Volume 7
Issue 3
 

 
THE HELP STOP POACHING TELEPHONE NUMBER IS 1-800-831-1174.  CALL BETWEEN 7am and midnight, 7 days per week.

When: March 14, 2002
Where: Piccadilly Cafeteria, Johnson City Mall, on N. Roan Street
Program: Mike Adams on fishing Watauga River trophy section
Program: 6pm-7pm Board Meeting (members and guests welcome) 7pm program
 
NEW OFFICERS AND BOARD—OVERMOUNTAIN CHAPTER OF TROUT UNLIMITED
President & Chairman of Board-- Jim Davis  --423-378-3880
Secretary—Charles Gibson  --423-239-9655
Treasurer—James Chandler  --423-239-5065
Immediate Past President—Charles Martin—423-245-4966

Board               Committees
Oct. 1999-Sept. 2002 term Tom Hensley  Membership – Don Kreh
           Elaine Walker
           Bill Beazell
           Foster Levy
                             Communications – James Chandler
                              Bill Beazell
 
Oct. 2000—Sept. 2003 term James Chandler  Program – Bob Sherrill

Oct.2001—Sept. 2004 term Bob Sherrill  Resources – Bill Beazell
            Charles Martin
       Public Relations – Danny Sells
Oct. 2001—Sept. 2002 term Danny Sells
             Bob Viers  Web Master – Ken Chase

Honorary Member—Marcia Carter

        Financial – Charles Martin
        Development
 
RIVER AND STREAM WATCH TEAM LEADERS

S. And N. Indian Creeks – Elaine Walker and Foster Levy
Watauga tail water – Margie Stratton and John McKee
South Holston tail water – Bob Viers
Doe River - Bob Bierbaum
Hampton Creek – Bob Bierbaum
Doe Creek  - To be filled
Patrick Henry tail waters – To be filled
Beaverdam Creek – To be filled
 
OVERMOUNTAIN CALENDER OF EVENTS

April 5 Deadline for home delivery of April Newscaster
        11 Monthly chapter meeting-Tim Landis fishing boundary waters
        19 Deadline for submitting materials for May Newscaster
        27 TU Tennessee Council meeting on Hiwassee River

May 3 Deadline for home delivery of May Newscaster
        9 Board of directors meeting (members and guests welcome)
18 Watauga River clean up
21 & 22 Major clean up of S. Holston Weir
* Annual chapter rendezvous at Wonderland Hotel (Great Smokey Mountains)
      24 Deadline for submitting materials for June Newscaster

June 7 Deadline for home delivery of June Newscaster
      13 Monthly chapter meeting with outdoor program
      21 Deadline for submitting materials for July Newscaster

July 5 Deadline for home delivery of July Newscaster
      11 Monthly chapter meeting with outdoor program
      19 Deadline for submitting materials for August Newscaster
      20 TU/ TVA/ TWRA/ USFS Coldwater Cooperative Meeting in Knoxville

August 2 Deadline for home delivery of August Newscaster
             8 Monthly chapter meeting with outdoor program
 10 South Holston River clean up
           14-18 TU National Convention Portland, Maine
           23 Deadline for submitting materials for September Newscaster
*TU National Convention

September 6 Deadline for home delivery of September Newscaster
                  12 Annual meeting for election of new officers
         * Roan Mountain Burleson clean up
*Date to be announced later

Hello to all.  As you know, the weather remains unseasonably mild with
no major storms in our area so far this winter. Fish are becoming more
active and we have had some good fishing reports on area streams and
rivers.  There has however, been a storm of activity by chapter members
on a number of fronts in the past month!

We have attended TU leadership meetings in Townsend, Tennessee; attended
joint TWRA, TVA, TU, and USFS meeting in Knoxville; attended a Tennessee
TU council meeting in Knoxville; stocked three streams -- North Indian,
Laurel Fork and Beaverdam Creeks--each with 5,000 fingerling brown
trout.  We are preparing to help TWRA stock fingerling rainbows in Doe
Creek just upstream of Watauga Lake.  We had an outing to Paint Creek to
explore year 2001 flood damage and had reasonable success fishing the
newly designated Delayed Harvest waters.  Individuals and committees
have been hard at work on publicity and planning for spring and summer
meetings, activities and outings. We welcome 17 new members to the
Chapter. FULL DETAILS are included in this March issue of the
NEWSCASTER.
 
PLEASE REMEMBER TO ATTEND the March 14, 2002 regular meeting at the
Piccadilly Cafeteria in the Johnson City Mall. Business meeting at 6 PM
and Program at 7 PM.  Mike Adams will present a program "Fishing The
Watauga River Trophy Section".

There is a place for you in the Overmountain Chapter. I encourage your
active involvement in the chapter.  Come out to swap some fish stories
and hear what Mike Adams has to say about the Watauga at our March 14
meeting.  Come out to join in our fun and work outings.  Come out to
meet new friends, to learn more about our rivers and streams and to help
with worthwhile projects.   We can have fun and enjoyment, plus by
working together, we can make a difference to help preserve, protect
and restore coldwater fisheries and their watersheds in northeast Tennessee.

Hope to see you soon!
Jim

MEMBERSHIP

Special welcome goes out to the following individuals who have joined TU
in the past two months and already are actively attending chapter
meetings and outings.

Jim Carroll -Gate City, VA          Charles Murray –Johnson City                      Gary Scheve -Kingsport
   Bill Carter -Jonesborough           Mike O'Neill -Kingsport
   Rick Currie -Kingsport              Jerry Robinette -Kingsport

Another ten (10) individuals were assigned as new members to our chapter
by National TU.  We are getting chapter information to all of these and
look forward to their active participation also. If you know any of
these, please extend them a personal invitation to get involved.

James Boles -Fall Branch             Jerry Headrick -Kingsport                           Derrick Lowe -Gray
   Jimmy Dobes -Johnson City            Eric Kent -Kingsport
   Vic Taasan -Johnson City      Jack Tate -Kingsport
   Mike Gregory -Piney Flats            Nelson Link –Bristol

Twelve (12) members have paid their renewal dues to Overmountain Chapter
Treasurer James Chandler.  Great!  Please recall that dues collected at
the chapter level will net more rebate dollars from National TU. See
the" EASY MONEY" section for all details and be sure to get your renewal
check to James by mail or at one of the meetings.

EASY MONEY

Please renew your National TU membership through the Overmountain Chapter.  The chapter receives $5.00 for each renewal and $10.00 for each new membership.  We send it to National TU. Make your checks payable to TROUT UNLIMITED and either give to James Chandler, our treasurer, or mail to him at:
  James Chandler
  304 Countryshire Court
  Kingsport, Tn.37663
If you sign up a new member, instead of mailing their check to National TU, give it to James Chandler.  Also, we can use this easy money.

SOUTH HOLSTON TAILWATER VIOLATIONS

Rick Bivins Region 4 Fisheries Biologist received records (July 2000-July 2001) from Gary Mc Wherter, assistant law enforcement supervisor showing a total of eight violations in which cases were made.  Four were for fishing without a license; two were for fishing in a closed area, one for fishing without permission and one for possession of marijuana.

BROWN TROUT STOCKINGS

On Saturday February 9, three groups from our chapter and one from the Cherokee Chapter stocked 20,000 brown trout fingerlings in Beaverddam, Laurel Fork, North Indian and Camp creeks. Ron Harrington, Lance Howser, Jere Howser, and Bill Beazell stocked upper Beaverdam.  Don Kreh, Bob Bierbaum, and Mike O’Neal stocked Laurel Fork downstream from Dennis Cove. Elaine Walker and Foster Levy stocked North Indian Creek.

JOINT TVA, TU, TWRA, USFS MEETING

On January 26, James Chandler, Danny Sells, Bob Sherrill, Jim Davis and Bill Beazell attended the semi annual Cooperative Program Meeting for Enhancing Cold Water Streams in Knoxville.

With regard to the Weir Dam maintenance, TVA does major cleaning twice a year, and plans minor cleaning monthly.  We complained about results, with the effects on water flow and offered to help.

We strongly protested the North American settlement, pointing out TWRA’s need for funds and the unfairness to fisherman of a $100,000 settlement for the destruction of a fishery valued from 1 to 3 million dollars.

Topics discussed were:

GSM National Park Brook trout restoration
Tellico headwaters monitoring and Big Cove habitat improvement
Caney Fork update
Reservation operation study and spill management / notification
Clinch River bank stabilization and Coal Creek restoration
Elk River watershed update
South Holston Weir Dam maintenance
Watauga fish kill settlement
Hiwassee River update and Occoee Tributary fishing regulations

TENNESSEE COUNCIL TU MEETING

The Tennessee Council meets quarterly in Knoxville.  There are 9 TU chapters with 3,000 members in the council.

At the January 26 meeting, three main items were discussed- council funds, the Tennessee Conservation League and the proposed road on the north shore of Fontana Lake.  Kirk Otey, TU Southeast Region V.P. asked individuals to write their U.S. Congress representatives.

Council voted to send a letter to the chapters asking for funds to support the council.  Council also voted to join the Tennessee Conservation League (the most influential conservation organization in the state).
GUIDE TO ENVIRONMENTAL LAW AND REQULATION

This month we are going to review the why and how of becoming involved in the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit process.  If we are going to change water quality, the NPDES permit process is our best opportunity.  We expect the Tennessee Department of Environmental and Conservation (TDEC) to include all up-to –date requirements in each permit issued, but how these requirements appear in the language of each permit can vary widely, and the variations could result in critical water quality impacts.

Every permit will require a specific limit for discharge of each pollutant, but how the permit specifies compliance with that limit may vary widely.  Such variation means the permit may not protect water quality and aquatic life. For example, if the permit requires continuous monitoring, compliance is assured.  Experience has shown, however, that as the frequency of monitoring decreases the probability of compliance also decreases.  So if the pollutant is deadly and / or the aquatic zone is fragile, you must insist on frequency of monitoring which is adequate for protection.

Also some permits allow, “mixing zones” which assume that pollutants will dilute in the receiving water and allow a pollutant to exceed their allowable limits at the point of discharge.  Even the boundary of mixing zones must be carefully evaluated to test if the permit will protect the resource.

NPDES permitting is not limited to industrial point-off discharge permits.  TDEC have recently been involved in permitting storm water run off from communities with population greater than 10,000, construction sited as small as one acre, animal feed lots, run-off from agricultural operations, and others.  All these sources affect the quality of our coldwater resources, which is another reason why we must become involved in this process.

The “how to become involved” is easy.  This is where our River watch / Stream watch teams enter the picture.  As each team become organized their first responsibility will be to evaluate the condition of their assigned resource (more on this process in a future Newscaster).  Second they must inventory the sources of pollution, which impact their resource and rank each source in order of degree of threat to water quality.  Third, the river watch / stream watch teams must become involved in the protection of their assigned water.  This involvement will mean taking the pollution sources in descending order of threat and seriously reviewing the NPDES permit for that resource.  Such a review includes:
 1 Questioning TWRA biologists concerning their views of the permit’s limits and
    conditions
 2 Discussions with other volunteer environmental organizations to determine
               their views of the permit’s limits and conditions.
 3 Reviewing the permit’s limits and conditions with the environmental counsel at
    TU headquarters.
 4 Using your imagination
When this review is completed, inadequacies in the permit limits and conditions should be targets for discussion with the owners/management of the source and action during the hearings preceding the next reissue of the permit (more on participation in public hearings in a future issue).

The river watch / stream watch teams must:
 1 Ask federal and state agencies to add the team leader to their Email list for
    announcing proposed new regulations and other agency actions such as
    proposed reclassification of the designated use of the water.
 2 Appoint a member to regularly review appropriate web sites to discover
    proposed legislation of interest and announcements of hearings pertaining to
    reissue of NPDES permits.
 3 Observe the river or stream for problems or violations of permits and report
    each to the proper state agency.

Next month we will look at how the Over mountain Chapter plans to organize to use what we have learned to protect our resource.

ERWIN STATE FISH HATCHERY ANNUAL REPORT

Dave Lane made the following presentation to the chapter on February 14.

The hatchery’s primary responsibility is to stock the streams in East Tennessee from Johnson County to Cock County with catching size rainbow trout from late February into July.  Each year we release in excess of 80,000, 10 to 13 inch rainbows into 23 streams and 7 counties of East Tennessee.

Our trout come primarily from Buffalo Springs State Hatchery, located near Rutledge and are brought to our facility as fingerlings starting in April.  We feed and care for the trout until they are ready to stock the following spring.  We also hatch a limited number of eggs in our 2, eight tray incubators.

This year the rainbow is larger than normal due to the warm weather this fall and winter. The larger size fish will put a stress on the hatchery system because the spring fed water system can support limited poundage of fish.  The springs produce around 1200 to 1400 gallons per minute and are affected by drought and heavy rainfall.  This fall the water level dropped to just over 1100 gallons per minute, however the fish survived in good condition.

Construction of a wastewater settling system was completed in December of 2001 and has greatly reduced the amount of fish waste products going into our receiving stream.  We pump out the settling pond periodically into commercial septic trucks for disposal at the Johnson City wastewater facility.

ERWIN NATIONAL FISH HATCHERY ANNUAL REPORT

David Teague, a fishery biologist, made the following presentation to the chapter on February 14.

The Erwin hatchery is one of three federal hatcheries in the nation that provides disease free-eyed rainbow trout eggs to other federal and state hatcheries for their recreational fishing programs.  All the egg commitments of the hatchery were fulfilled with no significant problems experienced.

2001 Fish and Egg Statistics
  Fish currently on hand 43,000 trout weighing 28,881 pounds.
  Over 10 million eyed eggs shipped to 24 federal and state hatcheries and for research.
  Fish distributions for stocking Tennessee waters, 17,548 brood stock weighing 8,026
    pounds.  Cherokee tribal fishery waters, 13325 fish weighing 8,026 pounds, and
    Virginia waters received 1,340 fish weighing 4,010 pounds.

Hatchery Resources and Facilities
  2001 budget was $331,500, 2002 budget has not been determined.
  Staff of 5 permanent employees
  Water supply has 2 springs yielding 1200 GPM and a reuse and oxygen injection
    capability
  Fish and egg holding facilities are 24-8’x 100’ concrete raceways outside and 16
    concrete tanks inside and 27 egg incubators capable of holding 10 million eggs.

Other Activities
  Hatchery is active in two Ecosystem teams: Southern Appalachians and Lower
    Tennessee-Cumberland
 Hatchery is supporting imperiled fish recovery and restoration by assisting CFI, Inc.,
    of Knoxville
  Hatchery work with the Cherokee tribe to obtain funding to re-establish Appalachian
    brook trout in tributary streams of the reservation
Hatchery is assisting the Cherokee tribe as a consultant for their hatchery

Public Relations – News Stories

Danny Sells, our public relations chairman, requests all of you to give him any information of interest to the chapter (stories, fishing results, human interest items, etc.) and information for TV, radio and newspapers of interest to the general public.  Phone 423-477-3689.

OVERMOUNTAIN CHAPTER FISHING TRIP

If we can get enough interest we’ll try to schedule a trip to the Great Smokey Mountain National Park during May, June, or July.  Spend 2 nights/3 days at the Wonderland Hotel on the edge of the park.  Fish nearby streams and/or visit nearby attractions.  Hiking, shopping etc.  Approximate costs is $78/nite lodging.  Contact Bob Sherill at a chapter meeting or phone 276-623-0863.  Guests are encouraged.

CUSTOM ROD GIVEWAY

If you are entered, you do not have to be present, but please come to your March 14 meeting to receive this beautiful fishing rod built by Mike Adams.

PAINT CREEK FISHING

The chapter had an outing to Paint Creek on February 16 to explore
 the August 2001 flood damage.  Don Kreh, Danny Sells, Jim Davis, and Bill Beazell had fair success fishing the delayed harvest waters.
 

   MINUTES OF TU MEETING ON FEBRUARY 14, 2002

1. KEN CHASE SHOWED A 7 MIN VIDEO TAPE OF THE ACTIVITIES OF THE OVERMOUNTAIN  TU CHAPTER, WHICH CAN BE USED TO MAKE PRESENTATIONS TO CIVIC, EDUCATIONAL, AND OTHER GROUPS TO PROMOTE THE CHAPTER. KEN ALSO DISCUSSED AND CIRCULATED POSTER BOARD OF SEVERAL EMBRACE--A--STREAM PROJECTS COMPLEATED UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF THE BOONE WATERSHED PARTNERSHIP.

2. JIM DAVIS PROPOSED THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A SPECIAL PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE TO SERVE UNTIL THE ANNUAL MEETING IN SEPTEMBER 2002. THE PURPOSE OF THE COMMITTEE WILL BE TO PROPOSE REVISED BY-LAWS AT THE 2002 ANNUAL MEETING. HE ALSO ANNOUNCED THE APPOINTMENT OF RICK CURRIE TO SERVE AS CHAIRMAN OF THIS COMMITTEE.

3. JIM DAVIS PRESENTED A RESOLUTION FOR APPROVAL FOR AFFILIATION OF THE CHAPTER WITH THE TENNESSEE CONSERVATION LEAGUE (TCL) SINCE THEIR WATER QUALITY INITIATIVE IS CONSISTENT WITH THE MISSION OF TU. THE BOARD APPROVED THE RESOLUTION INCLUDING THE PAYMENT OF $4 FOR ALL MEMBERS OF THE BOARD TO BECOME FULL MEMBERS OF TCL, WHICH WILL ALSO QUALIFY THE CHAPTER AS AN AFFILIATE ORGANIZATION OF TCL.

4. BILL BEAZELL REPORTED ON THE TU/TVA/TWRA/USFS MEETING HELD 1/26. CONCERN WAS EXPRESSED ON THE SMALL SETTLEMENT ACCEPTED ON THE NRC FIRE AND THAT THE SOUTH HOLSTON WEIR DAM MAINTENANCE WAS NOT BEING DONE SATISFACTORILY. SEE ADDITIONAL DETAIL IN NEWSCASTER.

5. BILL BEAZELL REPORTED ON THE TU COUNCIL MEETING HELD 1/26. THE COUNCIL HAS REQUESTED THE CHAPTERS TO FINANCIALLY SUPPORT THE TU COUNCIL. SEE ADDITIONAL DETAIL IN NEWSCASTER.

6. DANNY SELLS REPORTED ON THE TU LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE HELD FEB 8-10. IT WAS AN EXCELLENT OPPORTUNITY TO GET ACQUAINTED WITH LEADERSHIP AND ACTIVITIES OF OTHER TU CHAPTERS IN OUR REGION.

7. DON KREH REPORTED ON THE PROPOSED FOOTHILLS PARKWAY FROM BRYSON CITY TO FONTANA. HE URGED ALL MEMBERS TO WRITE THEIR REPRESENTATIVES ASAP. INFO COVERING FACTS ON THE PROPOSAL AND NAMES AND ADDRESSES WILL BE DISTRIBUTED TO MEMBERS TO FACITATE LETTER WRITING.

8.DON KREH REPORTED ON RECENT STOCKING OF TROUT FINGERLINGS IN LAUREL FORK, NORTH INDIAN AND BEAVER DAM CREEKS. EXCEPT FOR A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF FINGERLINGS, WHICH DIED DURING TRANSPORT, THE STOCKING WAS A SUCCESS.

9. JIM DAVIS DISCUSSED THE ARTICLE IN TROUT MAGAZINE, WINTER 2002 ISSUE, and TITLED “EAST TENNESSEE TAILWATERS”. CONCERNS WERE EXPRESSED ABOUT DAMAGE REPORTED ON NRC FIRE WITH NO INFO ON STREAM RECOVERY TO DATE, ABOUT LACK OF INCLUSION OF LOCAL GUIDES AND FLY SHOPS, ABOUT NO LOCAL CONTACT OF AUTHOR, AND LOSS OF BUSINESS FOR LOCAL GUIDES DUE TO CANCELLATIONS BASED ON INFO IN THE ARTICLE. JIM PLANS TO CONTACT TROUT MAGAZINE RE THESE CONCERNS.

10. DON KREH REPORTED FOR MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE AND REQUESTED APPROVAL TO SEND LETTERS TO INACTIVE MEMBERS. MOTION WAS APPROVED TO COVER APPROX COST OF $30 FOR MAILINGS.

11. BILL BEAZELL REPORTED FOR RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT AND PROTECTION COMMITTEE. THE SOUTH HOLSTON CLEAN UP COALITION RECENTLY MET AND IT WAS LEARNED THE ORGANIZATION, WHICH PROVIDED LUNCH LAST YEAR, WOULD NOT DO SO THIS YEAR SO WORK IS UNDERWAY TO FIND A REPLACEMENT. BILL STRESSED THE NEED FOR CHAPTER MEMBERS TO PARTICIPATE IN THE SOUTH HOLSTON CLEAN--UP AND PICNIC THIS YEAR WHICH IS SCHEDULED FOR AUGUST 10. A MOTION WAS APPROVED FOR THE CHAPTER TO WRITE A LETTER TO DON SUNDQUIST ABOUT THE VERY LOW SETTLEMENT FOR THE NRC FIRE. MEMBERS WERE REQUESTED TO DO THE SAME. BILL WILL PREPARE A LETTER FOR THE CHAPTER AND PROVIDE INFORMATION MEMBERS CAN USE IN WRITING SUNDQUEST. WATAUGA RIVER CLEAN UP IS SCHEDULED FOR MAY 18. PLEASE PUT ON YOUR CALENDAR AND PLAN TO ATTEND.

12.THE TREASURER REPORTED A CURRENT CHAPTER BANK BALANCE OF $2074.39. COPIES OF BANK STATEMENTS, CHECKS AND OTHER FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS WERE AVAILABLE FOR REVIEW BY MEMBERS.

13. JIM DAVIS ANNOUNCED THAT A FIELD TRIP TO THE PAINT CREEK AREA FOR ORIENTATION TO THE STREAM AND FISHING WAS SCHEDULED FOR SATURDAY FEB 16.