Conservation

TU, partners aid brook trout with NY dam removal

Native brook trout have gained improved access to 3 miles of quality coldwater habitat in Sullivan County, N.Y., thanks to a multi-organization project that removed an old dam that was blocking the stream.

Trout Unlimited teamed up with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and local landowner, Bald Mountain Inc., on the project on Frog Hollow, a stream on which a small dam blocked fish from moving freely throughout the system.   

The dam was breached and the site was restored to feature more of a natural, waterfall-like flow that can be traversed by trout.   

Prior to restoration the dam created a total blockage for fish.

Frog Hollow is a tributary to Willowemoc Creek, an important trout fishing stream. The project will allow fish to move more freely through the system as they seek spawning habitat in the fall and coldwater refugia during the heat of summer.  

Funders for the project included the Goyanes Family Foundation,  Millennium Stream Improvement Fund and National Fish and Wildlife Foundation – Delaware River Conservation Fund

By Mark Taylor. A native of rural southern Oregon, Mark Taylor has lived in Virginia since serving a stint as a ship-based naval officer in Norfolk. He joined the TU staff in 2014 after a 20-year run as a newspaper journalist, the final 16 as the outdoors editor of the Roanoke Times. A graduate of Northwestern University, he lives in Roanoke with his wife and, when they're home from college, his twin daughters.