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Home > Fish and Wildlife Service News >
South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks
Troublesome Diatom Spreads in Black Hills StreamsSouth Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks — 7/14/2006The South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources discovered Didymo in Castle Creek during routine water quality monitoring. A sample of the diatom was verified by Dr. Sarah Spaulding, a diatom expert with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks biologists screened other Black Hills streams, including Spearfish, Spring and Castle creeks, for the presence of Didymo during the summer of 2005. The diatom was not found in any samples collected outside of Rapid Creek. "Our initial thoughts were Didymo could only survive under conditions unique to Rapid Creek after our testing in 2005. However, the recent discovery in Castle Creek verifies that Didymo can occur, at least at benign levels, in other Black Hills streams" said Jeff Shearer, coldwater fisheries biologist for GFP. "Didymo in Castle Creek is confined to a short section of stream in small patches. Whether those patches expand to the ‘nuisance blooms' we've observed on Rapid Creek still remains to be seen." Over the past several years, brown trout populations have been severely reduced in Rapid Creek from Pactola Dam downstream through the Dark Canyon area. Large mats of Didymo have developed in conjunction with the trout decline, covering up to 90 percent of the stream bottom in some areas. The diatom has also been discovered above Pactola Lake at Silver City. Since 2005 South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks has stocked rainbow trout from Cleghorn Springs State Fish Hatchery in Rapid Creek below Pactola Dam to provide a recreational fishery. But returning this section of stream to a self-sustaining brown trout fishery is the preferred option. To reduce the risk of spreading Didymo to other streams, anglers and recreational users of the Black Hills are asked to clean their waders and equipment when moving from one waterbody to another. A 2 percent bleach solution or several days of drying are effective methods in killing Didymo. These preventative measures may be an inconvenience, but they are important for controlling the accidental spread of Didymo and other aquatic nuisance species such as New Zealand mud snails or whirling disease. Anglers are also urged to clean equipment prior to returning from fishing trips to other states.
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