Somewhere on the Big River a tractor pulling a hay bailer comes within inches of a treeless, 20-foot high vertical bank. Before the last flood, the field was five feet wider. The river has done what rivers will always do with unprotected banks - claim them.

The Little Piney gracefully winds and falls its way through the valley it has created through eons of effort. At the in-stream gravel dredging operation, the creek turns chocolate brown, wide and devoid of cover. What took the Little Piney centuries to create and perfect, a dragline has despoiled in a few years.

One hundred and fifty acres of timber is cleared to make way for a new subdivision. Without a retention pond or adequate soil erosion control, heavy rainfall overwhelms the barren watershed. Soil flows into the nameless creek until it reaches its destination-the best fishing hole for miles. The rocky pool is silted in and water willow is smothered. Once again, the Meramec River feels the sting of progress in its watershed.

Scenarios like these are played out daily on Missouri streams. Some are more devastating than others, but they all hurt our streams and the fish that live in them. And the best intentioned fishing regulations cannot make things better.

`Without adequate habitat, everything else is academic" is the quote I remember most from my college fisheries advisor. Without adequate habitat or protection of existing habitat, a fish population's potential will never be realized and any attempts at improving fishing through fishing regulations will be futile. I firmly believe what my advisor said, and I believe that the single most important thing limiting our stream fisheries is habitat.

Channelization, in-stream gravel dredging, soil erosion, and pollution have all hurt Missouri's streams and fish populations. Channelization (stream straightening) greatly increase soil erosion by increased stream gradient and stream bank sloughing in and above the channeled area. Below the channeled area, much of the eroded soil deposits in the stream channel, making it wide, shallow and unstable.

The result of channelization is devastated habitat and up to an 85 percent decrease in sport fishing. To make matters worse, channelization causes increased erosion to adjacent stream banks. This, in turn, causes neighboring landowners to ``fix" their stream sections, too. Many times, as in the cases of many north Missouri streams, this means more channelization until the entire stream is straight. Many species cannot live in these areas. No fishing regulation can bring them back.

In-stream gravel dredging reduces habitat that smallmouth bass need. Dredging causes severe stream bank erosion, widening and loss of cover. When dredging is in process, the water becomes muddy, reducing the smallmouth's abilityto feed. Above the dredging area, the stream banks slough into the stream and riffles are lost as the stream tries to regain its old gradient. Loss of habitat and reduced numbers of fish are the result. Only restoration of past habitat will improve fishing.

These examples are the easiest to see. (It's not easy to hide a gravel operation) But problems like soil erosion have more wide-ranging implications. Soil erosion resulting from house, road and other urban construction; row cropping on hilly terrain or too close to the bank; removing trees from the corridor - these can fill in pools and spawning gravel on a large scale. This limits the ability of a stream to support fish. Placing fishing regulations on a stream creates high expectations - expectations that would probably not be realized in a stream with excessive erosion in its watershed.

Pollution can contaminate fish (e.g. lean and chlordane), degrade water quality, (e.g. sewage effluent) or kill fish outright. Fortunately, only a couple fish consumption advisories exist in Missouri. However, one advisory on the big River, could someday include smallmouth bass. Poor water quality can destroy an entire food chain or remove enough oxygen to prevent fish from becoming established.

Sometimes pollution quickly removes oxygen and causes fish kills, and fish kills happen frequently. MDC conducted stream pollution investigations and discovered 35 fish kills occurring in 1992. Fish kills eliminate or alter fish communities for years to come. Improving stream habitat is not easy, especially on a statewide basis. However, to truly improve and protect stream fishing, we must do it. At times, we see these problems, feel overwhelmed and say, ``Yeah, but what can I do about it?" The answer Is plenty.

Become a Stream Team. Stream Teams can adopt a favorite stream or work statewide to help streams. They can help landowners stabilize soil with tree plantings, monitor water annually and help stop projects (e.g. channelization) that can destroy a stream. Stream Teams now number 444, with thousands of members. Stream Teams have become a statewide voice for change in the way streams are overseen. This is your single best chance for improving stream fishing on a statewide basis.

Educate yourself about laws that affect streams. Then pressure lawmakers to improve them. A current example of this strategy would be to urge your elected representatives to vote for reauthorization of the Clean Water Act. In stream gravel dredging and channelization must be stopped to ensure good habitat for stream fish.

Protect good habitat. Help ensure proper land practices in and around streams by being aware and commenting on developments in the watershed of your favorite stream. Try to get soil erosion control devices installed around land clearing projects and water retention siltation basins to catch storm water below subdivisions, help landowners fence cattle out of stream side trees. Oppose mainstream river dams.

Without the foresight of stream advocates who opposes dams, the Meramec and Big rivers, two of the most productive smallmouth streams in the state, would have been changed forever.

Advocate good stream corridor management. Educate yourselves about stream issues like the importance of allowing trees to grow on the stream bank. Also, help advertise the Conservation Department Streams for the Future program, which can help landowners with stream problems. ``Without adequate habitat, everything else is academic." No truer words were spoken.

Kevin Meneau is a fisheries biologist for the Missouri Department of Conservation and recently put in charge of the Ozark Region and newly appointed Team Leader for the Smallmouth Bass Program.

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