10 
Christopher J. O’Bara 
no definitive geological records exist, Cumberland Falls is believed to 
have been originally located near Burnside, Ky. The present falls are 
situated approximately 72 km upstream of this presumed origin. 
The entire Upper Cumberland River basin is within the Appalachian 
Plateau Physiographic Province. Three physiographic sections lie within 
the basin. The Cumberland Mountains section consists of two parallel 
ridges with altitudes ranging from 600 to 1,295 meters. Headwater 
streams in this region are generally of steep gradient. The Kanawha 
section is a dissected plateau characterized by narrow valleys and 
moderate-gradient streams. The Cumberland Plateau section is a broad 
plateau of moderate relief. The Pottsville escarpment along the western 
edge of the plateau contains steep-gradient streams (McGrain 1966). 
METHODS AND MATERIALS 
Sampling was conducted from October 1984 to August 1985. 
Collections were made by using seines and backpack electrofishing 
equipment. The habitat was characterized qualitatively at each site. The 
analyzed characteristics included substrate, embeddedness, riparian 
vegatation, stream morphometry, watershed land use, and canopy cover. 
The approximate length of suitable habitat based on the previously 
mentioned characteristics was measured upstream and downstream 
from a known population location. Healthy populations were defined as 
those that contained two or more year classes and numerically composed 
more than 25% of the fish community. 
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 
Of the 193 sites sampled, 30 contained P. cumberlandensis (Table 
1). It appears that P. cumberlandensis has been extirpated from nine 
streams (Table 2). Nine new populations were discovered (Table 1), but 
only the one in Bucks Branch was considered healthy. An estimated 
27.0 km of stream were inhabited by P. cumberlandensis , but only 13.0 
km supported healthy populations. 
Five population clusters were found (Table 1). Downstream of 
Cumberland Falls, five streams were inhabited by P. cumberlandensis. 
The other four population clusters were found in the Straight Creek 
system (six populations), in the Jellico Creek system (five populations), 
in the Clear Fork system (five populations), and in four small streams 
that drain directly into the Cumberland River. These population clusters 
are extremely important to the continued existence of the species. If 
conditions improve in adjacent streams, natural recolonization is likely 
to occur as a result of the fairly large numbers of P. cumberlandensis in 
these population clusters. Reinvasion was documented in the Straight 
