apalachicola riverkeeper the mission of apalachicola riverkeeper is to provide stewardship and...

Apalachicola Riverkeeper

The Mission of Apalachicola Riverkeeper is to provide stewardship and advocacy for the protection of the Apalachicola River and Bay, its tributaries and watersheds, in order to improve and maintain its environmental integrity

and to preserve the natural, scenic, recreational, and commercial fishing character of these waterways.

Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint

(ACF) River Basin

•19,600 Sq Mi Basin

•Chattahoochee River -Corps operates 5 Federal Reservoirs

•Flint River - Breadbasket of the SE (no federal reservoirs)

Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint

(ACF) River Basin

• Corps Authorized uses:

Hydropower, Flood Control, Navigation, Recreation, Fish & Wildlife, (Atlanta M&I added by Court)

• Other needs met:

Agriculture, M&I, Water Quality, Cooling, Recreation, Apalachicola River, Floodplain and Bay

Apalachicola River, Floodplain and Bay

Largest forested floodplain in Florida (112,000 acres)

Highest Species Diversity of any River System in

North America

UNESCO Biosphere Reserve

Outstanding Florida Water (OFW)

Fishing Sites

Link

ing

Coas

tal W

ater

shed

s to

Fis

herie

s Habitat Linkages – fisheries

Bay ProductivityBay ProductivityHarvestHarvest

$200 million Local Seafood Industry, 90% of Florida Oysters, and 10% of US

oysters, plus shrimp, crab and finfish.

In 1994, Five Million lbs. of Seafood

were produced from the Apalachicola Bay region.

90% of all harvested species must spend some part of their life cycle inshore on the

marsh and seagrass environment, even the grouper caught offshore must rely on

this healthy environment.

Commercial fisheries of Eastern Gulf value to west Florida over $5 Billion

dollars per year

Summary of Major Impacts:DECLINING RIVER STAGE

Reduced flowWoody debris removal

Loss of Fish Habitat and FishReduction of aquatic species

DRYING OUT OF FLOODPLAIN FORESTDecrease in Forests Density

Loss of 4 million treesDisconnected Sloughs

DECLINING SEAFOOD HARVESTRiver flow drives productivity of the Bay and Eastern Gulf

Loss of Nutrients and Organics Increased Salinity, Temperature and Disease

Chain reaction thru Food Chain

Natural Features

of river and floodplain

Point Bar used for

Disposal Site

Cut bank

Slough

Levee

Swamp

Main channel

Forest Types Distributed by Elevation

Floodplain slough

Upland

Swamps

High Bottomland Hardwoods

Main channel

Low Bottomland Hardwoods

River Level Controls Water in Floodplain

Floodplain slough

Upland

Swamps

High Bottomland Hardwoods

Main channel

Low Bottomland Hardwoods

River Level Controls Water in Floodplain

Floodplain slough

Upland

Swamps

High Bottomland Hardwoods

Main channel

Low Bottomland Hardwoods

River Level Controls Water in Floodplain

Floodplain slough

Upland

Swamps

High Bottomland Hardwoods

Main channel

Low Bottomland Hardwoods

River Level Controls Water in Floodplain

Floodplain slough

Upland

Swamps

High Bottomland Hardwoods

Main channel

Low Bottomland Hardwoods

High and Low Water Seasons(before 1954)

Floodplain slough

Upland

Swamps

High Bottomland Hardwoods

Main channel

Low Bottomland Hardwoods

Fall

Summer

Early Spring

Severe drought

Impacts of reduced flow and deeper, wider channel

High water

Impacts of reduced flow and deeper, wider channel

Low water

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

30,000

35,000

40,000

45,000

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Flo

w,

in c

ub

ic f

eet

per

sec

on

d2007 Flow in relation to Average Flow

Apalachicola River at Chattahoochee, FL

Average flow 1922-2007

2007 flow

85% of Apalachicola

River fish species

use floodplain

Stagnant conditions develop if sloughs are isolated for long periods

Fish trapped in floodplain will

die if water dries up in

isolated pools

• From the time Crawfish emerge from the ground, they are a major food source for fish, eels, turtles, otter, frogs, snakes, beaver, possum, young alligator, birds, and raccoons.

• High water is the time when aquatic species migrate into the floodplain to spawn and forage.

Crawfish Integral Part of Food Chain

Crawfish Lifecycle

• After foraging above ground to regain weight, crawfish begin to spawn.

• In the mating process, males place a sperm packet on the underside of the female's belly.

Male top; female bottom

Crawfish Lifecycle

• She passes the eggs through the sperm down on to her tail and attaches them to the swimmerets, feathery apertures on the underside of the back section of her body.

• After the sperm packet is placed on the underside of the female crawfish, she curls up her tail and expresses the eggs.

• After being released into water columns by the mothers, babies settle to the bottom and begin to forage and grow.

• In 6-8 weeks they are large enough to catch in baskets.

Crawfish Lifecycle

Summary of Major Impacts:DECLINING RIVER STAGE

Reduced flowWoody debris removal

Loss of Fish Habitat and FishReduction of aquatic species

DRYING OUT OF FLOODPLAIN FORESTDecrease in Forests Density

Loss of 4 million treesDisconnected Sloughs

DECLINING SEAFOOD HARVESTRiver flow drives productivity of the Bay and Eastern Gulf

Loss of Nutrients and Organics Increased Salinity, Temperature and Disease

Chain reaction thru Food Chain