150 Roosevelt Wild Life Bulletin 



3. Influence of Flows on Character of Water. The water in 

 most streams below beaver ponds as well as in the ponds themselves 

 is more or less amber-or coffee-colored. This is thought to be due 

 to dissolved substances from trees, especially hemlock, from peat or 

 from decaying vegetable matter of various kinds. This kind of 

 water is believed to be injurious to trout, whether it is warm or 

 cold. The belief rests upon the experience that before the beaver 

 came the water in these streams was clear, the trout were plentiful 

 and fishing excellent. With the appearance of the beaver the water 

 changed, the trout gradually diminished in numbers and within a 

 few years the streams were abandoned as fishing grounds. 



A number of streams which I visited were, pointed out to me as 

 having formerly been the best trout streams in their localities. As 

 an example may be mentioned the creek, with its two branches, 

 emptying into the inlet marsh of Big Moose Lake (map 1). I 

 was informed by Mr. H. H. Covey, proprietor of Camp Crag, and 

 by others, that these creeks before the introduction of the beaver 

 were among the best trout spawning grounds of that region. Their 

 waters were perfectly clear and considerably deeper than they have 

 been since that time ; there was excellent trout fishing. Xow no 

 trout are found in them and they have long since been abandoned by 

 fishermen. 



I found the creek (figure 22) from its mouth up to the junction 

 of its two branches averaging perhaps 25 to 30 feet in width. Its 

 depth 2 feet, 6 inches at the mouth, 3 to 4 feet in the channel 

 farther upstream, and 6 feet at the junction of its two branches. 

 The bottom felt firm under the oar, consisting of mud well 

 mixed with sand. On each branch, a few rods from the junc- 

 tion, is a beaver dam. The one on the south branch is about 18 

 inches high between water levels and perhaps 30 to 35 feet long. 

 The water just above the dam was 2 feet, .7 inches deep ; bottom 

 firm and sandy under the oar. The greatest depth encountered was 

 6 feet, 3 inches, at a point about 50 yards above the dam. A 

 short distance farther upstream the creek becomes narrow and 

 fallen trees prevent further progress by boat. The water at this 

 point was 2 feet, 6 inches deep and the bottom was covered with 

 an inch or two of soft mud, but below this it felt as firm and sandy 

 as it did below the dam. 



The dam on the north branch, about the same distance from the 

 junction, is 25 feet long and 2 feet high between water levels. 



