Mark and all
THose who attended, I wish to say thanks. I thought the boater to angler representation was highly in favor of the boaters this year, which was unfortunate.
As for the Plan itself, I need to dive into it more and digest it. However, overall I think this is a step backwards from previous years. As I understand it, the Plan calls for more water in the reservoir, however the distribution of the water is questionable. By that I mean it appears all the water is planned to be used early in the recreational season and pray for rain near the end.
The Target min release volumes have been reduced and there is NO increase in augmentation values from previous years. In fact I will find it hard to believe if we see more than 50 cfs above inflow this season (if 100 cfs is coming into FEW that equals a 150 cfs release). The Plan states 50-250 cfs for augmentation, but there is nothing I found that shows how that is to be determined.
All this does not appear to bode well for the Lehighs aquatic resources. As I understand it, it appears Mr. Sauls (ACOE) has way to much flexibility in how he is going to release the water and I fear the worst for various reasons and past track record.
I will say they finally made some concessions for anglers in the beginning of April and October...but other than that, not much else for the angler or trout.
This is my first impression on the Plan. Once again it appears the fish will get the shaft. What really burns me is that the last 3 years there was a steady progression to increase the volume of water in the river. This seemed like good steps forward to building towards a "real plan" for the future of this fishery once the Water Quality/Flow Modeling study is complete.
I hope our PFBC stays on top of this situation all summer long to make sure the river and trout are recieving their fair share.
The bypass valves will be replaced at the end of the season with 2 new and improved models.
More to come.... if my opinion changes otherwise.
:-x
