Guest blogger is Thomas (TR) Russ, NCWRC Aquatic Wildlife Diversity Program, Marion, NC
The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission’s (NCWRC) Aquatic Wildlife Diversity program is tasked with keeping common animals common and recovering rare species when possible. Since 2015, a primary goal of the program has been to re-establish Roanoke Logperch (RLP), Percina rex, populations in the upper sections of the Dan and Mayo rivers in North Carolina. The “King of the Darters” is worthy of our efforts in North Carolina!
To reach this goal several projects have been conducted: 1) ongoing RLP distribution surveys and monitoring since 2015, 2) followed by population genetic analyses conducted in 2016-17, and finally 3) a fish passage project at Lindsey Bridge Dam in 2020, which opened up 50 river miles for RLP expansion.
NCWRC and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service partnered with Conservation Fisheries Inc. (CFI, https://www.conservationfisheries.org/) in 2019 to propagate RLP for restoration in the Dan River subbasin of the Roanoke River basin in North Carolina. These stockings will add to the redundancy of Dan River populations, decrease the chances of extinction, and aid in the federal de-listing of the species.
Since 2020, with partnership from the Town of Madison, approximately 700 RLP have been stocked in Big Beaver Island Creek and the Dan River to augment the known population. Since the Fall of 2023, with partnerships with Piedmont Land Conservancy (https://www.piedmontland.org/) and Mayo River State Park (https://www.ncparks.gov/state-parks/mayo-river-state-park), 485 RLP have been stocked in the upper Mayo River via the Safe Harbor Agreement (https://www.ncwildlife.org/wildlife-habitat/conservation-restoration-programs/restoring-aquatic-species-north-carolina).
In 2023, an environmental DNA (eDNA) project was completed by the NCWRC and expansion of the species in the Dan River was observed, approximately 34 miles upstream. In 2024, two adult RLP were observed upstream of the known Dan River population and one adult RLP was observed in the upper Mayo River — both observations were good, early signs of success of the stocking program. RLP stockings will continue until 2030 via a new contract with CFI with funding provided by the NCWRC.
Additional Information
Websites
- https://www.ncwildlife.org/wildlife-habitat/restoring-aquatic-species-north-carolina/roanoke-logperch
- https://www.ncwildlife.org/reintroduction-plan-roanoke-logperch-percina-rex-mayo-river-rockingham-county/open
- https://www.ncwildlife.org/species/roanoke-logperch
- https://www.ncwildlife.org/news/press-releases/2023/10/10/north-carolina-turns-tide-endangered-fish-species
- https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/04/02/2024-06795/endangered-and-threatened-wildlife-and-plants-removal-of-roanoke-logperch-from-the-list-of
- https://www.piedmontland.org/2023/11/03/roanokelogperchreturns/
- http://www.southernfisheries.org/roanoke-logperch-library.html
- https://ncfishes.com/freshwater-fishes-of-north-carolina/percina-rex/
- https://youtu.be/ehMMbsXJAyE
References
- Tracy, B.H., F.C. Rohde, and G.M. Hogue. 2020. An annotated atlas of the freshwater fishes of North Carolina. Southeastern Fishes Council Proceedings No. 60. 198pp. (Available at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/sfcproceedings)/vol1/iss60/1).
- Tracy, B.H., F.C. Rohde, S.A. Smith, J.L. Bissette, and G.M. Hogue. 2024. A guide to North Carolina’s freshwater fishes. The University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, NC. 455pp. (Available at: https://uncpress.org/book/9781469678115/a-guide-to-north-carolinas-freshwater-fishes/).