain Chapter of Trout Unlimited submitted an Embrace-a-Stream proposal for brook trout restoration in Left Prong Hampton Creek. They were awarded the grant in 1997, and construction of a rainbow trout migration barrier began shortly thereafter. Locust logs from the surrounding area were used to construct a splash-board below a road culvert. This eliminated any pooling and would hopefully stop any immigration of rainbow trout upstream into the renovation area. The development and implementation of the project resulted in the formation of several new partnerships. These partners included the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA), SAHC, USDA Forest Service (FS), and the National Park Service (NPS). The barrier was completed in early summer 1997 and plans were made to evaluate it effectiveness in preventing rainbow trout movement upstream. In order to evaluate the barrier's effectiveness, rainbow trout were collected from an area upstream of the barrier with backpack electrofishing gear during the summer of 1997.
The collected rainbow trout were individually marked with an adipose fin clip, weighed and measured. This would allow for easy identification of any rainbows that might negotiate the barrier. Collected rainbow trout were moved below the barrier where they were released into a resident population. The tendency for displaced rainbow trout to move is quite high especially when introduced into an established population. This was the basic concept behind marking and moving the rainbow trout.
In January 1998, the worst flood in recent history hit the Doe River watershed caused severe damage to property and loss of life. The barrier at Hampton Cove was destroyed, requiring reconstruction during April 1998. Shortly thereafter, another rainbow trout mark and move experiment was performed in order to test the new structure. Evaluation of the mark and move experiment indicated the barrier was functioning properly as none of the marked rainbow were collected above the barrier. Between October 1998 and July 2000, six removals in all or selected reaches of the treatment area were made. As a result, 2,324 rainbow trout were removed from the 1.2 mile treatment area. Soon after the last removal, 273 southern Appalachian brook trout of various sizes were collected and released into the renovated section. Recently we have discovered that the barrier has been compromised due to settling and changes in the stream channel below the culvert. We have continued to remove rainbow trout from the stream in order to prevent population growth and impacts to the established brook trout population.
In August 2007, the barrier on Left Prong Hampton Creek was redesigned and rebulit in cooperation with the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), Overmountain and Cherokee Chapters of Trout Unlimited, U.S. Forest Service, Southern Appalachian Highland Conservancy, Tennessee Dept. of Environment and Conservation. The existing tiled road crossing was replaced with an engineered waterfall with a vertical height of 9 feet. Upon completion of the barrier, a rainbow trout removal was conducted in October 2007 resulting in the capture of 16 rainbow trout from the restoration area. A follow up effort will be accomplished in March 2008 to remove any additional rainbow trout or verify the elimination of rainbows from the restoration area. The slideshow below depicts the construction of the new barrier.
Background
Left Prong Hampton Creek Barrier Construction 2007
