July 2023 • Nebraskaland 53
by deer quite a bit. And we're seeing
some young oak trees, some seedlings.
It's a good thing."
An Evolving Stream
So far, the results in the stream aren't
exactly what biologists had hoped for.
Three electrofi shing surveys of the
stream since work was completed
have actually found far fewer trout
than surveys conducted prior to the
project. But biologists believe there are
reasons for the discrepancy and that
things will improve.
Flows in Long Pine Creek have, for
the most part, been above normal
since 2018, even during the severe
drought in 2022. Those conditions
make it much more diffi cult to sample
trout, which during normal or below
normal fl ows can be concentrated in a
few holes and easy to catch.
So, it is likely there are more fi sh in
this reach than biologists are able to
sample. It is also possible that, while
trout populations are fi ne upstream
at Long Pine SRA, many were fl ushed
out of the lower reaches of the stream
where fl ows were the highest. That
is what occurred in some sections of
the Big Thompson River in Colorado
during fl ooding in 2014. In one reach,
the trout population declined by 85
percent. Roberg said biologists there
have told him that fi shery has since
recovered, and it may take time for
Long Pine Creek to do the same.
Huenemann said biologists who
work on stream enhancement projects
in other states have told him that
while some work produces instant
results, which is what managers and
anglers hope for, sometimes it takes
years and multiple generations of fi sh
to establish a thriving population.
Additionally, the stream is still
evolving. "We went in there and
disrupted things, and the system
is still trying to balance out," said
Huenemann.
Measurements taken when the
project was completed and the two
years that followed found the depth
to be increasing and the velocity
decreasing in the pools below the
new structures. Those changes are
expected to stabilize.
With no breaks in the current prior
to the project, there was no water
buttercup, elodea or other aquatic
The fl athead chub, a species of concern in Nebraska, is one of eight species of native
fi shes that hadn't been sampled in the stream at Pine Glen WMA prior to the project
that biologists are fi nding there now.
