West Creek Fish Barrier Removal

 Effects of Phragmites Removal on Species of Greatest Conservation Need at
Clear Creek Wildlife Management Area

 Status Assessment and Conservation of the Eastern Hellbender

 Student Conservation Association Invasive Species Eradication Team

 Impacts of Stream Mitigation on Kentucky Crayfish in the East Fork Little Sandy River
and the Conservation Status of two Kentucky Species:
Cambarus veteranus and Cambarus parvoculus.

If you would like more information regarding these funded proposals, or if you have ideas for future State Wildlife Grants projects, please contact Danna Baxley, State Wildlife Grants Research Coordinator, danna.baxley@ky.gov.  To view further details about Kentucky’s Wildlife Action Plan and the State Wildlife Grants Program:

Kentucky's Wildlife Action Plan

 Wildlife Action Plan Priority Conservation Areas

Wildlife Action Plan Species of Greatest Conservation Need

General Information About the State Wildlife Grant Program 

Please check back often for updates!

West Creek Fish Barrier Removal

Alex Barnett and Chris Minor, Harrison County and The Nature Conservancy

cminor@tnc.org

Photo credit:  Matt Thomas

The purpose of this project is to improve fish passage in West Creek located in Harrison and Robertson Counties.  Fish passage will be improved by removing a low-water ford currently used as a county road and constructing a bridge.  The low-water ford is located approximately ¾ mile upstream from the confluence of West Creek with the Licking River. By removing this structure fish composition and abundance should improve as well as increase available habitat for spawning and refuge.  Harrison County will coordinate with Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife and The Nature Conservancy to conduct pre and post assessments of fish assemblages both upstream and downstream of the site.

This low-water ford is one of three maintained by Harrison County all of which impede fish passage during part or all of the year. There are several structures of this type located throughout the Licking River Watershed; therefore, this project will be used to encourage managers and stakeholders to address these issues by serving as a demonstration site.

Effects of Phragmites Removal on Species of Greatest Conservation Need at Clear Creek Wildlife Management Area

Howard Whiteman, Murray State University

Howard.whiteman@murraystate.edu

This project will restore 400 acres of wetland habitat for species of greatest conservation need (SGCN) at the Clear Creek WMA, Hopkins County, Kentucky using herbicide management on the invasive common reed, Phragmites australis.  Using a variety of techniques, we will survey experimental (herbicide treatment) and control plots for presence and abundance of aquatic and semi-aquatic vertebrate SGCN and other species, both pre- and post-herbicide management.  Because previous studies have shown substantial effects of Phragmites on a variety of taxa, we predict that changes in SGCN presence and abundance will be directly related to Phragmites removal. Benefits of this research include: 1.) restoration of 400 acres of wetland; 2.) survey data on fish, amphibians, reptiles and water chemistry; 3.) a greater understanding of the effects of herbicides and Phragmites removal on aquatic and semi-aquatic vertebrates, particularly SGCN; and 4.) management recommendations for future treatment of Phragmites in similar habitats.  This project will allow the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources to make informed management decisions in the future regarding treatment of Phragmites australis.

Status Assessment and Conservation of the Eastern Hellbender

Gregory Lipps, Gregory Lipps, LLC

            greglipps@aol.com

The goal of this project is to expand the current status assessment of the Eastern Hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis) to include all historical locality records state-wide.  Outside of the Licking and Kentucky River watersheds (areas currently being surveyed), a total of 38 historical localities for the Eastern Hellbender have been identified.  This includes all of the sites identified as priorities by the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources.  Surveys for Hellbenders will be conducted using a combination of visual encounter surveys, skin diving, and trapping.  At each site visited, the substrate condition will be quantified using a pebble count procedure to determine siltation and embeddedness.  Each captured salamander will be weighed, measured, and inspected for the presence of external anomalies.  Also, the sex of each animal will be determined (when feasible) and each animal >50 grams will receive a unique electronic identification tag.  By conducting a statewide status assessment of the Eastern Hellbender, we will be better equipped to manage priority populations of this rare species in upcoming years.

Student Conservation Association Invasive Species Eradication Team 

Jill Baum, Student Conservation Association

jbaum@thesca.org

 
Photo credit:  Eric Williams

For over fifty years, the Student Conservation Association (SCA) has delivered highly effective conservation services by engaging youth and young adults in hands-on conservation and inspiring the next generation of conservation leaders.

SCA intends to provide a team of college-age interns and a project leader to address issues identified in the Kentucky’s Wildlife Action Plan. Utilizing SCA’s Native Plant Corps, we will recruit, train, supervise, and manage a team of 5 interns under the direct supervision of an SCA Project Leader with additional support from the Program Manager and Corps Director.

The SCA Native Plant Corps team will work for 16 weeks in Kentucky addressing identified issues such as #79 of Kentucky’s Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy Actions: “Implement control of invasive and exotic species on both public and private lands through partnerships”.  Working closely with Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife, and other project partners, to identify specific locations within the Priority Conservation Area encompassing the Mammoth Cave Region, SCA will remove invasive species such as Bush Honeysuckle, Autumn Olive, Tree of Heaven and multi-flora rose.

Impacts of Stream Mitigation on Kentucky Crayfish in the East Fork Little Sandy River and the Conservation Status of two Kentucky Species: Cambarus veteranus and Cambarus parvoculus

Roger Thoma, Midwest Biodiversity Institute

bartonii@roadrunner.com

 
Photo credit:  Brent Harrel

A special investigation of East Fork Little Sandy River in Lawrence County, associated with projects funded through FILO moneys, will be conducted. Specifically, pre- and post- stream restoration monitoring of FILO sites will be conducted to determine project effects on resident crayfish populations.  Additionally, the Kentucky conservation status of the nearby Cambarus veteranus and southern Cambarus parvoculus will be investigated.  Both species appear to be rare in Kentucky.  It is anticipated that Rare status will be confirmed for both species.  Cambarus veteranus may be found to be declining while C. parvoculus may be stable but highly restricted in distribution.  The factors controlling Kentucky populations will be identified.  Life history requirements will be delimited using Kentucky results and data gathered during 5 years study in Virginia, West Virginia, and Tennessee.  Kentucky will be better able to address conservation needs for the taxa with the resulting information.  Conservation status will be establish and factors impacting it identified, allowing Kentucky to focus conservation efforts and increase the likelihood of preserving the two species in the State.

This research will focus its efforts on the 8 counties (Floyd, Pike, Martin, Letcher, Clinton, Wayne, McCreary, and Whitley Counties) where the two species have been observed plus Lawrence County.  Ten sites likely to harbor the species will be selected in each county.  Each site will be sampled once during the year.  Habitat, water quality, and sampling effort data will be collected at each site.