Park fisheries biologists planned to use a piscicide, antimycin, to remove non-native rainbow and brown trout from suitable brook trout habitat. An area in Sam's Creek, in Tennessee, had been selected as a test site for the program. Park fisheries personnel began introducing antimycin into the upper reaches of the creek on Monday, Oct. 23. According to Park spokesman, Bob Miller, a combination of low water levels, unseasonably high temperatures and heavy leaf litter created unfavorable conditions.
Biologists suspect heavy leaf litter in the stream, also impeded the effectiveness of the piscicide.
The leaves are believed to absorb or bind the chemical. Biologists did not want to up the antimycin level for fear of negative impact on non-target species such as crayfish and salamanders. The prudent thing to do, said Miller, was to halt the project for this year. The restoration plan, discussed at public meetings throughout the region last spring, ran into opposition from local fishermen, but was widely supported by biologists and conservation groups. Rainbows and browns have been prized by park anglers since they were introduced by logging companies in the early 1900s.