RE: NANFA-L-- Flame Chub Testimony On Friday

Bruce Stallsmith (fundulus-in-hotmail.com)
Thu, 03 Nov 2005 22:00:31 -0500

What I found was elevated TDS (a specific _amount_ of conductivity, I
suppose) in former flame chub streams compared to current streams, 140 ppm
to 120 ppm respectively. That would be consistent with elevated runoffs from
point or nonpoint sources. You're talking about the Tennessee Barrens,
right? That area has suffered pollution from a peculiar source, and this
pollution shows up in springs via groudwater. The pollution source is
numerous tree farms, that raise trees to be sold during National Arbor Day.
To raise the trees they of course clear land for monoculture, and also apply
various herbicides, pesticides and fertilizers which quickly are mobilized
in rainwater and wind up in groundwater, coming out-in-springs. This has had
a bad effect on the few remaining wild populations of Fundulus julisia, the
Barrens Topminnow, whose spring habitat is degraded by this eutrophication.
So there's the joke -- well-meaning people buy small trees to plant for
Arbor Day, but the plantation culture producing many of these trees is a
major force in local habitat degradation. That makes me glad that trees
reseed themselves on my property. . .

--Bruce Stallsmith
the land of springs, Tennessee Valley
Huntsville, AL, US of A

>From: "Crail, Todd" <tcrail-in-UTNet.UToledo.Edu>
>Reply-To: nanfa-l-in-nanfa.org
>To: <nanfa-l-in-nanfa.org>
>Subject: RE: NANFA-L-- Flame Chub Testimony On Friday
>Date: Thu, 3 Nov 2005 20:27:10 -0500
>
>Bruce,
>
>What are the conductivities in the populated vs devoid springs? Is the
>spring
>in the neighborhood getting any kind of enrichment from the lawns? What
>really struck me on the Barrens wasn't so much that there was agriculture,
>and
>fertilizer from that... That didn't seem to be the problem. In fact the
>springs were literally choked with vegetation, as though the springs
>_themselves_ were huge points of productivity, mining enrichment from the
>earth. The rest of the stream might have a straggler patch of elodea,
>cabomba
>or rotala here and there. It was certainly clear enough in the mainstem to
>allow the growth of submerged plants. It seemed more related to cows
>walking
>banks, and introducing obscene amounts of ultra fine particles.
>
>Are you seeing a similar thing in 'bama?
>
>Todd
>Where the mud runs like a river...
/-----------------------------------------------------------------------
/ This is the discussion list of the North American Native Fishes
/ Association (NANFA). Comments made on this list do not necessarily
/ reflect the beliefs or goals of NANFA. For more information about NANFA,
/ visit http://www.nanfa.org Please make sure all posts to nanfa-l are
/ consistent with the guidelines as per
/ http://www.nanfa.org/guidelines.shtml To subscribe, unsubscribe, or get
/ help, visit the NANFA email list home page and archive at
/ http://www.nanfa.org/email.shtml