Historically, flooding hasn't been a problem for fish because they have had complex stream habitats, abundant riparian forests and extensive flood plains.

Steelhead and other native fish have had thousands of years to adapt to flooding. Not only can they survive, floods usually improve the habitat by scouring out river bottoms, creating new pools and cleaning out the silt.

Historically, steelhead would come back to spawn in the winter over three, four and even five months, depending on the stream. They would arrive around Thanksgiving and continue through March.

Native fish like to lay eggs in gravel, not mud.

The forests of the South are among the richest in terms of total number of species of any habitats in the world. Given the growth in the South and the rapidly changing landscape, it is our outlook that many of these areas would in the next 20 years be converted from forests into fully developed landscapes.

The forests of the South are among the richest in terms of total number of species of any habitats in the world.