I was thinking... about brook trout on the moon

not the usual fare this week.

Brook trout on the moon? Seems implausible, doesn’t it? And of course, it is. But on the second day of the most recent Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture meeting that was the shorthand for a discussion around a big hairy audacious goal (BHAG) that the EBTJV steering committee set for itself.¹

What is the Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture?

Nearly 20 years ago, a small group of us got together to kick around the idea of focusing attention and resources on protecting the Eastern Brook. At the time, the adverse impact acid rain alarmed us, warming temps and land use were having on this iconic fish. We hoped to convince the fish chiefs from the states where brook trout were historically present to join forces with federal land management agencies, to protect the remaining populations of brook trout. A year later, the Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture became a reality.

Today the EBTJV brings fisheries managers, scientists, nonprofits, state and federal agencies, regional and local governments, businesses, conservation organizations, academia, scientific societies and Tribal organizations together to conserve brook trout in their native range. The EBTJV is “a geographically focused, locally driven and scientifically based effort to protect, restore and enhance aquatic habitat throughout the brook trout's Eastern U.S. native range.” The mission of the EBTJV is “to secure resilient populations of wild Brook Trout by protecting, enhancing, and restoring aquatic habitat and increasing human connections to, and stewardship of, our natural environment.”

The EBTJV is more than a science and management organization. A foundational principle when we came together was to not only protect the fish and its habitat, but to ensure future generations would enjoy the delight of catching these mountain stream jewels. The goal of having catchable populations of brook trout is a driving force for protection and restoration efforts. "The ultimate prize for us is fishable populations of wild brook trout. It's the reason we came together and is the reason we are working so hard," says the U.S. Forest Service’s Nat Gillespie, a steering committee member who served as chairman from 2015 to 2022.

Brook trout have been a part of my life since I was a kid growing up in New Hampshire and spending part of my summers on Moosehead Lake in Maine. If you were to look around my home and office, you would see brook trout books and art everywhere. My early days of fly-fishing were for brook trout in the coldwater streams in both states. Maine, New Hampshire and Virginia are home to a significant portion of the remaining brook trout strongholds. Today few things make me happier than to tromp around in Virginia’s mountain streams fishing for brookies.

From the start Virginia’s Department of Wildlife Resources (then the VA Department of Game and Inland Fisheries) has been at the table. Today VA DWR’s Brad Fink sits on the steering committee.² “Brook trout are a good indicator species for habitat and they’re a species of greatest conservation need in our DWR Wildlife Action Plan. A fair amount of the public is concerned about brook trout as well so it’s easy to get stakeholder input. Also just getting out in the mountains, a lot of our brook trout streams are in remote areas where you’re likely to see other wildlife and good views,” says Fink.

Brook trout information and EBTJV resources

Lots has been written about the brook trout. A quick Google search will keep you occupied for hours. The photo’s alone will enchant and amaze you. Here’s a quick primer from the EBTJV website.

About Wild Brook Trout

The wild Brook Trout is an American symbol of persistence, adaptability, and the pristine wilderness that covered North America prior to European settlement. It is the only native trout that inhabits the cold, clear streams of much of the eastern United States, and is prized by anglers. It’s truly a heritage species.

Brook trout are resilient. They have thrived in the cold waters of the Appalachian mountains for several million years, and longer in areas that glaciers did not touch. In the deep in the mountain hollows protected by towering oak and pine and impenetrable rhododendron thickets, the southern Appalachian brook trout - known to be genetically distinct from its northern counterparts, is found in the tiniest of headwater tributaries, in what anglers call 'small water'. Farther north, brook trout swim in ponds, lakes, and coastal rivers, and they take on different sizes and colors in these different habitats. Scientists and managers are constantly unfolding more facets of its life history, that is - how it grows and reproduces, where it lives, what it eats, and what strategies it uses to stay alive in diverse habitats. In Maine, biologists recently discovered brook trout spawning under the cover of lake ice.

Unfortunately, detrimental land and water use practices have taken a toll on our landscape, greatly diminishing the presence of wild Brook Trout throughout its native range. Most wild Brook Trout are relegated to headwater streams, where forest cover is still prevalent and temperatures are still cool enough. Unable to thrive in poor water quality or degraded habitats, wild Brook Trout are excellent indicators of clean water and healthy aquatic systems. Therefore the decline of wild Brook Trout throughout its historic eastern range should serve as a warning about the state of our waters.

There is a tremendous amount of additional information on the EBTJV website. Take some time and learn more, you will be glad you did.

I’ve been fortunate to spend my life in the company of brook trout. The hours spent working to protect them, especially as part of the Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture, are some of my proudest. Equally important is the time spent in the company of people who care about brookies as much as I do. Especially when spending that time in the mountain streams that brook trout still call home.

1. The current BHAG is “healthy coldwater systems with fishable brook trout populations throughout their historic eastern geographic range.”

2. Brad Fink interview https://easternbrooktrout.org/about/interview-with-brad-fink-va-dwr