Big Spring Restoration Model

There are many models of improving Big Spring in terms of geomorphology etc. but most of them are wrong.  The PFBC has its own ideas and those ideas have a dark side because the last thing they want is this to become the world class brook trout fishery it once was. This was amplified when Dr. Austen basically tried to say at the so called Big Spring Symposium that we really didn't know the history of this stream.  Furthermore, the PFBC denies that this was every such a fishery even though Big Spring has one of the more documented fly fishing brook trout histories in the world.  The PFBC still denies the history including what Fox, Marinaro and others have written  The PFBC is now on course to remove the remnants of the old mills.  In my estimation they have a reason for this.  There reason is that they do not want any of the history remaining for the less than observant fly fishermen to understand.

Because when these mills were present the fishing was great.  You must remember they kept the brook trout back then and Charlie Fox, Vince Marinaro, Rossy Trimmer, Gene Utech and others all said the same thing that you couldn't hurt the trout population.  Well that should give you some indication of the proper model that should be applied. Furthermore, the trout actually use some of these old pieces as habitat.

If you took an aerial shot of Big Spring back then you would see that it resembled a series of small ponds connected by channels!  Go take a look at some of the videos from Great Britain on the River Test.  If you understand the biology of brook trout you would immediately realize that this is optimum habitat for spawning and growth. Brook trout spawn well in spring fed ponds and this is how the trout behaved in the so called "mill ponds" of yesteryear. Remember brook trout will find the upwellings (and downwellings) and use them to their advantage in the thin veneer of gravel that the other trout, browns and rainbows cannot use as well.

Remember in most sections of a limestone spring creek or English chalk stream the key to habitat for trout would be the macrophyte community.  What would happen if the old remnants of some of these dams were rebuilt in a modern state to control the flow with mini-locks or gates like some of the English streams? The stream would return to its best state in flow regime and biological communities. It would look like a series  of small ponds with channels connecting them. This fly fishing paradise which would show that the PFBC and DEP do not have clue on how to manage this stream.

The Rosgen method of geomorphological restoration has many problems and does not lend itself to limestone spring creeks in general especially on Big Spring. Many of the leading geomorphologists in the country like Dr. David Montgomery of Washington University and others question the overall concept as practiced by Rosgen and his group.  Furthermore, many of the so called "engineering firms" who take Rosgen's weekend seminars and courses seem to lack a significant understanding of the overall ecology of streams and often end up homogenizing substrate and current speed in their projects which destroys biodiversity of the invertebrate community.

The PFBC wants to prove that brook trout shouldn't take over this stream and there is no doubt in my mind that they may get their way especially since the Big Spring Watershed Association seems to have lost their focus and allowing the PFBC to run the agenda.  The same PFBC who said that they didn't destroy the stream and Dr. Austen who said that we will never know if it was habitat or the hatchery that caused the collapse of the fishery now believe they work on a stream that they know little about. That one statement tells you all you need to know about the competence of Austen because if you've read the stuff on this site and looked at the photos and videos you should now understand that MACROPHYTES control the habitat for most trout in these types of spring creeks and the English chalks streams look the same!!!!! Macrohytes control the cycles, water flow, habitat, invertebrates and a lots of other things.  Have you ever heard Austen or the PFBC mention this?