Updates from the Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture

Key Websites: www.brookie.org and www.easternbrooktrout.net

May 2008 - Please attend the EBTJV Regional Meeting in Leominster, May 3, 2008, Leominster, MA >>More

EBTJV Summaries pertaining to MA / RI

January 2008

Full copy of January 2008 update covering all Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture Updates available via download >>here

Narragansett chapter in Rhode Island: From Lawson Cary, TU Volunteer

Starting next year The Division of Fish /Wildlife will not be stocking Brook Trout in rivers in Management areas that hold wild brook trout to protect the gene pool of the wild brook trout. They are only stocking salmon in ponds and lakes as of this year. Two of the many streams that hold wild brook trout in R.I. will not be stocked. They will be wild fish only streams.

Partnering for Salters -Mark Hattman, TU Volunteer and National Leadership Council representative

Two Massachusetts chapters Boston, & Cape Cod and the Massachusetts-Rhode Island council are partnering with the Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (WBNERR) and the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife providing manpower and financial support in a tracking study of native brook trout in the Redbrook, Quashnet, and Mashpee rivers. These are streams that have
a “salter” native brook trout population. The study involves inserting PET tags in trout 100cm and larger that were captured in electro shocking this fall. The tags can be monitored either with a portable hand monitor or as they pass under an antenna installed in the Quashnet rive as it flows into the Waquoit Bay estuary. The goal of the study is to track the long term movement of individual fish in the river and to
get scientific evidence if and when individuals leave and return to the river.

With the permanent antenna installed around the first of November WBNERR scientist report over 300 records of fish passes in the first three weeks. This is a record of 37 individuals with some going under once toward the estuary and some going back and forth repeatedly.
This is a significant study that will provide evidence of sea run brook trout and give our chapters and state council much needed evidence of the existence of this special resource. The chapters and council have pledged continued financial support as well as in the stream help in continuing this effort. In addition several member of the Boston chapter have been conducting population surveys in some streams on
the west side of Buzzards Bay to help the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife fill in missing information on wild brook trout populations.

See pictures and read up on progress of this initiative: Salter Tagging Project

also: Bringing Back Native Brookies | Red Brook Reserve | The Quashnet | Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture | Ongoing Research

March 2007

17 Eastern States Announce Coordinated Strategy for Brook Trout Conservation
Unprecedented New Plan Sets Firm Targets for 2025

WASHINGTON – The future of the East’s premier native trout is looking up, thanks to a coalition of state and federal agencies, academic institutions and conservation organizations.

The Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture today released a first-of-its-kind conservation strategy to restore healthy, fishable populations of eastern brook trout throughout their eastern native range. The Conservation Strategy is based on the status and threats information contained in the Joint Venture’s initial report, which was issued in May 2006.

The 2006 report found that only 5% of historical brook trout habitat remains intact. Populations have been eliminated or greatly reduced in almost half of the areas that historically supported brook trout. Poor land management practices are responsible for the majority of this decline. >>More

Read Frequently Asked Questions about the Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture >>here

April 2006

From Massachusetts / Rhode Island, Back The Brookie Chair Warren Winders

Full copy of April 2006 update covering all Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture Updates available via download >>here

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.

See pictures and read up on progress of this initiative: 2007 Salter Tagging Project

also: Bringing Back Native Brookies | Red Brook Reserve | The Quashnet | Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture | Ongoing Research