The “trees” weren’t made of wood, though, but instead created by recycled PVC, according to Webster County Conservation. The objects are made to simulate downed trees and are used as fish habitats in the water.

“We’re putting these in both Prairie and Moorland ponds,” said Darren Herzog, a park ranger with Webster County Conservation. “Both of which are just borrow pits (from the highway construction), so there’s not a whole lot of fish structure in them.”

He noted that PVC structures won’t deteriorate after a few years like old Christmas trees or other wood objects do when submerged in the water.

The PVC fish habitats will eventually become covered in natural vegetation at the bottom of the pond and give smaller fish protection from the larger, predatory fish, as well as just giving the fish a place to hang out so they don’t just have to swim around in circles. The pond is “pretty much an empty basin,” Herzog said.

-Submitted photo
Webster County Conservation Park Ranger Joe Sherbon submerges a PVC fish habitat into Prairie Pond while Park Ranger Darren Herzog steers the boat on Wednesday.

“And another thing that this certain type of structure provides is shade, so it cools them in the hot months,” he added.

The habitats were purchased with funds from the Iowa Department of Natural Resource’s Fish Habitat Grant, which covered 90 percent of the $10,000 cost. The grant is funded through the purchase of annual fishing licenses, according to Webster County Conservation Director Matt Cosgrove.

Herzog, along with another park ranger, Joe Sherbon, loaded the habitats onto a small boat and lowered them into the water with a landscaping stone to help weigh them down.

“We’re putting these out kind of where people fish the most, so it’ll attract fish,” Herzog said.

Another benefit of the PVC habitats is that fish hooks won’t get caught on the plastic as easily as they would on submerged wood habitats, he said.

-Submitted photo
New PVC fish habitats were recently installed at Prairie Pond located at U.S. Highway 20 and Vasse Avenue. The habitats give the fish space to hide from larger predators.

Some structures were placed near the shore to provide habitat for younger fish, while others were placed about 40 feet from shore to provide habitat for larger predatory fish.

Additional habitats will be installed at Moorland Pond in the coming weeks, according to Webster County Conservation.