NEW ORLEANS (AP) — International Paper is giving the state two reservoirs that are popular recreational sites near Bastrop, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries said Monday.
The Bussey Brake reservoir is on a 2,600-acre site and the Wham Brake reservoir on about 5,500 acres.
The company, which closed its Bastrop mill in 2009, impounded both areas in the 1950s. The donation will preserve them for future generations, said IP Senior Vice President Tommy Joseph.
“Preserving fish and game habitat for public use is a key component in the department’s conservation mission,” said LDWF Secretary Robert Barham.
He said the department plans to drain and dry out Bussey Brake, refill it and stock it with popular game fish including bass, bream, catfish and crappie. That will take three to five years but the new fish population should keep itself going for decades, he said.
Fisheries biologist Mike Wood said the fish there now are largely invasive German carp which keep the lake too muddy for game fish, which need light to reach their nests on the bottom. He says those fish will be left to be eaten by birds and other animals, and to decompose into fertilizer. It’s in a remote area and nobody lives nearby, so the smell won’t be a problem.
“We’re going to take it slowly. There’s no rush. And we don’t want to create any problems downstream,” he said. Problems to avoid include overwhelming adjacent Bayou Bartholemew, a state scenic stream from which water originally was pumped into the reservoir, with muddy water.
Bussey Brake was created to provide water for a mill. Wham Brake, about 10 miles away, was part of a system into which that mill and another discharged a total of up to 20 million gallons of waste water a day, said Gerald Owens of Wildlife and Fisheries’ Monroe office.
Though the area gets much less water now, about 4,000 acres remain covered, much of it shallow, which is the sort of area waterfowl like, Owens said.
Wham Brake will become part of the Russell-Sage Wildlife Management Area. Barham said the department and Ducks Unlimited will begin a hydrologic survey of the reservoir, which he calls a vital waterfowl area, to decide the best management strategy. Planned improvements include new boat launches and parking areas, improved water delivery systems and soil management to create more waterfowl habitat.
