Gratiot River

Gratiot River Reintroduction Project, Michigan

The objectives of the Gratiot River Reintroduction Project are to evaluate the reintroduction of the coaster brook trout (e.g. local survival, dispersal, growth, diet and natural reproduction), increase our understanding of habitat use by resident and spawning coasters, and take a closer look at the potential interactions between coasters and non-native steelhead and coho salmon that share the habitat.

To accomplish these objectives, Michigan Technological University (MTU), the Copper County Chapter of Trout Unlimited (CCCTU), the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have led the effort to reintroduce coaster brook trout stock from the Lake Nipigon, Ontario strain into the Gratiot River. Since 1999, 89,000 fall fingerlings and 12,000 spring yearlings have been introduced. Twenty-nine fin-clipped fish were detected in five Lake Superior tributaries around the Keweenaw Peninsula in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in 2002. Eleven of these were from fish released in 1999-2001. Only two older individuals planted in 2001 as spring-yearlings were detected in other tributaries. Eighteen fingerlings planted in the fall of 2002 were already detected in other tributaries later that year. Nearly 500 volunteer hours and 400 paid hours from CCCTU and MTU have made these efforts possible.

To become involved or for more information please contact Dr. Casey Huckins at MTU by email at cjhuckin@mtu.edu [1] or Bill Deephouse, CCCTU President by email at riverkpr@up.net [2].