Oklahoma exploring new fish habitat initiative
Jun. 15—The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation has announced a new partnership with anglers to fund construction of dozens of new fish attractors called Shelbyville cubes for lakes and reservoirs around the state.
David Bogner, with the ODWC fisheries staff, said that while designs are simple, the Shelbyville version has advantages over previous versions, including the Georgia cube.
He also said anglers can help by adding a $5, $10 or $25 "fish habitat donation" option to their Go Outdoors cart. The goal is to raise $10,000, which would pay to install a few hundred cubes around the state.
Historically, fish attractor sites in lakes have been comprised of natural material, including brush piles, cedar trees, and sometimes manmade devices. Dozens of Georgia cubes were installed at Grand Lake last year, and others at Eufala Reservoir.
According to the department, these natural habitat structures are prone to deterioration or displacement, and usually within a matter of about three to five years; the life of the Shelbyville cubes is projected at 12 to 15 years.
The new design is named after the Shelbyville, Illinois, Lake Habitat Alliance, which modified and improved on the Georgia cube. The Alliance has already installed about 1,600 cubes into Illinois reservoirs.
The cubes are about 4 feet long by 4 feet wide and around 5 feet tall, constructed of piping wrapped in corrugated tubing and then anchored to the lake bottom. A "floor" constructed of snow fencing prevents sinking into the mud.
The cubes are sunk in depths of 15 to 20 feet, Bogner said — deep enough they won't affect boaters and skiers, and will remain underwater if the lake is drawn down during period of drought.
Several were installed initially at Fort Gibson Lake. Sonar was used to test how they were working.
"We put them down in groups of two," Bogner said. "Within an hour or so we started seeing fish coming to these things. It seems like it's a real win for us and the fish.
While each cube costs about $250 to build, state officials believe they could build them for even less if they can purchase supplies in bulk.
By adding a fisheries habitat donation to their Go Outdoors cart, anglers can supply funds that can then be matched with federal Sportfish Restoration dollars. These are funds provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to state wildlife agencies for things like fish habitat projects. The funds are derived from federal excise taxes paid by sporting goods manufacturers that are then distributed by the USFWS to the states based on their size and number of licensed anglers. So, $10,000 raised by anglers turns into $40,000.
With bulk pricing of materials, ODWC said it could built about 200 Shelbyville cubes for distribution across Oklahoma.
