Growing Better Bass Habitat Across North Carolina
Written By: Barrett Rhymes
Healthy fisheries start with healthy habitat. In North Carolina, the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, anglers, and conservation partners are working together to restore native aquatic vegetation across the state.
Through our 10% Pledge, AFTCO has committed $100,000 to support the NCWRC’s native aquatic plant program and expand the agency’s ability to grow and establish vegetation in reservoirs and other freshwater systems.
This year, the new aquatic plant greenhouse helped the NCWRC produce and plant more than 8,000 native aquatic plants across North Carolina. The facility also has the potential to increase production capacity by an estimated 400% to 500%, allowing biologists to expand habitat restoration efforts statewide.
Building Better Bass Habitat
Improving bass habitat and freshwater fisheries is nothing new for the NCWRC. Early habitat projects focused on sinking Christmas trees to create structure for fish before the agency expanded its work to include artificial structures. About 15 years ago, the commission began incorporating aquatic vegetation into its habitat projects as natural vegetation declined and biologists gained a better understanding of its role in healthy fisheries.
North Carolina has more than 100 reservoirs, while the NCWRC currently conducts roughly four to five revegetation projects each year. Increased native plant production could help the commission expand that work to more waters across the state.
Growing Native Plants
One of the primary species grown at the Sykes Aquatic Habitat Nursery in Mebane, North Carolina, is water willow. Water willow grows along shorelines and in shallow water, creating cover and habitat for fish. It is relatively easy to grow and establish, making it useful for large-scale habitat restoration projects. Its woody stems are generally less attractive to herbivores such as turtles, beavers and muskrats, which can improve the plants’ chances of surviving after they are planted.
The nursery also produces pickerelweed, eelgrass, American pondweed and spatterdock. Together, these native species provide habitat across different depths and areas of a reservoir. The greenhouse also gives NCWRC biologists an opportunity to study which plants perform best under different environmental conditions.
Anglers in Action
North Carolina B.A.S.S. Nation anglers have a long history of supporting freshwater conservation in the state and have already volunteered on aquatic vegetation projects.
As production capacity grows, the agency hopes to expand that involvement through a potential “Adopt a Reservoir” program. The concept would give anglers and conservation groups an opportunity to work alongside NCWRC biologists to identify habitat needs and help establish native vegetation in specific reservoirs.
Expanding Habitat Restoration
AFTCO’s $100,000 commitment will help the NCWRC expand native plant production, restore habitat in more North Carolina waters, and involve more anglers and conservation groups in local habitat projects.
