GETTING ALL WET

I don’t know how much rain has fallen in your neck of the woods, but things are waterlogged at 1070 CR 719 in Nacogdoches County. Just when things begin to dry up a little around here, it seems like another weather system passes through and drops another load on ground that is already so saturated with moisture that it can’t hold any more.

The excess water has to go somewhere. It ultimately winds up running off into drainages, creeks and river systems that can only hold so much before banks are breached and flooding occurs.

Reservoirs on the receiving end of the fresh water and sure to swell, sometimes forcing operating authorities to release water to keep pace with the influx. This can compound flooding problems downstream.

It’s Been a Wet One

Those scenarios have become all too familiar in recent times. Since late-April, big time storm events and widespread flooding across the eastern half of the state and parts of Central Texas have caused all sorts of problems.

At least three people died because of nasty weather that forced many Texans from their homes, washed out roadways, swept away vehicles, damaged fences and spurred other serious erosion issues that are going to be time consuming and expensive to repair.

The list goes on.

Some schools were closed due to unsafe driving conditions and some public recreation areas like Huntsville State Park in Walker County were temporarily shut down.

On May 10, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department issued a press release indicating the 161,500-acre Sam Houston National Forest Wildlife Management Area that reaches into Montgomery, San Jacinto and Walker counties would be closed through May 21. The closure included all U.S Forest Service facilities within the SHNF, including roads, trails and recreation sites, according to the release.

Recreational paddlers also felt the pinch of the foul weather. A rain-swollen Neches River forced the cancellation of the 24th Annual Neches River Rendezvous on May 18 due to unsafe conditions.

More than 151 individual paddlers had registered to participate in the 10-mile adventure down the scenic East Texas waterway, according to a May 13 report from the event host, the Angelina and Neches River Authority.

Displacing Wildlife

The spring floods also shook up the wildlife.

Experts say flood waters may have pushed snakes, raccoons, opossums, skunks and other critters out of lowland areas to seek cover on higher ground, thus increasing the chances for human encounters.

Additionally, the big rains came at a time when white-tailed deer fawns, cottontails, fledgling birds and other newborn wildlife are prone to start showing up on the landscape.

Two good pieces of advice here: * Always watch your step and don’t put your hands where you can’t see. * If you come across a newborn of any kind, don’t pick it up assuming it is trouble or just because the mother isn’t around. Wild animals typically don’t abandon their young.

That’s the word from Dawn Russell of New Summerfield. Russell has been a wildlife rehabilitator permitted by TPWD since 2009. She has raised close to 100 white-tailed deer fawns along with dozens of rabbits and other critters.

“It’s a different story when an animal has fire ants on it or has been injured in some way,” Russell said. “Those animals might need some help. But if the animal is perfectly healthy it should be left alone. Chances are the momma isn’t far away. She may even be watching you kidnap her baby.”

Fish Stocking and High Water

The big rains feel at about the same time TPWD inland fisheries crews were beginning annual stockings of largemouth bass, hybrid stripers and striped bass at public reservoirs around the state.

High water often means a wealth of newly flooded cover in the shallows, especially when a spike comes on the heels of an extended period of low water.

Stocking largemouth bass around flooded cover improves survival and recruitment of the offspring, because it provides plenty of places for the little fish to hide from predators. The same holds true for juvenile bass and sunfish resulting from natural spawns.

Pelagic species like striped bass and hybrids are different animals. TPWD fisheries biologist Jake Norman says these fish are usually stocked in open water, preferably away from main stream flow. Norman says it is best avoid stocking during extreme flood events to curb the potential of tiny fry and fingerlings getting caught in the current and washed through spillways. This is especially true on large reservoirs fed by major river systems.

TPWD chief of inland hatcheries Todd Engeling says district supervisors requested about 7.8 million Lone Star bass fingerlings for stocking in 69 reservoirs this spring. Lone Star bass are pure Florida bass that are descendants of Legacy Class Toyota Share-Lunkers weighing upwards of 13 pounds. The state’s Florida bass hatchery program is now comprised of Lone Star bass. Engling says LSB stockings began in late April and will continue through early July. Spawning is still underway at hatcheries around the state.

“To date we have stocked 1.2 million and anticipate we will produce 5 1/2 to 6 million,” he said.

In addition to LSB, biologists requested: Belton, Whitney and the Whitney tailrace. Those stockings began early May with 68,000 going to Belton, arguably one of the state’s top trophy smallmouth fisheries.

Engeling said he anticipates 350,000-400,000 smallmouths will available for stocking this year.

* Biologists also requested about 960,000 striped bass for stocking in seven reservoirs and 2.8 million hybrid stripers (a genetic cross between a striped bass and white bass) for 19 lakes. Engeling says nearly 270,000 stripers have been stocked thus far. He expects the hybrid stockings to begin in later this month.

Matt Williams is a freelance writer based in Nacogdoches. He can be reached by e-mail at mattwillwrite4u@yahoo.com.