Post by Salter on Apr 29, 2006 19:12:05 GMT -5
Hi all,
Thought you would find this interesting.
Michael
EASTERN BROOK TROUT WORKGROUP NEWSLETTER
March/April
By
Marcia Woolman, EBTW chair
The EBT Workgroup of the National Leadership Council of Trout Unlimited has been given the charge of providing information that supports coordination of all the efforts of TU’s chapters, councils, staff, consultants and federal and state agency partners in advancing our Eastern Brook Trout Initiative, with this newsletter being a key element in this coordination. As with all newsletters it will only be as good as the information reported. So please remember to send updates of activities, advanced notice of meetings regarding Brook Trout, and summary reports of these meetings also. This newsletter will come out bi-monthly.
There are some great new contributors to this issue of the newsletter. I requested updates on state projects from the fisheries biologists, and you will find these under each state heading, in blue font, along with the BTB reports in black font. What an exciting new dimension this gives our newsletter. Together, we really are making a difference.
NEWS
THE EBTJV MEDIA CAMPAIGN:
From Gary Berti, BTB National Staff Coordinator
The Trout Unlimited media campaign on behalf of the Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture is planned to begin the week of May 1st. This schedule follows on the heels of the Congressional Casting Call where the National Fish Habitat Initiative is being unveiled to Congress. Our Eastern Brook Trout Report will be there and it looks fantastic. We should get some incredible publicity garnering strong support at the highest of agency and congressional levels. This is exciting and positions TU for great success in the near future.
Electronic copies of the press release and the report will be sent to our National Leadership Council members, Trustees, Council Chairs and Brook Trout Coordinators prior to the report release. These should be expected any day now and will be distributed out of our Press Office in Arlington. On the date of the release, the same release will be sent to media venues across the range of the Brook Trout, customized for state by state distribution.
Our TU/BTB teams will be receiving hard copies for distribution during the same week. The hard copies need to get out early and get out to effective venues. Use your resources to put these into the hands of people who can a make a difference, who care, or who might care. State brochures, which are included as a piece of the larger report, will be printed in much larger numbers and should be distributed in venues where they will be seen and appreciated.
One of the main goals of this campaign is to get print, voice and visual media to carry the story. The TU/BTB teams should have identified friendly media writers, editors or directors who are interested in carrying this story. When you have received the go-ahead to contact these folks, please do so. If you are personal friends, or know someone who is, ask them to go fishing, or just talk fishing with them and ask if they would run a story on the brook trout status and threats. Let them know we will be following up in the fall with a state by state conservation strategy which answers the status/threats document. They will get two stories/articles out of the brookies.
If you are successful in getting media placement, please clip the stories, or document them in some manner so we can show our funders that, yes indeed, TU can pull the grass roots together and make it happen. TU should use this, among other initiatives, to re-establish itself as the conservation leader for coldwater fisheries. In doing so, we will secure our role in both the Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture and the broader role of conserving, protecting and restoring native fish to native habitats.
STATE/REGION BTB REPORTS
New England Region
New Hampshire –
From BTB Dave McGinty
New Hampshire announces new leadership. Tom Spencer, a member and Director of New Hampshire's Merrimack River Valley Chapter #075 has come forward and volunteered to be our state's Back the Brookie Coordinator. Pleas add him to your e-mail list as Tom & Lynn Spencer with an e-mail address of t213@msn.com. We are very pleased to have him on board.
Secondly, the NH TU Council, as of March 29, 2006 has committed to donate $6,000.00 to Dianne Emerson, New Hampshire's Region 1 fisheries biologist, for the purpose of finally doing genetic testing on nearly one thousand brook trout scale and fin-clip samples. The laboratory work will be done in conjunction with the USGS. The data gleaned from these highly scientific studies should help Dianne and her colleagues determine what strains are where in the state, and which Brookie populations are wild trickle-downs from hatchery stock and which are truly native. As we have mentioned previously, Ms. Emerson has been tracking 23 brook trout implanted with radio transmitters in two of our major Northern rivers that also flow in Maine, the Androscoggin and the Magalloway. Teamed up with Dave Boucher, fisheries biologist with the Maine Dept. of Inland Fisheries, she has implemented telemetry tracking by boat in the warmer months last year, and has followed the same brookies via aircraft this winter.
As you can see, the Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture is working well here in New Hampshire, with the folks from Maine, the USGS local staff and resources, New Hampshire Fish and Game, and Trout Unlimited all cooperating on behalf of the venerable Brookie.
From Diane Emerson – NH fisheries biologist –
One of our rivers is being nominated by our state Environmental Services Department as a quality river. The Ammonoosuc River flows in northern NH and this will afford the river better protection when it comes to additional development and permitting (we hope anyway!) This river provides a home for Atlantic salmon and other salmonids. Also we have some restoration work in the form of culvert replacement and crossings work done in Nash Stream. This is the beginning of a multiple year project to remove the fragmentation issue for brook trout in this watershed as well as restore the habitat that was lost when an old crib dam blew out in 1969. As far as the education and advocacy goes, we are continuing to work with schools on salmon and trout in the classroom and this year we do have two classrooms with brook trout. Also I am continuing my conversations with our state wildlife journalists to get the story out for the May/June issue and also working on a segment on our TV show on brook trout and the Joint Venture. And last but not least working on state conservation strategies for NH and continuing the joint venture correspondence.
Maine –
From Don Grosset
The Maine Brook Trout Working Group is making progress, as it formulates plans with Maine's Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (IF&W) to protect and effectively manage the state's wild brook trout population. IF&W is going to print booklets about Maine's fisheries regions, listing wild native trout waters. In-state, and then, national, media coverage will follow. While there is an element of marketing in the effort, the prime purpose is to publicize steps being taken to preserve the resource.
The IF&W, under the direction of fisheries biologist Mary Gallagher, is in the process of raising funds to survey the wild brook trout populations of Maine's vast northern forest river and stream systems. Those waters show up in white, or," blank,” on the TU National Maine trout map, having never been evaluated by IF&W due to lack of funds and personnel. The program will take 3-5 years at a cost of $200 000 to $300 000 per year. Additional biologists will be hired to implement the effort.
On a smaller scale, fisheries biologist Bob Van Riper is going to survey streams in Maine Fisheries Regions A & B, southern and mid-coast Maine, supported by an Embrace-a-Stream grant and contributions from three local chapters. Bob will use a summer intern to do field work with him. The effort will be a starting point for a long term program.
The Rapid River smallmouth bass control project is moving ahead with a plan to raise river flow to stress the spawners and the fry. The radio tags from last season’s brook trout, landlocked salmon and bass tagging exercise are being examined to determine migration patterns and hopefully lead to other control possibilities. The Rapid River is unique in that it is a major river that holds a population of wild brook trout.
Brook trout habitat enhancement in Maine may move ahead significantly, if the Plum Creek 400 000 acre easement possibility in the Moosehead region is environmentally sound, and surmounts major obstacles. As yet, the terms are unknown. In addition, 6 000 acres of prime forestland a butting Baxter State Park, is being offered to the state by a lumber company. The tract includes beautiful, pristine Katahdin Lake, coveted, but never acquired, by Governor Percival Baxter.
Last but not least, the Sabago Chapter’s lead field project is the cleanup of Depot Brook, Wells, ME on 4/29. This suburban stream is home to wild, and probably genetically pure brook trout. This chapter received an EAS grant and contributions from other stakeholder. Depot is a textbook case for managing wild trout waters in urban/suburban development stressed environments.
From Forrest Bonnie- Fisheries biologist
Conservation
Degradation of western Maine streams likely dates back to the severe physical impacts of log driving, and is manifested in loss of pools and in overwidened sections of streams. A number of geomorphically-based brook trout habitat restoration projects are underway to restore selected stream reaches. On the Cupsuptic River, grade control structures were placed to arrest headcutting and downstream sediment transport that was filling pools to the detriment of adult brook trout habitat. At South Bog Stream, a tributary to Rangeley Lake, two treatment types (deflector logs and keystone riffle/pool sequences) have been constructed to date and a third reach will be completed in 2006. The purpose of these structures is to restore the width to depth ratio and to reconstruct pools to enhance adult and juvenile brook trout habitat. A new project is .also scheduled on the upper Sandy River to restore degraded adult and juvenile brook trout habitat
Each project is being monitored for a minimum of five years to determine project success and resiliency. Monitoring consists of extensive geomorphic (longitudinal and cross sectional profiles, pebble counts) and biological (electrofishing, macroinvertebrate sampling, water quality) evaluation.
Funding for these projects is being provided by The US Fish and Wildlife Service, the Fish America Foundation, Trout Unlimited, and the Trout and Salmon Foundation. There is also enthusiastic local support for these projects, as evidenced by the contribution of volunteers and financial support from local TU chapters and the Rangeley Region Guides' and Sportsmen's Association.
Connecticut
No info
Vermont
From: Rich Kirn-District Fisheries Biologist
Conservation - Vermont Fish Passage Initiatives:
The Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department (VFWD), in partnership with the Vermont Transportation Agency (VTrans) and Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (VDEC), is in the process of developing technical guidelines on the proper design and installation of stream crossing structures that will achieve fish and aquatic organism passage. Recent studies have shown brook trout movement to be much greater than previously thought. There have been many recent gains within the nation in understanding the needs of fish and aquatic organism passage at culverts, and bringing this knowledge and expertise to Vermont to build our capacity to better design, install, and maintain stream crossing structures is essential to restoring aquatic habitat connectivity and aquatic organism movement in Vermont’s rivers and streams.
VFWD and VTrans staff are working together to utilize new design alternatives for fish and aquatic organism passage at critical structures slated for replacement.
In the past 2 years VFWD, through funding from VTrans , has conducted hundreds of culvert surveys throughout the state. Preliminary results indicate that a high percentage of these structures are complete or partial barriers to movement of fish and other aquatic organisms.
VFWD is funding an additional study to use the above inventories and other fisheries data to prioritize fish passage enhancement projects. It is hoped that this project will help identify fish passage enhancement projects and better utilize existing federal funding programs.
Vermont Triploid (Sterile) Trout Study:
The potential for negative consequences from genetic interaction between wild trout populations and hatchery stocks is a growing concern among fisheries managers throughout the nation. The use of sterile triploid trout has been proposed in several states as a strategy for conserving native stocks while meeting the public demand for recreational angling opportunities. Triploid trout are produced by exposing fertilized eggs to specific temperatures or pressures which renders them effectively sterile. Beginning in 2007, the VFWD will begin evaluations on the performance of yearling triploid brook trout in several Vermont stream and ponds.
Education -Vermont Wild Brook Trout Poster:
VFWD is producing a poster on Vermont’s wild brook trout populations and habitat needs. This outreach effort is intended to inform a wide variety of Vermonters of habitat issues surrounding Vermont’s only native stream-dwelling trout. The poster is expected to be available in the early summer 2006
MASSATUSUTTS/RHODE ISLAND
From BTB Chair Warren Winders
TU chapters from across the Council area are involved in brook trout related projects. These range from identifying and repairing tipped culverts to Trout in the Classroom projects that raise brook trout. The Council’s chapters are also involved in the very serious and pressing work of identifying and formally documenting brook trout waters with state fish and wildlife agencies. Given that Rhode Island and Massachusetts are, respectively, the first and third most densely populated states in the country, development pressures and water withdrawals are the most serious threats that brook trout face in these states.
In Rhode Island the Narragansett Chapter continues to work to protect the native brook trout of the Falls River. This involves erosion control, and working with Rhode Island’s Fisheries Agency to end stocking of trout in the Falls. For more information speak to Lawson Carey.
In Massachusetts restoration projects are ongoing for two of the state’s premier and historic salter brook trout streams, the Quashnet River and Red Brook. By partnering with the state’s wildlife agency, MassWildlife, and conservation organizations like the Trustees of Reservations, TU has had a major role in preserving hundreds of acres of land along both streams. The Red Brook Preserve, alone, encompasses 638 acres.
This past year research and restoration work on the Quashnet and Red Brook was funded by grants from a variety of state and federal agencies, as well as TU’s Embrace-A-Stream and private donations. Grants from NOAA, American Rivers and Mass. Riverways are funding technical and design assistance along with materials, contractor costs and permitting fees. Additionally, assistance in the form of labor has been provided by the Ameri-Corps Program.
Research projects designed to provide information about the natural history of salter brook trout are progressing. DNA research, funded by TU, has shown that Cape Cod area salter populations are river specific with each river’s population genetically unique and substantially separated from populations in nearby rivers.
For more information on the Quashnet River Restoration, contact Francis Smith of Cape Cod TU. For information on the Red Brook Project, contact Warren Winders of Southeastern Mass. TU.
North East Region – PA, NY, NJ, & Mid Atlantic (MD/DC)
Pennsylvania
From BTB Co-Chair – Jack Williams
Conservation—
Probably the most comprehensive conservation effort currently ongoing in Pennsylvania to benefit native wild brook trout is the Dirt and Gravel Roads Program. In 1993 through the persistent efforts of James "Bud" Byron, then chair of the Environmental Committee of the PA Council of Trout Unlimited (PATU), a task force comprised of appropriate state and federal agencies, businesses and volunteers from PATU was formed. The task force examined the impact of sediment being washed into PA coldwater streams, especially High Quality and Exceptional Value streams, from PA's 28K miles of unimproved roads and formulated strategies to address the problem. Under the leadership of Dr. Ed Bellis, volunteers from 40 PATU Chapters documented almost 1000 priority problem sites in 56 of PA's 67 counties. Documentation of the severity and extent of the problem helped support passage of an amendment to the 1997 "Gas Tax Bill" designating annual funding in perpetuity of $5 million for the prevention of erosion from unimproved roads into PA streams. This work of the task force led to the creation of the Center for Dirt and Gravel Road Studies at Penn State University. The Center was officially endorsed by the PA State Conservation Commission in 2001 and continues its mission today.
More information? www.dirtandgravelroads.org
Education/Outreach
PA BTB co-coordinators have made available EBTJV/BTB fact sheets and briefly described the program at the following meetings: 2006 Keystone Coldwater Conference, joint meeting PA Chapters of The Wildlife Society and American Fisheries Society, Oil Creek and Iron Furnace Chapters of PATU and Allegheny Biodiversity Symposium.
New York
From Frank Getchell
The Natural History Museum of the Adirondacks will have an exhibit that will key on brook trout, with a cumulative exhibit centering on Heritage Strain brook Trout. This will include a flowing stream indoors for year round use.
The media effort to educate the public about Brook Trout in NY has begun with an article by Glenn Sapir on native brookies. At the same time this article was published the local TU chapter had just finished a native brook trout sampling program with DEC and the USGS. They clipped adipose fins for DNA sampling. The results look promising that both streams contain Heritage Strain fish, but the final verdict is still out. These streams are both in the Highlands Region and one is a tributary of the Hudson. The plan is to sample two more streams this spring.
Mid Atlantic Council –MD/DC
From John Fritts- ThorpeWood
In response to the challenges set out by the Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture (EBTJV), on February 28th ThorpeWood and the Maryland state leadership of Trout Unlimited hosted a meeting to assist in the development of a statewide initiative to protect and restore brook trout habitat. A stakeholder invitation list consisting of 70+ contacts was developed and included county, state, and federal agency personnel, land trusts, watershed associations, Trout Unlimited and Federation of Fly Fisherman, chapters, scientists, and others.
There was a strong response to this opportunity as 55 representatives attended the meeting. The main outcome of the meeting was the creation of four watershed work groups to plan and execute protection and restoration efforts in the last remaining strongholds of brook trout in Maryland (the Savage, Youghiogheny, Gunpowder and Catoctin watersheds.) A second meeting has been scheduled for May 5th at ThorpeWood to continue to build on our momentum and involve additional stakeholders in this effort.
CALENDAR
SE RALLY – April 28, (eve), 29th all day, 30(am). Sign up by sending a $60 check to Sally Armstrong, 1300 N. 17th ST., suite 500, Arlington, VA 22209-3801 or call 703-522-0200 to make last minute arrangements. The $60 covers meals and a bed. Bring your own sleeping bag, pillow, and refreshments.
NEW YORK- On May 9th a meeting will be held to define the NY EBTJV strategy document. The meeting will be held at NYSDEC Herkimer suboffice at 10:00. Please contact Chris VanMaaren at 315-785-2282 for more information. Space is limited.
MA/RI Council will be sponsoring a fundraiser to be held at the Lyman Reserve on September 17 of 2006. All are welcome. Bucket raffles, a silent auction and a kayak raffle, along with an outdoor barbeque, will be the featured events. Guided tours of Red Brook will begin at 10:00 AM.
MA/RI Council will be sponsoring a fundraiser to be held at the Lyman Reserve on September 17 of 2006. All are welcome. Bucket raffles, a silent auction and a kayak raffle, along with outdoor barbeque, will be featured events. Guided tours of Red Brook will begin at 10:00AM.
Thought you would find this interesting.
Michael
EASTERN BROOK TROUT WORKGROUP NEWSLETTER
March/April
By
Marcia Woolman, EBTW chair
The EBT Workgroup of the National Leadership Council of Trout Unlimited has been given the charge of providing information that supports coordination of all the efforts of TU’s chapters, councils, staff, consultants and federal and state agency partners in advancing our Eastern Brook Trout Initiative, with this newsletter being a key element in this coordination. As with all newsletters it will only be as good as the information reported. So please remember to send updates of activities, advanced notice of meetings regarding Brook Trout, and summary reports of these meetings also. This newsletter will come out bi-monthly.
There are some great new contributors to this issue of the newsletter. I requested updates on state projects from the fisheries biologists, and you will find these under each state heading, in blue font, along with the BTB reports in black font. What an exciting new dimension this gives our newsletter. Together, we really are making a difference.
NEWS
THE EBTJV MEDIA CAMPAIGN:
From Gary Berti, BTB National Staff Coordinator
The Trout Unlimited media campaign on behalf of the Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture is planned to begin the week of May 1st. This schedule follows on the heels of the Congressional Casting Call where the National Fish Habitat Initiative is being unveiled to Congress. Our Eastern Brook Trout Report will be there and it looks fantastic. We should get some incredible publicity garnering strong support at the highest of agency and congressional levels. This is exciting and positions TU for great success in the near future.
Electronic copies of the press release and the report will be sent to our National Leadership Council members, Trustees, Council Chairs and Brook Trout Coordinators prior to the report release. These should be expected any day now and will be distributed out of our Press Office in Arlington. On the date of the release, the same release will be sent to media venues across the range of the Brook Trout, customized for state by state distribution.
Our TU/BTB teams will be receiving hard copies for distribution during the same week. The hard copies need to get out early and get out to effective venues. Use your resources to put these into the hands of people who can a make a difference, who care, or who might care. State brochures, which are included as a piece of the larger report, will be printed in much larger numbers and should be distributed in venues where they will be seen and appreciated.
One of the main goals of this campaign is to get print, voice and visual media to carry the story. The TU/BTB teams should have identified friendly media writers, editors or directors who are interested in carrying this story. When you have received the go-ahead to contact these folks, please do so. If you are personal friends, or know someone who is, ask them to go fishing, or just talk fishing with them and ask if they would run a story on the brook trout status and threats. Let them know we will be following up in the fall with a state by state conservation strategy which answers the status/threats document. They will get two stories/articles out of the brookies.
If you are successful in getting media placement, please clip the stories, or document them in some manner so we can show our funders that, yes indeed, TU can pull the grass roots together and make it happen. TU should use this, among other initiatives, to re-establish itself as the conservation leader for coldwater fisheries. In doing so, we will secure our role in both the Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture and the broader role of conserving, protecting and restoring native fish to native habitats.
STATE/REGION BTB REPORTS
New England Region
New Hampshire –
From BTB Dave McGinty
New Hampshire announces new leadership. Tom Spencer, a member and Director of New Hampshire's Merrimack River Valley Chapter #075 has come forward and volunteered to be our state's Back the Brookie Coordinator. Pleas add him to your e-mail list as Tom & Lynn Spencer with an e-mail address of t213@msn.com. We are very pleased to have him on board.
Secondly, the NH TU Council, as of March 29, 2006 has committed to donate $6,000.00 to Dianne Emerson, New Hampshire's Region 1 fisheries biologist, for the purpose of finally doing genetic testing on nearly one thousand brook trout scale and fin-clip samples. The laboratory work will be done in conjunction with the USGS. The data gleaned from these highly scientific studies should help Dianne and her colleagues determine what strains are where in the state, and which Brookie populations are wild trickle-downs from hatchery stock and which are truly native. As we have mentioned previously, Ms. Emerson has been tracking 23 brook trout implanted with radio transmitters in two of our major Northern rivers that also flow in Maine, the Androscoggin and the Magalloway. Teamed up with Dave Boucher, fisheries biologist with the Maine Dept. of Inland Fisheries, she has implemented telemetry tracking by boat in the warmer months last year, and has followed the same brookies via aircraft this winter.
As you can see, the Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture is working well here in New Hampshire, with the folks from Maine, the USGS local staff and resources, New Hampshire Fish and Game, and Trout Unlimited all cooperating on behalf of the venerable Brookie.
From Diane Emerson – NH fisheries biologist –
One of our rivers is being nominated by our state Environmental Services Department as a quality river. The Ammonoosuc River flows in northern NH and this will afford the river better protection when it comes to additional development and permitting (we hope anyway!) This river provides a home for Atlantic salmon and other salmonids. Also we have some restoration work in the form of culvert replacement and crossings work done in Nash Stream. This is the beginning of a multiple year project to remove the fragmentation issue for brook trout in this watershed as well as restore the habitat that was lost when an old crib dam blew out in 1969. As far as the education and advocacy goes, we are continuing to work with schools on salmon and trout in the classroom and this year we do have two classrooms with brook trout. Also I am continuing my conversations with our state wildlife journalists to get the story out for the May/June issue and also working on a segment on our TV show on brook trout and the Joint Venture. And last but not least working on state conservation strategies for NH and continuing the joint venture correspondence.
Maine –
From Don Grosset
The Maine Brook Trout Working Group is making progress, as it formulates plans with Maine's Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (IF&W) to protect and effectively manage the state's wild brook trout population. IF&W is going to print booklets about Maine's fisheries regions, listing wild native trout waters. In-state, and then, national, media coverage will follow. While there is an element of marketing in the effort, the prime purpose is to publicize steps being taken to preserve the resource.
The IF&W, under the direction of fisheries biologist Mary Gallagher, is in the process of raising funds to survey the wild brook trout populations of Maine's vast northern forest river and stream systems. Those waters show up in white, or," blank,” on the TU National Maine trout map, having never been evaluated by IF&W due to lack of funds and personnel. The program will take 3-5 years at a cost of $200 000 to $300 000 per year. Additional biologists will be hired to implement the effort.
On a smaller scale, fisheries biologist Bob Van Riper is going to survey streams in Maine Fisheries Regions A & B, southern and mid-coast Maine, supported by an Embrace-a-Stream grant and contributions from three local chapters. Bob will use a summer intern to do field work with him. The effort will be a starting point for a long term program.
The Rapid River smallmouth bass control project is moving ahead with a plan to raise river flow to stress the spawners and the fry. The radio tags from last season’s brook trout, landlocked salmon and bass tagging exercise are being examined to determine migration patterns and hopefully lead to other control possibilities. The Rapid River is unique in that it is a major river that holds a population of wild brook trout.
Brook trout habitat enhancement in Maine may move ahead significantly, if the Plum Creek 400 000 acre easement possibility in the Moosehead region is environmentally sound, and surmounts major obstacles. As yet, the terms are unknown. In addition, 6 000 acres of prime forestland a butting Baxter State Park, is being offered to the state by a lumber company. The tract includes beautiful, pristine Katahdin Lake, coveted, but never acquired, by Governor Percival Baxter.
Last but not least, the Sabago Chapter’s lead field project is the cleanup of Depot Brook, Wells, ME on 4/29. This suburban stream is home to wild, and probably genetically pure brook trout. This chapter received an EAS grant and contributions from other stakeholder. Depot is a textbook case for managing wild trout waters in urban/suburban development stressed environments.
From Forrest Bonnie- Fisheries biologist
Conservation
Degradation of western Maine streams likely dates back to the severe physical impacts of log driving, and is manifested in loss of pools and in overwidened sections of streams. A number of geomorphically-based brook trout habitat restoration projects are underway to restore selected stream reaches. On the Cupsuptic River, grade control structures were placed to arrest headcutting and downstream sediment transport that was filling pools to the detriment of adult brook trout habitat. At South Bog Stream, a tributary to Rangeley Lake, two treatment types (deflector logs and keystone riffle/pool sequences) have been constructed to date and a third reach will be completed in 2006. The purpose of these structures is to restore the width to depth ratio and to reconstruct pools to enhance adult and juvenile brook trout habitat. A new project is .also scheduled on the upper Sandy River to restore degraded adult and juvenile brook trout habitat
Each project is being monitored for a minimum of five years to determine project success and resiliency. Monitoring consists of extensive geomorphic (longitudinal and cross sectional profiles, pebble counts) and biological (electrofishing, macroinvertebrate sampling, water quality) evaluation.
Funding for these projects is being provided by The US Fish and Wildlife Service, the Fish America Foundation, Trout Unlimited, and the Trout and Salmon Foundation. There is also enthusiastic local support for these projects, as evidenced by the contribution of volunteers and financial support from local TU chapters and the Rangeley Region Guides' and Sportsmen's Association.
Connecticut
No info
Vermont
From: Rich Kirn-District Fisheries Biologist
Conservation - Vermont Fish Passage Initiatives:
The Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department (VFWD), in partnership with the Vermont Transportation Agency (VTrans) and Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (VDEC), is in the process of developing technical guidelines on the proper design and installation of stream crossing structures that will achieve fish and aquatic organism passage. Recent studies have shown brook trout movement to be much greater than previously thought. There have been many recent gains within the nation in understanding the needs of fish and aquatic organism passage at culverts, and bringing this knowledge and expertise to Vermont to build our capacity to better design, install, and maintain stream crossing structures is essential to restoring aquatic habitat connectivity and aquatic organism movement in Vermont’s rivers and streams.
VFWD and VTrans staff are working together to utilize new design alternatives for fish and aquatic organism passage at critical structures slated for replacement.
In the past 2 years VFWD, through funding from VTrans , has conducted hundreds of culvert surveys throughout the state. Preliminary results indicate that a high percentage of these structures are complete or partial barriers to movement of fish and other aquatic organisms.
VFWD is funding an additional study to use the above inventories and other fisheries data to prioritize fish passage enhancement projects. It is hoped that this project will help identify fish passage enhancement projects and better utilize existing federal funding programs.
Vermont Triploid (Sterile) Trout Study:
The potential for negative consequences from genetic interaction between wild trout populations and hatchery stocks is a growing concern among fisheries managers throughout the nation. The use of sterile triploid trout has been proposed in several states as a strategy for conserving native stocks while meeting the public demand for recreational angling opportunities. Triploid trout are produced by exposing fertilized eggs to specific temperatures or pressures which renders them effectively sterile. Beginning in 2007, the VFWD will begin evaluations on the performance of yearling triploid brook trout in several Vermont stream and ponds.
Education -Vermont Wild Brook Trout Poster:
VFWD is producing a poster on Vermont’s wild brook trout populations and habitat needs. This outreach effort is intended to inform a wide variety of Vermonters of habitat issues surrounding Vermont’s only native stream-dwelling trout. The poster is expected to be available in the early summer 2006
MASSATUSUTTS/RHODE ISLAND
From BTB Chair Warren Winders
TU chapters from across the Council area are involved in brook trout related projects. These range from identifying and repairing tipped culverts to Trout in the Classroom projects that raise brook trout. The Council’s chapters are also involved in the very serious and pressing work of identifying and formally documenting brook trout waters with state fish and wildlife agencies. Given that Rhode Island and Massachusetts are, respectively, the first and third most densely populated states in the country, development pressures and water withdrawals are the most serious threats that brook trout face in these states.
In Rhode Island the Narragansett Chapter continues to work to protect the native brook trout of the Falls River. This involves erosion control, and working with Rhode Island’s Fisheries Agency to end stocking of trout in the Falls. For more information speak to Lawson Carey.
In Massachusetts restoration projects are ongoing for two of the state’s premier and historic salter brook trout streams, the Quashnet River and Red Brook. By partnering with the state’s wildlife agency, MassWildlife, and conservation organizations like the Trustees of Reservations, TU has had a major role in preserving hundreds of acres of land along both streams. The Red Brook Preserve, alone, encompasses 638 acres.
This past year research and restoration work on the Quashnet and Red Brook was funded by grants from a variety of state and federal agencies, as well as TU’s Embrace-A-Stream and private donations. Grants from NOAA, American Rivers and Mass. Riverways are funding technical and design assistance along with materials, contractor costs and permitting fees. Additionally, assistance in the form of labor has been provided by the Ameri-Corps Program.
Research projects designed to provide information about the natural history of salter brook trout are progressing. DNA research, funded by TU, has shown that Cape Cod area salter populations are river specific with each river’s population genetically unique and substantially separated from populations in nearby rivers.
For more information on the Quashnet River Restoration, contact Francis Smith of Cape Cod TU. For information on the Red Brook Project, contact Warren Winders of Southeastern Mass. TU.
North East Region – PA, NY, NJ, & Mid Atlantic (MD/DC)
Pennsylvania
From BTB Co-Chair – Jack Williams
Conservation—
Probably the most comprehensive conservation effort currently ongoing in Pennsylvania to benefit native wild brook trout is the Dirt and Gravel Roads Program. In 1993 through the persistent efforts of James "Bud" Byron, then chair of the Environmental Committee of the PA Council of Trout Unlimited (PATU), a task force comprised of appropriate state and federal agencies, businesses and volunteers from PATU was formed. The task force examined the impact of sediment being washed into PA coldwater streams, especially High Quality and Exceptional Value streams, from PA's 28K miles of unimproved roads and formulated strategies to address the problem. Under the leadership of Dr. Ed Bellis, volunteers from 40 PATU Chapters documented almost 1000 priority problem sites in 56 of PA's 67 counties. Documentation of the severity and extent of the problem helped support passage of an amendment to the 1997 "Gas Tax Bill" designating annual funding in perpetuity of $5 million for the prevention of erosion from unimproved roads into PA streams. This work of the task force led to the creation of the Center for Dirt and Gravel Road Studies at Penn State University. The Center was officially endorsed by the PA State Conservation Commission in 2001 and continues its mission today.
More information? www.dirtandgravelroads.org
Education/Outreach
PA BTB co-coordinators have made available EBTJV/BTB fact sheets and briefly described the program at the following meetings: 2006 Keystone Coldwater Conference, joint meeting PA Chapters of The Wildlife Society and American Fisheries Society, Oil Creek and Iron Furnace Chapters of PATU and Allegheny Biodiversity Symposium.
New York
From Frank Getchell
The Natural History Museum of the Adirondacks will have an exhibit that will key on brook trout, with a cumulative exhibit centering on Heritage Strain brook Trout. This will include a flowing stream indoors for year round use.
The media effort to educate the public about Brook Trout in NY has begun with an article by Glenn Sapir on native brookies. At the same time this article was published the local TU chapter had just finished a native brook trout sampling program with DEC and the USGS. They clipped adipose fins for DNA sampling. The results look promising that both streams contain Heritage Strain fish, but the final verdict is still out. These streams are both in the Highlands Region and one is a tributary of the Hudson. The plan is to sample two more streams this spring.
Mid Atlantic Council –MD/DC
From John Fritts- ThorpeWood
In response to the challenges set out by the Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture (EBTJV), on February 28th ThorpeWood and the Maryland state leadership of Trout Unlimited hosted a meeting to assist in the development of a statewide initiative to protect and restore brook trout habitat. A stakeholder invitation list consisting of 70+ contacts was developed and included county, state, and federal agency personnel, land trusts, watershed associations, Trout Unlimited and Federation of Fly Fisherman, chapters, scientists, and others.
There was a strong response to this opportunity as 55 representatives attended the meeting. The main outcome of the meeting was the creation of four watershed work groups to plan and execute protection and restoration efforts in the last remaining strongholds of brook trout in Maryland (the Savage, Youghiogheny, Gunpowder and Catoctin watersheds.) A second meeting has been scheduled for May 5th at ThorpeWood to continue to build on our momentum and involve additional stakeholders in this effort.
CALENDAR
SE RALLY – April 28, (eve), 29th all day, 30(am). Sign up by sending a $60 check to Sally Armstrong, 1300 N. 17th ST., suite 500, Arlington, VA 22209-3801 or call 703-522-0200 to make last minute arrangements. The $60 covers meals and a bed. Bring your own sleeping bag, pillow, and refreshments.
NEW YORK- On May 9th a meeting will be held to define the NY EBTJV strategy document. The meeting will be held at NYSDEC Herkimer suboffice at 10:00. Please contact Chris VanMaaren at 315-785-2282 for more information. Space is limited.
MA/RI Council will be sponsoring a fundraiser to be held at the Lyman Reserve on September 17 of 2006. All are welcome. Bucket raffles, a silent auction and a kayak raffle, along with an outdoor barbeque, will be the featured events. Guided tours of Red Brook will begin at 10:00 AM.
MA/RI Council will be sponsoring a fundraiser to be held at the Lyman Reserve on September 17 of 2006. All are welcome. Bucket raffles, a silent auction and a kayak raffle, along with outdoor barbeque, will be featured events. Guided tours of Red Brook will begin at 10:00AM.
