Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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24 UCW MARCH 21-27, 2018 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Hope Mills News & Views e last time the re- stored Hope Mills Lake was restocked with fish, there was a miscommunication between the town and state wildlife officials. e result was the lake was drained after new fish had been put in, causing them to be lost. Rod MacLean wanted to make sure that mistake wasn't repeated when the restocking process started for the recently restored lake. MacLean is currently the chairman of the Hope Mills Lake Advisory Com- mittee and has been serving on it for the last four or five years. A dedicated fly fisherman, MacLean has worked as a volunteer for North Carolina Wildlife for close to 10 years and is active in the Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing program. MacLean said he spoke with Hope Mills mayor Jackie Warner three years ago and assured her that when the time came to bring fish back into the lake, he would make sure there were no mistakes. "I told her I would take care of getting them deliv- ered and what types of fish,'' he said. MacLean researched the types of fish people used to catch from the lake, and he also consulted with a biologist from the North Carolina Wildlife Commis- sion about what fish would be best to introduce. Earlier this month, MacLean said 10,000 redear panfish and 10,000 bluegill panfish were put into the lake. At some time in the future, some 1,000 finger- ling catfish and another 1,000 fingerling largemouth bass will be added to the population. MacLean said the small panfish, the bluegills and redears, are introduced first so they can become es- tablished. "ese are the fish the predators will eat, the largemouth bass and the catfish,'' he said. MacLean said it's likely that the new bass and cat- fish that will be introduced later are already present in the lake. He said that's because of what happened in this area when Hurricane Matthew struck. ere was a lot of flooding associated with Mat- thew, he said, some of it involving Lake Rim, which flooded and overflowed. ose waters wound up in some six ponds at the John E. Pechmann Fishing Education Center. "ey went into the creek that ends up com- ing through Hope Mills, down Rockfish Creek and into the Cape Fear River and on to Wilmington,'' he said. "Some of the fish have been in the creek from Matthew, and some got washed all the way down through Hope Mills.'' After about three years to allow the fish popula- tion in the Hope Mills Lake to stabilize, MacLean said officials from North Carolina Wildlife will do a census of the fish in the lake. "ey've got a specialized boat that has electrodes coming off it,'' he said. "ey'll go around to certain areas of the lake and put out an electrical shock that stuns the fish.'' e fish then float to the surface and are caught with nets, mea- sured and sometimes tagged, he said. A few fish may have to be kept in order to verify their age, but the majority of the fish will be returned to the water. Until the fish population is stable, MacLean said, the lake will observe a catch and release policy. He said after two or three years, the population should be stable and the fish should reach a size making them worth catching and keeping. "You don't want to catch 15 sardine-sized fish,'' he said. "en we'll harvest them according to North Carolina wildlife rules.'' MacLean said the lake is also likely to attract eels from the creeks, but the dam is equipped with an eel ladder that will allow them to escape and head downstream. MacLean said he'd discussed the idea of putting a special breed of carp in the lake to help keep the vegetation down. is particular carp is a pos- sible choice because it is sexless and can't repro- duce. But he said since in some cases the carp do reproduce and they would be able to escape from the lake and go downstream, it was decided not to introduce them. "We discussed different species from the knowl- edge of the biologist and this is what will be best for our particular location,'' he said. "I'm quite happy with the decision.'' ere's far more to be- ing an elected official in the town of Hope Mills than kissing babies and showing up for the oc- casional meeting. Residents of the town can get a first-hand taste of what governing is all about by attending the Citizens Academy train- ing sessions the town offers to become a Hope Mills Ambassador. It's especially beneficial for anyone with political aspirations or those thinking about serv- ing the town in any number of volunteer capacities. Deborah Holland, interim town clerk, said the academy was started last April and has been well- received. A number of current elected officials have gone through the training, including Mayor Jackie Warner, Mayor Pro Tem Mike Mitchell and town commissioners Meg Larson, Jessie Bellflowers and Pat Edwards. "One of the most amazing things that surprised all of us was how interested our citizens were in how our actual operations run,'' Holland said. "It gives them a small sampling of what department opera- tions are like and gives them an appreciation of what we do for the town. It helps us get a better insight from the residents' side of what they need from the town. It's kind of a win-win.'' Much of the training is interactive, Holland said. For example, participants get to put together a mock town budget or a mock agenda for a meeting of the board of commissioners. ose attending the class also get a closer look at departments like fire, police, finance and even storm water. ere's even a session with parks and recreation where people can experience trying out for an ath- letic team. "No one is required to do that,'' Holland said. "It's all in fun.'' Anyone who has interest in serving on the town's various volunteer committees is encouraged to go through the academy, Holland said. "e more un- derstanding they have of what it takes to get things done, the better they can take that knowledge and request certain events and projects get done.'' Both the application for the academy and the current syllabus is available on the town website at www.townofhopemills.com. e class is limited to 15 applicants, and the next one begins April 3 with classes running weekly on a variety of topics until May 24. Graduation will be held Monday, June 4, at the monthly meeting of the commissioners at town hall. For further information, visit the website or con- tact Holland at 910-426-4113. Fish population returning to Hope Mills Lake by EARL VAUGHAN JR. Citizens Academy is back: Learn about the town's inner workings by EARL VAUGHAN JR. NEWS Small panfish, bluegills (pictured above) and redears, will be introduced first so they can become established. Debbie Holland, interim town clerk