increasing duck populations on streams is the creation of new ponds through dam construction. These structures are normally placed in locations where a large expanse of water can be achieved by the installation of a small dam. Biologists and engineers have installed fishways where necessary to allow trout and salmon passage but, in certain cases where spring flow into the pond is low, the shallow water pond can cause sufficient temperature increases to force trout away from the outflows of these impoundments. This occurs somewhere in the 25 to 28 degree Centigrade range. Temperatures over 30 degrees can be lethal to trout and salmon and they will hold or move to cooler water areas in the stream or pond such as spring holes. While these temperatures in the mid to upper 205 can cause problems for trout and salmon, they may assist frogs and salamanders by causing a more rapid growth rate in the egg and larval stages.

Another interesting facet of stream management is the choice between beavers, trout, or salmon. Numerous beaver flowages can create the same temperature problems to which certain shallow water ponds are susceptible. The larger dams can prevent the free movement of trout and salmon to spawning grounds in the spring holes or gravel in the upper portion of the stream until high enough water levels are reached for trout and salmon to jump or swim over the dam. The dams also trap large quantities of silt which will bury any gravel rendering it useless for salmon and trout spawning. Frogs and salamanders on the other hand find beaver dams almost perfect places to breed as they utilize slow moving water. If the beaver dams are concentrated in the lower reaches of a stream they are a bigger impediment to fish passage while, in the upper often shallow reaches, they may cause temperature problems. The success of the anti-fur lobby will cause a large increase in beavers in our streams.

There is also a basic choice between salmon and trout enhancement. Salmon prefer faster water areas than trout in their juvenile stages and they will normally displace brook trout from this preferred habitat. Salmon leave the stream when the become smolt (the stage where they undergo a change in body chemistry to allow them to survive in salt water) and return as 2 1/2 to 5 pound grilse (1 year at sea) or large salmon (2 or more years at sea). At this time they require deep, cold water pools to hold in until they spawn. Habitat managers must thus modify the habitat to meet the particular development goals of the individuals implementing management. The faster waters preferred by both salmon and trout are not particularly good spawning areas for salamanders or gaspereaux.

Even when the choice is salmon, managers in certain streams are also asking “early run“ or “late run". They are normally trying to increase the angling potential of the salmon run and there is limited fishing potential if the salmon do not return to our streams until late in the year. The early run is normally achieved by capturing early run salmon in New Brunswick, culturing the eggs at the Cardigan fish hatchery, and releasing these young salmon to the stream or a semi-natural rearing pond.

So, which of the options would you choose? The choices are real. Someone must decide which species or species mix is the most appropriate. Someone must decide how the stream can be altered. It is important that the impacts of the

Spoiled Salammdu

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