| Entry ID | 479 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Friends of Reservoirs Member/Group Sponsoring the Project | Fort Worth Fly Fishers. With Over 300 active members, Fort Worth Fly Fishers is one of the largest fly fishing associations in the United States. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Project Leader Contact Information | Emily Craig | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Phone | (859) 396-6389 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Email hidden; Javascript is required. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Address | 609 Cabral Circle Apt 4103 Fort Worth, Texas 76102 Map It | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Project Information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Reservoir Name | Lake Ray Roberts, Texas | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Google Maps Location | google.com | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Please describe the project objective(s). | The objective of this small grant is to construct and place floating native aquatic plant nurseries to help establish beneficial fish habitat at Lake Ray Roberts, Texas. The 29,000-acre Ray Roberts Lake is one of 22 reservoirs on the Trinity River. The lake helps contain floods, stores water, provides fish and wildlife habitat, and offers fishing, swimming and boating. Lake Ray Roberts is surrounded by the state park, wildlife management areas, wetlands and waterfowl sanctuaries. TPWD operates Ray Roberts Lake State Park under lease from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the cities of Dallas and Denton. The public can access the lake from all park units except the greenbelt. If awarded, this grant will allow the Fort Worth Fly Fishers association and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and several community organizations to enhance aquatic cover and to promote conservation awareness. Since the Bassmaster Classic will be held on Lake Ray Roberts in the Spring of 2021, the Reservoir Fisheries Habitat Partnership and the Friends of Reservoirs Foundation can also garner national and even international attention through this project and its strategic promotion. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Please describe the project methods. Will the product be used in conjunction with existing habitat restoration efforts on the reservoir? Will the product supplement natural brush, rock, or other materials being added to the reservoir? | Nature of the project: Native plant establishment is often done by constructing small cages around plants introduced in shallow water to prevent herbivory; in reservoirs, however most of those fail due to fluctuating lake levels. There has reportedly been some short-term success with a simple design, attaching root-bound Illinois pondweed growing in small buckets to existing no-wake buoys. These can best be described as “aquatic hanging baskets”. This grant will allow the Fort Worth Fly Fishers Organization and Texas Parks and Wildlife biologists to enhance and upscale this idea with larger buoys that will support 165lbs and 4 such buckets of plants each. When completed this project idea can be shared with others to help support multiple different species at any reservoir. These aquatic plant baskets will be placed in key areas designated by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department fisheries biologists to complement existing habitat restoration projects at this reservoir. In addition, they will be closely monitored, and findings documented to see how they improve the quality of the fishery, providing new information for further development in future conservation initiatives. This project is innovative, using primarily "green" and sustainable products, and has a high probability of an incredibly positive outcome. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Will state fish and wildlife agency staff be directly involved in the project? How so (planning, site selection, participation in installation)? Is there an associated lake or habitat management plan that states the need for structural habitat enhancement? | Placement of these aquatic-plant hanging baskets will be at the direction of Texas Parks and Wildlife Department fisheries biologists. They will help design the structures and will provide technical support during construction and deployment. They will be the primary investigators for determining the results, and the results will be distributed through their communications professionals as well as FWFF press-releases. The project is in alignment with the overall conservation initiatives and plans established by Texas Parks and Wildlife. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| List the species that the project is expected to benefit: | Largemouth Bass | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| How do you plan to conduct outreach and advertise the project? (Examples: on-site signage, press releases, websites, message boards) | Outreach will be through a multi-channel communication plan utilizing the following resources: In addition, press releases will be developed and sent to the following media outlets: These sources will be provided with news releases including project overview, project objectives and images and will reference all sponsoring organizations including Friends of Reservoirs, Fort Worth Fly Fishers and Texas Department Parks and Wildlife Department. All images and a comprehensive report of the implementation and project results will be provided to Friends of Reservoirs for inclusion in promotional materials. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Upload at least one letter of support from a representative of the state fish and wildlife management agency: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Partnership and Budget | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Does the project involve one or more youth groups? | Yes | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Please list all partners involved in the project: |
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Small Grant Review