Wolf Creek NFH Partners with Ecological Services To Protect Laurel Dace

Wolf Creek National Fish Hatchery, in conjunction with the Tennessee Ecological Services Field Office, joined staff from the Tennessee Aquarium Conservation Institute (TNACI) to sample Bumbee Creek and Youngs Creek in Bledsoe and Rhea Counties. The purpose was to monitor stream levels and assess whether another rescue of Laurel Dace was needed. Staff worked with TNACI to rescue fish from Bumbee Creek and Youngs Creek previously this summer. When those rescues were conducted, some fish were left in larger pools that have been observed in past years to hold water through prolonged periods without rain; however, water levels had dropped considerably, and DO was less than 1 ppm. Based on those observations and the lack of meaningful rain in the extended forecast, it was decided to collect laurel dace that remain in the isolated pools and transfer the adult fish from Bumbee Creek to Wolf Creek National Fish Hatchery, where a 300-gal system was ready to receive them. Young-of-year fish collected from Bumbee Creek, and all fish collected from Youngs Creek, were transferred to TNACI.