WHAT: A test draw-down of the Savannah River above the New Savannah Bluff Lock and Dam is being conducted by the Army Corps of Engineers as part of a Decommissioning Study. This draw-down will start January 16, 2000 with differing flow regimes being simulated over the course of the test. Minimum water levels (simulating worst-case drought flow conditions) along this stretch of the river should be reached by January 18, 2000.
WHERE: Augusta, Georgia - Augusta Riverwalk (vicinity Augusta Riverwalk & 7th Street)
WHO: Biologists from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources will be on the river and available for media interviews during the test draw-down. Steve Gilbert, Senior Staff Biologist, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Mark Bowers, Fisheries Biologist, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
WHEN: Tuesday, January 18, 2000 1:00 p.m.
WHY: The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service is working with other state and federal resource agencies on a plan to restore the health of the Savannah River. The New Savannah Bluff Lock and Dam is a major obstruction to the upstream passage of migratory fish in the Savannah River, including commercial and recreational species (American shad, blueback herring, striped bass, and Atlantic sturgeon) and rare or endangered species (robust redhorse and shortnose sturgeon). Opportunities to decommission and modify the operations of the New Savannah Bluff Lock and Dam will help restore 15 miles of riverine habitat and provide unimpeded fish passage fish passage
Fish passage is the ability of fish or other aquatic species to move freely throughout their life to find food, reproduce, and complete their natural migration cycles. Millions of barriers to fish passage across the country are fragmenting habitat and leading to species declines. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's National Fish Passage Program is working to reconnect watersheds to benefit both wildlife and people.
Learn more about fish passage , thereby increasing native recreational and commercial fish populations.
Department of the Interior
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
North Georgia Field Office
247 South Milledge Ave.
Athens, GA 30605
Phone: 706/613 9493
Fax: 706/613 6059
Contact: Jennifer Koches (843) 727-4707 Ext.19
Kyla Hastie (706) 613-9493 Ext. 36
