Journal forum, 11-25: Spring Creek fishery

By Ron Koth & Frank Carroll; Koth is a senior fisheries biologist for South Dakota Game, Fish & Parks in Rapid City and Carroll is acting district ranger for the Mystic Ranger District, Black Hills National Forest, in Rapid City. | Saturday, November 25, 2006

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RAPID CITY - People in the Black Hills have wondered for years whether it would be possible to maintain the consistently superior recreation area at Sheridan Lake and find a way to provide a viable fishery in Spring Creek below the dam.

As people familiar with the area know, especially in recent years, the stream below the dam is dry. The Forest Service recently installed a new valve in the dam which allows us to control flows out of the dam, which means we could now potentially enhance water temperature and flow in Spring Creek in about six out of 10 years.

The South Dakota Department of Game, Fish & Parks has approached the Forest Service to ask us to work with them to explore this idea. We have begun an informal process to begin asking questions to see if such an idea would be possible or desirable.

Facilities and access to the 378 surface-acre Sheridan Lake have been managed by the Forest Service since 1940, providing outstanding flat water recreation and including swimming and boating opportunities and, since 1940, the South Dakota GF&P has managed the fisheries in the lake.

Sheridan Lake is a popular winter perch fishery and a year-round trout fishery, along with other sport fish such as crappie, bass and northern pike. Each year, the lake provides about 33,000 angler hours to residents and visitors.

Spring Creek below Sheridan Lake is a popular stream trout fishery when there is adequate water and accounted for about 9000 angler hours during June-August in 1997 and 1998.

Unlike other large reservoirs in the Black Hills Region, Sheridan Lake is not a source for irrigation or municipal water supplies. The lake is operated to maintain a nearly constant water level that emphasizes recreational activities within the lake and along the shoreline. Beaches, a marina and few obstructions in the lake make it an important and highly reliable destination for lake recreationists. Additionally, the lake provides the core base for private business operations that depend on the consistency and attributes of the lake as it currently stands.

Spring Creek below the Sheridan Lake dam is a productive trout fishery, but is limited by high water temperatures in the summer and low stream flows during dry periods. Low water has greatly affected Spring Creek in the past few years because an outlet valve in the dam failed, so no cold water could be released into the stream. The extended drought since 2000 has meant no water has flowed over Sheridan Lake dam into Spring Creek many times over the past six years.

Some good news is a new outlet valve has been installed in the dam and - we can all hope - more normal water flows may be returning to the area, although continuing drought is predicted in 2007.

The GF&P and the Forest Service have been researching options that would maintain fairly constant water levels in Sheridan Lake and also provide some flow into Spring Creek.

One option being reviewed is releasing about five cubic feet per second (cfs) of water year-round to Spring Creek. This would reduce the lake level by not more than two feet in some years. It could also expose up to 15 acres of shoreline in the 378-acre lake during dry spells.

During exceptionally dry years, a maximum draw-down of two feet would likely mean that the valve would need to be shut off to maintain the lake while eliminating flow to Spring Creek. Draw-down would create the need for a new marina/boat slip facility capable of adjusting to the maximum two-foot deficit, and extensions of the boat ramps and beach areas, which may be substantial and which would have to be considered and provided for in advance of any plan implementation. Fisheries in the lake would not be adversely affected by a two-foot draw-down.

We believe there may be a way lake recreationists and stream anglers could both win with a new approach to management in the area. We need your ideas and help to explore what might be possible. We invite you to join us at a meeting on Nov. 28 at 7 p.m. at the Rimrock Community Club in Johnson Siding.

We will want to hear your questions and concerns about various ideas for managing Sheridan Lake and Spring Creek in coming years.

The paper is white. The door is open. Everyone's ideas are welcome and needed.

Spring Creek meeting

A public meeting on Sheridan Lake and Spring Creek will be from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 28, at the Rimrock Community Club in Johnson Siding. Officials with South Dakota Game, Fish & Parks Department and Black Hills National Forest will discuss options on maintaining a steady flow of water through Spring Creek below Sheridan Lake. The public is invited to attend and ask questions.