cfrw.us Blog

First Saturday Seminar – Cape Fear COASTKEEPER® Mike Giles will be the featured speaker and “Political Advocacy” will the be the topic at June’s First Saturday Seminar on Saturday, June 7th at 9:00am at Cape Fear River Watch’s Environmental Education Center at 617 Surry St. in Wilmington. The North Carolina Coastal Federation will be taking an especially active role among the Watershed Alliance at this year’s Clean Water Lobby Day on June 4th – releasing their “State of the Coast” report and championing the proposed new stormwater rules – and Mike will be the perfect speaker to give a rundown of accomplishments by this year’s crop of grassroots lobbyists. He will also provide us with the inside dish on what important current conservation legislation most bears watching not only during the coming legislative session in Raleigh, but on the local and national levels as well. Who says advocacy can’t be a thrilling spectator sport? As usual: pancakes at 8:30, seminar at 9:00.

Fans of the Cape Fear River might want to pick up a copy of this month’s Snow’s Cut Monthly and read the article “River Runners.” The article tells the tale of an expedition by 5 teenage boys from Haw River, NC down the length of the Cape Fear in 1958.

The one tale that greatly captivated me was the challenge of floating in a flat-bottom river boat to the Cape Fear River, and then on to the Atlantic Ocean, some 200 miles by water from my home in Haw River. According to the town locals who hung out at the Pure Oil Station, known to some as the Haw River Country Club, there were rumors that a hearty band of men had indeed floated to the Atlantic Ocean back during the mid- ‘20s.

The boys saw the river in all its glory. From the idyllic . . .

A large sand bar had emerged and provided us with this unbelievable swimming hole and camping spot. There is nothing more fun than a dip in the cool waters of the Cape Fear and later feasting on some fried fish cooked on an open fire.

To the more realistic . . .

Around Riglewood,(sic) a pulp mill provided enough stench to keep us awake and the white pollution reflecting the moon’s glow made night navigation possible.

Compare this 1958 summer trip down the river to John Pugh’s 2006 November paddle down the river. Yes, one expedition relied on a 10hp outboard and the other was a paddle powered, and no, Pugh didn’t feel the need to take along a .22 for protection against gators and snakes like his predecessors, but there are more similarities than differences.

The following position statement was adopted by the Cape Fear River Watch Board of Directors on the recommendation of its Advocacy Committee:

Bringing Back the Cape Fear River Fisheries

A Return of Abundance

Established in 1993, Cape Fear Riverwatch is a non-profit organization dedicated to the improvement and preservation of the health, beauty, cleanliness, and heritage of the Cape Fear River basin. Our mission is to protect and improve the water quality of the Lower Cape Fear River Basin through education, advocacy and action.

Background:

In 1910, the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) authorized the construction of the first of three lock and dams on the Cape Fear River. Lock and Dam #1 was completed in 1915 and shortly afterward Lock and Dam #2 was constructed in 1917. And in 1935, William O. Huske Lock and Dam (Lock and Dam #3) was completed. The three lock and dams on the Cape Fear River are located at 39, 71, and 95 miles above Wilmington, North Carolina. These structures were initially authorized by the USACE to ensure a navigable channel for commercial barge traffic from Wilmington to Fayetteville, 111 miles upriver. For many years, river commerce thrived and industries flourished.
While the economies of Fayetteville, Wilmington and the surrounding counties prospered as a result of river commerce, anadromous fish populations such as American shad, Striped bass, Blue back herring, Atlantic and Shortnose sturgeon began to decline. These fish spend their entire lives in the ocean and return to the rivers where they were born in order to spawn. These fish must have access to their traditional spawning grounds located far above Fayetteville in order to support their populations. Now there was a concrete structure blocking the way. The year after Lock and Dam #1 was completed, the Wilmington Morning Star printed an article about the immediate collapse of the shad fishery above Lock and Dam #1. American shad, prior to the construction of the lock and dam system on the Cape Fear River, was considered to be the most economically valuable fish species in North Carolina. Local communities that depended upon the return of American shad every year were now struggling without the extra incomes provided by this fish that once turned the river silver with their incredible numbers. For many decades the fading fisheries that supported so many families were ignored in exchange for commercial growth of the Cape Fear region. Presently, the American shad spawning runs up the Cape Fear River are but a shadow of their historical numbers. Shortnose sturgeon are listed as an “Endangered Species” in the Cape Fear River by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The Blue back herring fishery, just as economically important to many eastern communities as the American shad fishery was in the early twentieth century, now has a total fishing ban in the Cape Fear River basin.
In 1997, a fish ladder was installed at Lock and Dam #1 to aid American shad and Blue back herring to pass over the dam and gain access to an additional 33 miles of river. However, the fish ladder failed to pass an adequate number of fish nor was it successful in passing other species of anadromous fish such as sturgeon or striped bass. A nature-like fish passage was then proposed by the USACE and would involve re-creating a stream through the adjacent floodplain at Lock and Dam #1 which would allow migrating fish to swim around the dam and re-enter the Cape Fear River approximately 2000 feet upstream of the Dam. Beginning in 2002, the USACE began studying the pre-construction conditions of the Cape Fear River from Lock and Dam #1 to Wilmington. This study would include a comprehensive tag and recapture program tracking the migratory patterns of anadromous fish species of the Cape Fear River. For three years American shad, Striped bass, and Atlantic sturgeon were captured, fitted with sonic tags, and tracked up and down the Cape Fear River in order to learn more about their current population and the extent to which these fish utilize the Cape Fear River in their life histories. This study documented the presence of a small population of American shad and Striped bass that still return to the river each year. It also documented the absence of sturgeon species as well, confirming the realities of a river system segmented by dams. Even though the USACE has been performing regular passage of fish through the lock chambers at all three dams for many years, the numbers of fish that actually pass to the upstream side of the dams are minimal. It is estimated that only 40% of the fish that reach Lock and Dam #1 pass through the regular lock passages. Repeat this scenario at the remaining two lock and dams and it is easy to see that only a very small number of the fish needed to sustain a healthy population are actually reaching their spawning grounds. In 2005, due to funding difficulties at the federal level, the nature-like fish passage construction was postponed indefinitely and a study was instigated to re-evaluate the lock and dam system as a whole.

In 2006, the USACE began a study, Section 216, to re-evaluate the status of the three Lock and Dams and and to recommend a plan for their future. These lock and dams were constructed to maintain a navigable channel for commercial traffic between Wilmington and Fayetteville. However, from 1965 to 1995, commercial traffic steadily declined and in 1995, only one barge was reported to have been passed through Lock and Dam #1 during the entire year. The bulk of the usage for three lock and dams has been locking recreational boats up and down river. The USACE still incurs an annual cost of $1 million dollars in order to operate and maintain these lock and dams even though they are not performing their intended purpose. Currently the USACE is studying the feasibility of either changing the purpose of the dams, altering the construction of the dams in order to provide fish passage, removing the dams, or de-authorizing the dams to allow a private entity to take over their control and maintenance. This study is still on-going and is near completion. Many factors have to be examined and considered before a final plan for the lock and dams can be approved. Most importantly, the City of Wilmington and Lower Brunswick Sewer Authority both have water supply intakes located just upstream of Lock and Dam #1. The City of Fayetteville depends upon Lock and Dam # 3 for creating a dependable water supply. These secondary uses of the lock and dams (providing consistent water supplies) poses a difficult problem because these facilities cannot be moved or altered without great expense.
Position: The Board of Directors of Cape Fear River Watch (CFRW), a community grassroots organization whose mission is conservation of the Cape Fear River, is concerned about the future of the lock and dam system on the Cape Fear River. Anadromous fish populations such as the Striped bass, American Shad, Blueback herring and Shortnose and Atlantic sturgeons have suffered from human impacts throughout their range, from water quality degradation in the Cape Fear watershed, overfishing in the ocean and river, and perhaps most significantly, the lack of adequate passage through the lock and dam system on the Cape Fear River effectively eliminating access to historical spawning grounds far above Fayetteville. We encourage the USACE to continue its current “216 Study” of the changing role of the aging lock and dam system on the Cape Fear River and to consider all feasible alternatives to the locks that achieve the goals of all stakeholders with an interest in the Cape Fear River Basin. Cape Fear River Watch strongly supports the current alternative posed by the USACE to place rock arch rapids on the downstream side of each dam in order to provide sufficient passage of anadromous fish over the top of the dams versus through the lock chambers.
Action:In order to facilitate the transfer of information from the USACE to the general public, CFRW has initiated a public forum, inviting members of public to participate in an exchange of questions and ideas with representatives of the USACE, N. C. Wildlife Resource Commission, N. C. Department of Natural Resources, City of Wilmington, and U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Cape Fear River Watch is dedicated to preserving and restoring fish populations to the Cape Fear River and promotes any initiatives aimed at improving fish passage around the three lock and dams. However, CFRW will not support any change which will jeopardize municipal water supply. CFRW will strongly encourage that there be thorough consideration given to the benefits that could be derived from the establishment of rock weirs at the locks and the ultimate acquisition of the surrounding land for the establishment of a Park. Cape Fear River Watch will continue to monitor the USACE Section 216 study and will attempt to keep the public informed as to the status of the Cape Fear River lock and dams. Cape Fear River Watch strongly supports any efforts to restore fish populations to the Cape Fear River system. Successful recovery of these once prolific fish populations will have tremendous impacts upon the Cape Fear region both ecologically and economically. Larger, predatory fish species, such as king mackerel would return in great numbers to feed on the bounty of shad and blue back herring thus attracting the lucrative recreational fishing industry to invest in our coastal communities. Striped bass would return to the Cape Fear River in numbers like those of Roanoke and Hudson Rivers. A return of shad and herring would also support greater populations of the wildlife which draws us to the water including bottlenose dolphin, wading birds, osprey, and otters.

Sincerely,

CFRW Board of Directors