http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20140129/NEWS01/301290066/Endangered-fish-keeps-water-levels-down-Lake-Cumberland

 

For the 8th year in a row the Corps is going to keep the lake levels below normal summer pool.

 

Speculation among some is that the "Dam fix" didn't go as well as planned and this is being used as an excuse to keep the lake levels lower.

 

The Duskytail Darter was in the lake before the lake was dropped and survived it would stand to reason that raising the lake levels would not make ant difference.

For a 2.5 in fish that will be gone if the shad spawn is poor. they're easy pickins for all the ky bass. Can they get any dumber?

I know Lee Andrews, (supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service), very well. He is a good guy. I haven't talked to him since last fall. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife falls under the United States Department of Interior. So the Federal Government regulations on endangered species are what is being put into place here I would guess............ We all know the Federal Government takes a logical stance on everything,

They're endangered because striper eat all day, everyday.

example 1 0 no sense:

With the dam repaired, business owners and tourism officials were looking for even more visitors this year. They spread the news at trade shows and on websites that the lake would be back to 723 feet in 2014.

 

The announcement that it probably won't be is unacceptable, Republican U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell said.

 

example 2 - more sense:

In his statement on Wednesday's announcement, U.S. Rep. Harold "Hal" Rogers, a Republican who lives in Somerset, said it was important to remember that even at 705 feet, there is plenty of room for boating and fishing on the lake.

 

Read more here: Endangered duskytail darter may prevent raising Lake Cumberland to normal summer level | Travel | Kentucky.com

 

Furthermore, the proponents of the higher level in 2006 keep relating that to better business....what businesses are doing as well now as they did in 2006? Not sure that correlation is valid.

Only took 5 years to build the Hoover dam.. Seven years on this project and they still don't have it right...

As someone that lives here near the lake, tourism dropped dramatically as soon as the lake levels dropped. Many boat ramps and access points were unusable and will still be unusable with lower lake levels. Lower lake levels also gives people the perception that the lake is much much smaller and while it is somewhat smaller the perception of vacationers is what matters not the reality. Other surrounding areas such as Laurel Lake and Dale Hollow have picked up additional tourist business over the last 7 or 8 years that normally came to Lake Cumberland.

 

The lowering of the lake has had a profound effect on local business as a large number of tourist simply went else where. Drop in tourism to the lake has been estimated by the Corps of Engineers at a loss of around 600,000 people per year since the lake levels have dropped.

Only took 5 years to build the Hoover dam.. Seven years on this project and they still don't have it right...

I agree, but the biggest issue is that the dam was built in just about the worst location possible as far as the geological locations go...the ground is weak and porous. Not sure what they can do now other than just try to keep fixing this one.

 

I was told when new road in that area was built traffic would no longer be allowed across the dam and that would help.

Claiming ignorance here (I've only been to Lake Cumberland a few times), but I really don't get the big deal. I was there last summer with a friend who has had a place there for around 20 years, and he said he's never seen the fishing be better. There are just as many fish, and they're in a "smaller" lake as of late. Still, we're only talking like 18 feet lower than the lake's traditional summer pool elevation. Last summer it was at 705 feet elevation instead of the normal 723 that they had kept summer pool prior to the start of the grouting operation in 2007. 2007-2012 they had kept summer pool at 680 foot elevation.

 

Asking honestly, is the difference in 705 feet and 723 feet really that big a deal?

Only took 5 years to build the Hoover dam.. Seven years on this project and they still don't have it right...

 

Ask any construction worker - new construction is faster, and often times cheaper than any kind of renovation project.

 

Also, do a little reading on the geology of your two poorly-compared projects. The Hoover Dam is built into a formation of solid gneiss stone in the Black Canyon. It's a metamorphic rock similar to granite, and it's harder than hell. The Wolf Creek Dam is built into a formation of Kentucky Limestone, which is infamous for its relatively poor performance against water erosion. That's why we have so many caves in Kentucky (see also: Karst topography).

 

Also also, the Hoover Dam is an arch gravity dam that is cut into the canyon and has a MUCH better surface to bond to, whereas Wolf Creek is a concrete and earthen dam that spans a MUCH MUCH wider valley and was only originally keyed into the limestone surface that is very susceptible to water erosion, and by damming up the river, they were literally intentionally putting WAY more water there to effectively erode away that limestone.

Claiming ignorance here (I've only been to Lake Cumberland a few times), but I really don't get the big deal. I was there last summer with a friend who has had a place there for around 20 years, and he said he's never seen the fishing be better. There are just as many fish, and they're in a "smaller" lake as of late. Still, we're only talking like 18 feet lower than the lake's traditional summer pool elevation. Last summer it was at 705 feet elevation instead of the normal 723 that they had kept summer pool prior to the start of the grouting operation in 2007. 2007-2012 they had kept summer pool at 680 foot elevation.

 

Asking honestly, is the difference in 705 feet and 723 feet really that big a deal?

Several miles of shoreline shorter with lower lake, I know it doesn't seem so but there are tributaries that are not navigable now that have miles and miles of boating and fishing available with the higher lake level. Also and probably more important is the perception of vacationers from up north that the lake is down versus the perception that it is back up. The extra 15 to 20 percent increase in tourist really has an effect on the region, those higher number help push many small businesses from break even to profitable and being able to grow. The ones that weren't profitable with lower tourism have already closed up.

So...is blaming the delays in raising the level on the Duskytail Darter just a cover-up to the fact that the Corp. cannot make the repairs to restore the lake to 723ft?

So...is blaming the delays in raising the level on the Duskytail Darter just a cover-up to the fact that the Corp. cannot make the repairs to restore the lake to 723ft?

That's the $50,000 question!

So...is blaming the delays in raising the level on the Duskytail Darter just a cover-up to the fact that the Corp. cannot make the repairs to restore the lake to 723ft?

 

I think it's in between. A guide friend I have down there says he thinks it's an excuse to allow the water level to be stable for a while before going to full pool. He cries baloney on the darter.

I do too, darter didn't just pop up. If it's here it's been here for decades and decades or longer and it survived the lake at higher levels for nearly 50 years.