Army Corps to hold public comment meeting for F.E. Walter Dam recreation plan

[henrydavid]

Army Corps to hold public comment meeting for F.E. Walter Dam recreation plan

 

[geebee]

What river is that ? It doesn't say on the link..

 

[Dcap240]

The lehigh. Francis E. Walter dam is the name of the dam and resivior in white haven.

 

[henrydavid]

Yes, sorry, I assumed that the name of the dam would be enough to identify the waterway.

 

[LehighRegular]

Just a reminder bump.

The more anglers to represent the better. LCFA representatives had a very productive meeting with the PFBC this week. If the support by anglers is there, 2014 could be more angler friendly. So, if you like to fish the Lehigh and want to fish the river more often, attending this meeting will be very helpful.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Dcap240]

I won't be able to make it but let us know of any changes for next year. I believe that most average years some minor changes could make a big difference.

 

[krayfish]

Didn't see this until now. If you guys get there, can someone post a little summary of how things went?

 

[LehighRegular]

Always lively conversation and discussion at these meetings. Some of which is quite entertaining.

Anyway, I digress. The LCFA proposed to this group to have a continuous and uninterrupted "fishing/Angling" season on the Lehigh, similar to what the rafters have in the summer.

This season would run from the Trout Opener to Memorial Day weekend and again from the beginning of September to mid October.

From Opening day of trout season to the first weekend in May, all weekend releases from FEW would be targeted for 400 cfs , if and when inflow is greater than 400 CFS. Releases over the weekend will remain at a constant rate throughout the weekend to avoid raising or lowering the release creating what we call the "yo-yo" effect in river levels. Weekday releases will be consistent (but may be higher than 400 cfs) through the week and ramped down (if necessary) during the week to meet the 400 cfs target (if required) for the weekend.

After the 1st weekend in May, releases on weekends will be targeted for 400 cfs, but may match inflow, or up to 700 cfs, depending on the lake pool elevation/level.

There are 2 weekends in May that have single whitewater releases, that occur on a Saturday only. We asked for these days to be moved to a full weekend in late June. We also offered a few concessions if that is not possible. One would be to move the WW releases to a Sunday, that would allow for good fishing conditions on Saturday. If that is no good, then we offered to alternate those weekends, meaning one weekend would be a Saturday WW release and the next weekend the WW release would be a Sunday. Reason, we find having the WW releases on Saturday, typically messes the fishing up on Sunday because of the changing water levels (ie - "yo-yo" effect) and the entire weekend is lost for anglers.

June - will be a balance between WW releases and angling releases.

Fall Fishing - Sept through Oct. Upon completion of the WW releases for the season in early Sept, the remaining water storage in FEW will be used to provide a consistent release rate through the fall season (ie - 300-400 cfs). This is what was provided this past season and seemed to work out great.

Those are the highlights from an angling prospective. Even if you didn't make the meeting you can submit comments to the ACOE on their website and to the following:

stephen.rochette@usace.army.mil

http://www.nap.usace.army.mil/Home.aspx

 

[Fishidiot]

Thanks for keeping us informed LR.

 

[blueheron]

Thanks for the info, I'm sorry I missed it.