The Facts

• Native brook trout are the “canary in the coal mine” when it comes to water quality. The presence of native brookies in a watershed indicates the water quality is excellent. The loss of brook trout in a watershed is a sign that water quality, or habitat, is degraded.

• Brook trout used to be prevalent throughout the cold water rivers of the Southeast. Today, the brookie population is healthy in only 5% of its natural habitat. In the Southeast, brook trout are retreating to the headwaters of streams, the last bastions of healthy cold water habitat in our region.

• The declining population of brook trout is caused by a variety of factors, including water acidification from coal mines and air pollution; the overstocking of non-native species; and poor agriculture and development land management practices. The loss of hemlock trees-which shade Appalachian trout streams-has resulted in warmer water temperatures and degraded brook trout habitat.

Get Involved

The wooly adelgid, a non-native parasite, is killing hemlock populations at a rapid rate. Half the hemlock growth in the East is affected by the parasite and 80 percent of the hemlocks in the Shenandoah National Park are already dead. Saving the hemlock population is a priority for the U.S. Forest Service and a number of non-profits.
www.saveourhemlocks.org

Trout Unlimited is supporting the Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture, a collaborative effort to restore brook trout habitat that’s bringing together state fish and wildlife agencies, conservation organizations, and federal partners in order to develop state by state strategies for brook conservation and recovery.
www.brookie.org

Perspectives

“Brook trout are an indicator of healthy watersheds, so brook restoration isn’t just about the fish. All ecosystem functions are represented by the presence or absence of the brook trout. If we can restore these brookie populations, we’re doing a service all the way down the watershed to the ocean.”
-Gary Berti, Eastern Brook Trout Campaign Coordinator for Trout Unlimited