In June 2013, researcher and fisheries biologist Ashley Rust and her family were at their family cabin near Creede, Colo., when an afternoon rainstorm—a frequent occurrence in the San Juans at that time of year—worked through the area
For two decades, Whittlesey Creek National Wildlife Refuge has been the site of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service efforts to restore self-sustaining populations of coaster book trout. Trout Unlimited has been a partner in the work. The efforts haven’t been successful, but have increased knowledge about this unique form of brook trout and what could be needed to restore the fish to Lake Superior tributaries.
The work highlighted during the site tour provides a view of habitat related efforts to keep the Little Susitna River one of the most productive fisheries in the Mat-Su Valley.
Resurrection Creek, on the north end of the Kenai Peninsula near the community of Hope, still shows scars from placer mining that occurred more than 100 years ago
Snorkeling is a relatively easy and cost-effective way to survey streams for trout populations estimates. This summer, TU’s Jacob Fetterman conducted his first surveys on a stretch of Camden Creek, a tributary to the Battenkill River, prior to a habitat restoration project. He will survey the same stretch next to estimate the impacts of the project.
The bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, just passed by the U.S. Senate, would deliver a major shot in the arm to trout and salmon conservation efforts across the country. This bill would rebuild, improve and restore America’s infrastructure through a variety of programs, many of which directly support TU’s water, restoration, forest health and mine remediation efforts.
It looked like the brookies were almost certain to extirpate native cutts and that work to improve Jim Creek was a lost cause
