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Hickory Top WMA 30-August-2026

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        A similar start as all the clean-ups by canoe at Hickory Top, just a little harder this time. The recent rains haven't done anything to raise the water levels in the lake, the non-native Giant Salvinia keeps multiplying and at this point is incredibly thick. This makes the paddle out the channel to the main lake feel like you are paddling thick mud instead of water and is a slow go. For this trip I had a goal of at least two bags of trash and the plan was to go back to the area with all the barrels I started working on on the last trip out.         The Giant Salvinia is a problem for frogs when it gets so thick they have difficulty accessing the water for safety. This River Frog froglet would have typically jumped off the bank and into the water as I got closer in the canoe. It just wasn't able to. Egrets, Ibis and other wading birds can get an easier meal because of this, but it likely reduces the number of froglets that make it to a...
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Hickory Top WMA 8-August-2026

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          It was back on the water for another clean-up at Hickory Top. The water was slightly higher than on the first, but the channel going out to the lake was harder to paddle. It was like paddling through a thick stew and was a slow go. The goal I set out to get was two bags full and I had some new areas to check out on this trip.       Not much clearance even at the end of the channel. At least one Jon boat had been through recently, so some motors can still make it through.            On the last clean-up, I came across one Limpkin on the way back to the launch. This time there were two not far from the start. I don't believe these birds got to this location on their own. Historically their range only extended to Georgia and although in recent years there have been sightings throughout the eastern US there is some fishiness about the ones in this area. Original reports in the Sparkleberry Swamp area, close by i...
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