Aquatic Habitat Restoration
Making the lake an optimum environment for aquatic life,
in balance with those who live on the lake
Total cost: $24,500
Timber Lake has traditionally been a great lake for fishing. There are many pictures and accounts over the years from fishermen and women of great catches of a wide variety of species native to Central Virginia. Our most experienced fisherman, Joe Skinner, who has fished the lake for over 40 years, describes the current fishery quality as only “moderate”. Unfortunately, without the benefit of scientific information we can’t be assured of the future quality of this fishery. We intend to work in coming years to collect the data necessary to improve and maintain the health of the habitat, not only for fish, but for the variety of creatures who call the lake home.
Improving the quality of the underwater habitat for fish benefits not only fishermen; it will benefit everyone who enjoys the lake. A healthy fishery results in not only healthy fish, but also a strong aquatic ecosystem where a multiplicity of waterfowl, aquatic plants, reptiles, amphibians and insects can thrive. Our desire is that the lake fish population become self-perpetuating over time, resulting in no need for regular stocking.
In the past, several actions have been taken, some intentionally and some not, that have impacted underwater habitat and fish populations:
Efforts to eliminate invasive hydrilla by stocking sterile grass carp have been overly successful and have resulted in the lake being largely devoid of all grass and underwater vegetation. Chain pickerel have mostly disappeared from the lake as a result.
Several years ago, a large number of crappie were caught and removed simply for recreational/fish fry purposes. This significantly reduced the population.
Over the years, residents have been wary of introducing natural or man-made habitats to the lake. Some concerns for safety and environmental issues are certainly valid; however it has minimized available resources for fish breeding and cover.
At some point in the past, white perch were introduced into the lake. These fish reproduce quickly and compete with crappie for food sources, further challenging the crappie population. Introduction of any foreign species into the lake must be carefully controlled.
We intend to do the following to improve the aquatic habitat and ecosystem over time:
We will contract with a consultant to assess the current fish population and habitat, resulting in a recommendation for improvements we can make.
We will add underwater habitat structures (natural and artificial) to be purchased or acquired through donations. We will work closely with the Timberlake Homeowners Association regarding location, marking and ultimately approval of these structures.
We will stock additional fish if necessary to encourage proper balance for a healthy habitat for many species.
We will recommend a new policy regarding catching/releasing fish that encourages healthy fish populations over time.
We will institute ongoing creel surveys so that fishermen can tell us what they’re catching. This will give us an informal monitoring of changing populations over the long term.
We will develop recommendations for monitoring and addressing any invasive plant species that show up on the lake (hydrilla, lilypads, etc.)
We will contract to get a long-term Lake Management Plan to inform our continuing efforts.
The estimated cost of this project in 2025/2026 is:
$3,500 Fish study and recommendations
$16,000 Underwater habitat structure
$4,000 Stocking
Please donate to help make Timber Lake the healthiest place possible for aquatic (and human!) life.