Oklahoma Outside
Wildlife Department Hones in on State’s Stream Biology
W
hile boating and angling are a big part of the outdoor heritage in Oklahoma, few Oklahomans realize just how much diversity can be found in Oklahoma’s 78,500 miles of rivers and streams. “In Oklahoma we have about 175 different species of fi sh,” said Brandon Brown, streams technician for the Wildlife Department. Brown said the Oklahoma portion of the Illinois River has 80 species alone. “That’s more native species than some entire states,” he said. Recently the Wildlife Department has shifted the focus of its streams pro- gram from stream bank restoration, such as that performed at Lost Creek on the Lower Mountain Fork River, to more of a biological focus to help justify the need for setting in-stream fl ows. The state’s most recent “Oklahoma Water Plan” acknowledges the need to set stream fl ows for aquatic resource conserva- tion, and Brown along with other fi shery personnel have been collecting data to help establish those fl ow standards. “Oklahoma has a lot of different kinds of fi sh,” Brown said. “But if we ask the average person who lives in Oklahoma to name as many species as they can, they will struggle to come up with 15 to maybe as many as 20 or 25 spe- cies. That means that roughly 85 percent of our fi sh are totally unknown to the average person. The problem with that is that if people don’t know they exist, they don’t value them.”
Brown pointed to the central stoneroller as a prime example of an unknown but very important native fi sh. Stonerollers feed and graze on algae, scraping it from rocks in the streambed. While the central stoneroller is common and widespread across the country and in Ozark streams, many people don’t know
that their presence is critical to the health of the environment. Without them, a stretch of stream can become coated with algae within days, lead- ing to poor water quality, lower ni- trogen fixation and even the alteration of habitat to the point that other species cannot use it. With as many as 30,000 visitors to the Illinois River on a busy weekend and large numbers visiting other riv- ers and streams throughout eastern Oklahoma, Brown emphasizes the need to educate the public on the importance of native fish and is working to “change the way people look at streams” through his out- reach efforts.
The Wildlife Department is work-
ing to establish baseline biological data, build relationships with landowners, and identify correlations between water fl ow and successful reproduction of native fi sh, such as smallmouth bass.
Log on to the streams page of the Department’s website at wildlifedepart-
ment.com to learn more about streams in Oklahoma and to view Brandon Brown’s stunning underwater photos and video footage of native fi sh.
Photo by Brooklyn Cantrell
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