FOREWORD Today, all segments of the public are showing increasing evidence of concern over the quality of our environment. People are examining the detrimental side-effects of many activities which were once taken for granted. They are asking what can be done to prevent further damage to our air, water and land-and they are expecting effective action from governmental agencies which are responsible. This report on the Inter-Agency Stream Disturbance Symposium held in Charleston, West Virginia, is an important response to that concern. It represents one of several recent attempts to formulate improved methods of co-ordinating the efforts of diverse regulatory, advisory and administrative units of government so as to halt the deterioration of our natural resources. I believe the symposium also indicates an advance in the maturity of the participating agencies. A big step ahead is taken whenever organizational barriers are broached in order to find a solution to difficult environmental problems. Hopefully, this exchange has brought all those concerned with stream disturbances closer to the practical and effective remedy. T. R. Samsell CONTENTS David W. Robinson, Assistant Chief, Division of Game and Fish, West Virginia Department of Natural Resources Survey of Dredging and Bank Stabilization Practices in Hampshire County, West Virginia: Raymond Menendez, Highway Coordination Project and Review of Existing Inter-Agency Agreements: William Santonas, Biologist IV, 1 C. W McIntyre, Assistant Chief, Planning Branch, 33 Federal Water Pollution Control Administration Ronald Preston, Chief, Aquatic Biology Unit, 35 U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service Gerald G. Taylor, Area Office Supervisor, Bureau of 39 A discussion of the stream disturbance problem requires brief mention of the magnitude and importance of our water and wildlife resources. The 1965 National Survey of Fishing and Hunting showed that 33 million people spent four billion dollars to fish and hunt. On the average, each fisherman spent $102.19, and each hunter $82.54 per year. Applying these figures to West Virginia's 240,000+ fishermen and a like number of hunters, we find that fishing is a $26 million industry in the state and that hunting adds another $20.6 million to the state's economy. Together they account for $40.6 million which is indeed one of the state's largest industries and one that is growing in importance and has great future potential. You can add to this, swimming, canoeing, and associated stream recreation values which would greatly increase the above figures. West Virginia's water resources are extremely limited. We have only 141,000 surface acres of water, and about one-half of this is polluted, seriously limited, or not available to the public. We have about one-half acre per fisherman, while the national average is five acres per fisherman. We must direct our attention to increasing our water, abating pollution, and improving our existing streams. We certainly cannot afford to destroy any existing resources. The public has been aware of the pollution problem for some time and much legislation has been passed and is proposed to solve the problem. Public awareness of the dredging problem is only beginning, even though, professional conservationists have been aware of the associated problems for many years. The general public has no idea of its extent. For example, during 1967, pollutioncaused fish kills occurred in 26 miles of our streams. In the same year 4.2 miles of high quality streams were destroyed by channeling in one county as a result of just one program. The pollution can be abated and the stream can recover, but the channeled streams are permanently impaired. Stream disturbances probably now rank as the chief threat to fishery resources. Total habitat destruction occurs at the site and associated siltation, deposition, and flow changes reduce productive capacity upstream and downstream. Such dredging, channelization, and snagging and clearing projects eliminate essential |