Sakrete Used for Conservation Project in West Virgina

By Sakrete

Spider blocks are constructed to provide protection for several species of fish.

The Sakrete Team was excited to be contacted by B.A.S.S. Federation Nation of West Virginia of which Jerod Harman is Director of Conservation. This non-profit organization has recently completed conservation projects at Burnsville and Summersville Lakes which consisted of installing artificial habitats in areas that are barren due to lack of protective habitat. The projects goal was to provide cover for several species of fish after the spawn. Soon after the young have hatched, they are looking to move away from the bedding area and the project was to construct what is referred to as "Spider blocks". These blocks provide more than adequate protection for these fish.

Read below for more information recently received from Jerod:

The B.A.S.S. Federation Nation of WV is a non-profit organization and we focus on adult bass fishing, youth education and fishing competition, and conservation. Of course, I am the Conservation Director, but am involved in all aspects of the organization. I fish tournaments, organize fisheries habitat projects for BFNWV Conservation, work with legislators to promote sportsmen's and sportswomen's concerns, and work to provide education at youth events in different parts of WV. One of the biggest events we do for youth is a school field trip for an elementary school near Wheeling, WV. We do an all-day seminar on fishing, safety, and sportsmanship. It is really neat! It would be great to get Sakrete involved with the field trip, too.

This year's Conservation Projects were done at two lakes; Summersville Lake and Burnsville Lake. We work with the WV Division of Natural Resources and sometimes the US Army Corps of Engineers. The first project this year was at Summersville Lake. We started a new project (spider block project) there to increase the amount of habitat and cover in a particular area of the lake. The selected site was fairly barren from cover. On February 4th, we installed 50 spider blocks at this site to promote survival of young fish after they hatch. As you can see in the pictures, we used black plastic pipe, several 8" blocks, and Sakrete Concrete Mix to secure them together.

The last project we completed was at Burnsville Lake on 3/18/11. It was the second phase of our spider block project. We initially started this project in 2010 to promote survival of young fish after they hatch and move away from the nest. It worked great. This year we installed 50 additional spider blocks. Most were installed to compliment the original site, and a few others were installed in a new location across the lake. We now have two projects at Burnsville underway. In addition, we installed 65 trees into the lake to provide additional fish habitat.

The spider blocks are constructed to last for several decades. The plastic pipe and blocks have a great life expectancy, so we choose to use Sakrete Concrete Mix as the agent to hold everything together. After all, Sakrete has been holding things together since 1936, so hopefully we can get 75 years out of our habitat projects!

Projects like this are great because we enjoy seeing the unique ways Sakrete products are used. Thanks Jerod for your great work and for sharing your Sakrete story and project. Your obvious enthusiasm for conservation and pride for your community is inspiring.

The Sakrete Team looks forward to partnering with B.A.S.S. Federation Nation of West Virginia with upcoming projects.

About the Author

Sakrete was founded in 1936 and is the original dry packaged cement mix brand in North America. The Sakrete brand is owned and managed by Oldcastle/Bonsal American, Inc. For more information on Sakrete, call 800-738-1621 or visit the company’s website at www.sakrete.com.

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