Scratchin’ in the gravel

Come May of next year, members of the small but feisty Upper Delaware Chapter of Trout Unlimited will be digging determinedly in the rock and gravel along the banks of Hankins Creek. They will be planting thousands of willow slips in order to prevent stream bank erosion that would otherwise occur during extreme high water flows. For the past six years, the chapter has been armoring the banks of Hankins Creek from just above the Route 97 bridge, all the way down to its junction with the Delaware. Prior to the planting of willows, every spring this section would scour and erode the banks during periods of high water. Now this stretch is impervious to even the large, high velocity flows of spring runoff.

Once the stream banks were stabilized, and the scouring effect of high water on bare banks was ended, other plants and trees, such as wild roses, barberry bushes and sycamore trees, were able to gain a foothold. This occurred slightly higher up on the bank, behind the willow plantings. In addition, the stream channel throughout this stretch is gradually deepening, allowing the creek to carry off a larger volume of water. What was no longer trout habitat has been returned to an excellent nursery area for young, wild trout that were spawned in the creek. As they grow larger, these trout will eventually find their way down into the Delaware. Since no trout spawning occurs in the main stem of the Delaware, small tributaries such as Hankins Creek are the lifeblood of the Delaware trout fishery.

In May of 2003, the Upper Delaware Chapter will begin work on an area up towards Mileses on Hankins Creek. This is an area that was devastated by the 1996 flood and has never been able to recover. This new area is such a long stretch it will take the chapter two or three years to completely restore it. It takes money and enthusiasm to do this kind of stream habitat improvement. The chapter does not lack for the latter, but the former is a definite limiting factor as to how many willow slips can be purchased and planted each year. Unlike the Sullivan County Sportsmen’s Association, the Upper Delaware Chapter receives no funding from the county. It must depend on its own limited fund raising ability, plus any additional donations from “Friends of the Chapter.” Tip O’Neil, one-time democrat leader of the House of Representatives, once remarked that, “Money is the mother’s milk of politics.” Alas, this is also true in doing conservation work. Lacking funds, the stream habitat improvement ideas of the most enthusiastic group can exist only in their dreams.

In his book “Catskill Fly Tier,” Harry Darbee wrote that as a trout stream, “Hankins Creek was a dandy, but it was ruined by the road builders.” This little tributary is certainly worth our best efforts to rehabilitate it. Yard by yard the Upper Delaware Chapter is restoring the trout habitat of Hankins Creek. Last summer chapter members, along with several employees of the National Park Service and Ed Van Put of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation examined several areas along the creek. We were all astounded at the numbers and size of trout that Ed showed us in one very tiny section that had not been damaged by flooding. At the end of the day, Don Hamilton of the National Park Service mused, “Just imagine the trout that could exist in this creek if all of the habitat could be restored to resemble that one short section Ed had found.” Yes… just imagine.

If you have any desire to help with a part of this work, either physically or financially, please contact the chapter president, Thomas Brown, by writing to PO Box 100, Long Eddy, NY 12760 or by calling 570-224-8182.