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Bureau of Land Management
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Volunteers Help Havasu Become a Great Fishery
How many volunteer jobs offer scuba diving opportunities? These trained volunteer divers gear up to inspect fish habitat placed in Lake Havasu.
(Photo by Myron McCoy)
Like an oasis in the desert, Lake Havasu offers rare water-based recreational opportunities for the 25 million people who live within a five-hour drive of the rugged desert area along the Arizona and California border. In order to meet recreational demand and improve fish habitat, an unprecedented cooperative partnership is undertaking an aggressive fisheries restoration program that depends on volunteer assistance.
Countless volunteers have contributed over 54,000 hours to the program. Mr. Russel Davis is one of them. Several years ago, Davis took the initiative to contact agencies in the Lake Havasu area to offer his volunteer services and started working on the Lake Havasu Fisheries Improvement Program in 1993. "I heard about the fisheries project and got excited," says Davis. "I am handicapped and retired. I love to fish, but there was nowhere on Havasu that I could shoreline fish, and I could not afford a boat. So I got involved with the Fisheries Project, and just love helping however I can."
Fishing access is limited on Lake Havasu's 100 miles of shoreline because of the rugged, mountainous terrain. Roads are typically several miles from shoreline fishing areas, and where the shoreline is accessible, the vegetation is too thick and the water too shallow to allow for good fishing. A primary goal of volunteer projects on Lake Havasu is to increase shoreline access for everyone. So far, participants have helped complete three facilities for recreational fishing, and hope to add one or two more by the end of the year. Another major goal of the project is habitat improvement. To this end, over the last five years, Davis has constructed and installed an estimated 5,200 crappie condos, 3,300 Fish-N-Trees, 530 bass bungalows, 270 catfish minnow high rises, 80 flathead flophouses, and 40 special spawning structures. Davis and other participants of the Havasu project developed and refined these fish structures - with the exception of the commercial "Fish-N-Trees" - and gave them friendly names for easy identification.
Mr. Russel Davis, an outstanding volunteer for Arizona's Lake Havasu Fisheries Project, was recently selected as a 1998 National BLM Volunteer Award winner. (Photo by Kirk Koch, BLM fisheries manager)Other talents allow Davis to perform minor welding repairs including hitch modifications on the boat trailers. And when he needs extra help, he recruits and supervises additional volunteers. Among those are the Boy Scouts. Under Davis's guidance, several scout groups have worked on the initial phases of building habitat structures. As the project got into high gear, Davis began volunteering more than 40 hours every week. For the last three years, Davis donated an estimated 7,500 hours to the fisheries project. His total contribution to the fisheries program is valued at more than $110,000.
Thanks to the volunteers, thousands of artificial reef structures now exist in Lake Havasu, vastly improving the fishery's productivity. When asked about his volunteer work Davis responds, "I'm helping Havasu become a great fishery." Kirk Koch, BLM Fisheries Program Manager, agrees, saying, "Russ Davis is a powerful partner to have on our team because of his dedication, talent, a nd most of all, his tenacious spirit."
Why are these people sinking those large structures? These volunteers are not littering. They are placing artificial fish habitat structures (which they built) into the water in cove sites where they will provide shelter and protection for the fish. (Photo by Myron McCoy)
Editor's Note: For the inauguration of the BLM's new "Volunteer Feature of the Month," it is fitting that BLM-Arizona chose to feature an outstanding volunteer as well as an outstanding volunteer program. Like many fisheries restoration programs throughout BLM, the Lake Havasu project depends heavily on volunteer assistance. And our featured volunteer, Mr. Russel Davis, stands out among a host of exceptional volunteers working on this important project.
Last Updated: February 6, 2001
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Bureau of Land Management
Environmental Education and Volunteer Programs
