The reality of what both actions work to protect was put under a
microscope Thursday in eastern Floyd County as a team of about
10 people inspected Dykes Creek off Kingston Highway. Part of
the Georgia Department of Natural Resources stream survey
program, studies were made concerning the overall status of the
waterway that flows into the Etowah River. Andrew Taylor, with
the Georgia DNR, said that what they were seeing was a pleasant
surprise. The team had found more 20 species of fish in a
300-meter section of the creek by Thursday afternoon. “It’s very
rare to have that many in a single stream,” Taylor said. “Few
sites provide that much diversity.” Some of the rarest types of
fish catalogued included redeye bass, Mobile logperches and
Coosa darters, which are found only in the Coosa River Basin.
The presence of both the Coosa shiner and tricolor shiner is a
positive sign that the waterway is in good condition, according
to Taylor, as both species prefer really clean mountain streams.
“Not many people that