Thread: FFA and Corp. of Engineers Crappie Condo Project

The Centerpoint FFA will be partnering with the Corp of Engineers to build approximately 160 bamboo crappie condos. These condos will be placed in Lake Degray and Lake Greeson. This project has already been approved by the Corp. They will be providing the concrete, while the FFA will provide the buckets, bamboo, and manpower.

All of the spots where crappie condos are dropped will be marked by GPS. The Corp will make these coordinates available to the public. I'll make sure to get them and post the waypoints on here.

I will be the one coordinating the logistics of this project. Starting off, I'm trying to find plenty of 5 gallon buckets and bamboo. We'll probably cut a lot of the bamboo off of my property, but I'm sure we'll need more. I'm pretty sure the school cafeteria and a local bakery can supply us with enough buckets. (I hope!)

This should be a great learning experience for the students. I'll try to keep everyone updated on the progress of this project.

*pending my high school principals approval, which shouldn't be a problem*

ahh..yeah...you better keep us informed. I need to get my kids in on that for Dierks lake. :D

That's is a really good deal there. Thanks for informing us about it, those coordinates will be nice to have.

Thats a great idea....way to go!

agriHawg, look in the phone book for people that do plastering contracting,
or just plastering for those 5 gal pails. They buy their paster supplies in those nice white buckets. I know, as my brother-in-law is a plaster, and I have about 50 of these buckets he throws away.

You can call the Lakes Corps of Engineers office, and they will mail you a copy of the map on the fish habitats.

Very good idea guys!

Can't wait for the GPS coordinates , and that is a great thing getting the kids in on conservation.

Agrihawg,

I am in Kirby and would be glad to help if you need anything. I know a few people who work in logging and use a lot of 5 gallon buckets for hydraulic fluid. I am sure I could get some for you if needed. Also, I know some places in the area we could get some bamboo as well.

Not to take away from your idea, but you might consider building some stake beds out of pallets like "Nimrod" uses. I think pallets would be pretty easy to get donated and easy to build since you have all of the equipment. It would be nice to have some of these placed in shallower water (5 - 10 feet) with the bamboo condos in the deeper water. Just my opinion.

Let me know if there is anything I can do.

Shane

demolitionman13, I'll definitely keep you in mind if we need any help. I appreciate the offer.

The more I think about this, the more I'm sure getting enough bamboo will be the issue. I'll probably get in touch with you about the bamboo before this is all over. I've got a couple of spots within a couple miles of the school we'll cut down first though.

I agree it would be nice to have some shallow stuff. However, so far the tall condos are what the Corp is wanting us to build. I'm gonna see if we can't do some shallow ones too, but the others take precedence.

The buckets shouldn't be a problem. Which reminds me....I need to go talk to the cafeteria. :D