RESERVOIR FISHERIES HABITAT PARTNERSHIP

Annual Meeting 5-7 October 2018

Texas Freshwater

Fisheries Center

Athens, TX

The Reservoir Fisheries Habitat Partnership (RFHP) held its 9^th Annual Meeting at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center https://tpwd.texas.gov/spdest/visitorcenters/tffc/ in Athens, Texas. Seventy-five attendees were treated to a half-day workshop on reservoir habitat restoration Best Management Practices. Topics covered include:

• Permitting
• Structure 
• Nuisance aquatic vegetation
• Establishing native vegetation
• Sedimentation
• Nutrient control
• Shoreline Stabilization
• Funding

Instructors included many of the individuals that contributed to the Reservoir Habitat Management Manual https://www.friendsofreservoirs.com/science/best-management-practices-manual/ . Pdf. versions of the workshop presentations are available by clicking on the topics above. An expanded version of the workshop is being presented at the Southern Division AFS meeting in Galveston, Texas on January 25, 2019.

The technical program featured presentations from professional fisheries managers and Friends of Reservoirs project leaders. Pdf. versions of the presentations are available by clicking on the titles below.

• Quantifying Fish Habitat Impairment in Iowa's Lakes and Reservoirs- Erin Haws, Iowa Dept. of Natural Resources
• An Overview of Arkansas Game and Fish Large Scale Fisheries Habitat Projects- Cody Wyatt, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission
• Overview of Kansas' Fish Habitat Efforts- Doug Nygren, Kansas Wildlife, Parks & Tourism
• Turning License Plate Revenue into Fish Habitat- Dave Terre, Texas Parks & Wildlife
• Fisheries Habitat Enhancement Efforts at Possum Kingdom- Fisheries Habitat Enhancement Efforts at Possum Kingdom-Wes Dutter, Texas Parks & Wildlife
• Triumphs and Trials in Texas: the Enduring Tale of Lake Wichita- Tom Lang, Texas Parks & Wildlife
• Ft. Buenaventura Pond Rehabilitation- Kent Sorenson, Utah Division of Wildlife
• Preserving the Legend of Lake Fork-Carolyn West, Larry Marler and Ed Swenson, Lake Fork Sportsman’s Association
• Humble Beginnings: The Lake Shelbyville Fish Habitat Alliance- Mike Mounce, Illinois Dept. of Natural Resources
• A New Strategic Plan for the Lake Livingston Friends of Reservoirs Restoration Project-Adding a Better Science Approach to Ensure Success and Provide Accountability-Beth Miller and Scott Ball -Lake Livingston FOR
• John Paul Landing-A Lesson in Partnerships- Niki Ragan-Harbison, Texas Parks & Wildlife
• Lake Conroe, a History of Invasive Grasses and Restoration of Native Habitat -Jeff Melton, Seven Coves Bass Club
• Incorporating terrestrial vegetation into reservoir fish habitat projects- Earl Conway, New Mexico B.A.S.S. Nation
• Enhancing Fish Habitat in the Highland Lakes in Central Texas- Mukhtar Farooqi, TPWD, Ron Abshier, Lake Buchanan Conservation Corps, Carl Adkins and Randy Brudniki, Canyon Bass Club of San Marcos, and Brian Booker , Texas Tournament Zone

The Awards Banquet honored the 2018 Friend of Reservoirs recipients. Recipients of the 2018 Small Grant Awards were announced.

Participants were extremely complementary of the meeting content. Ed Swenson from the Lake Fork Sportsman's Association (LFSA) was quoted as saying, "I just want to send along a big thank you for your efforts in organizing the conference last weekend. As one that is new to this whole topic and having an acute interest it learning more it was an awesome experience. The organization of the topics and their content helped me to better understand the overall requirements and opportunities going forward. I look forward to learning more and am willing to contribute in any way I can to help the efforts. Carolyn West (LFSA) emailed saying "The conference last weekend was one of the best I have attended throughout my business and volunteering life.  I learned so much and witnessed amazingly intelligent people willing to share their knowledge. Thank you for all the work I know goes into a successful workshop/conference.  You held a conference that gave so much to the attendees.  I am so impressed with FOR and equally glad we are members. "Scott Ball from the Lake Livingston Friends of Reservoirs said "thank you so much for hosting Beth and I so we  could attend our very first FOR conference.  It provided an extraordinary opportunity for us to see how other FOR projects are handled, as well as allowing us to put faces to names.  The networking contacts just with TPWD will pay dividends.  Before the conference, we had never met Rick Ott, Dave Terre or several others.  We now also have new friends at Lake Conroe and the Lake Fork partnership!