ROANOKE RAPIDS, N.C. — Volunteers are needed to help with an aquatic habitat enhancement project on Lake Gaston.
The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission is seeking volunteers for June 11-13 to plant aquatic vegetation in Lake Gaston in order to improve fish habitat in the lake. Because the work will be done at different locations around the lake, volunteers will need to contact Wally Sayko with the Lake Gaston Association to find out exact meeting locations for each day. Anyone interested in volunteering can email Sayko at wasay1943@gmail.com or call 434-636-5393.
Because the work will be located in shallow areas and near the shorelines, volunteers will be working in water that, at times, could reach waist height, so they will need to wear water shoes that protect their feet and toes. They also should bring gloves, if they have them, for repairing the exclosures, and should wear sunscreen or a hat for sun protection.
“This is the continuation of a multi-year project to enhance the lake’s overall aquatic habitat for sport fish, as well as people’s enjoyment of the lake,” said Mark Fowlkes, the Piedmont aquatic habitat coordinator for the Commission. “Over the past five years, we had over 2,500hours of effort between volunteer time and Commission staff hours and installed over 12,000 linear feet of fence.”
The fenced exclosures, or pens, protect newly planted vegetation from being eaten by herbivores, such as turtles and triploid grass carp. Volunteers and staff have planted a variety of native vegetation, such as spatterdock, white water lily, watershield, eelgrass and pondweeds. These plantings provide much-needed habitat for popular game fishes that prefer underwater vegetation — like largemouth bass and crappie.
Fowlkes says planting and maintaining native vegetation with the use of exclosures are particularly important given the presence of hydrilla, a non-native, highly invasive plant in the lake. The Lake Gaston Weed Control Council has worked for years to control the spread of hydrilla in Lake Gaston using a combination of herbicides and triploid grass carp.
Biologists hope the native vegetation will compete with hydrilla, improving fish habitat and providing anglers with better fishing opportunities in Lake Gaston, a 20,000-acre impoundment located in Halifax, Northampton and Warren counties along the Virginia border.
The habitat enhancement project is funded through the Sport Fish Restoration Program, Lake Gaston Weed Control Council and the N.C. State University Department of Crop Science. The Sport Fish Restoration Program utilizes state fishing license money and federal grant funds derived from federal excise taxes on fishing equipment and motorboat fuels.
About the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission
Since 1947, the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission has been dedicated to the conservation and sustainability of the state’s fish and wildlife resources through research, scientific management, wise use, and public input. The Commission is the state regulatory agency responsible for the enforcement of fishing, hunting, trapping and boating laws and provides programs and opportunities for wildlife-related educational, recreational and sporting activities. To learn more, visit www.ncwildlife.org.
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Media contact: Jodie B. Owen
919-707-0187