Brook trout are making a comeback in the Adirondack Mountains in New York, according to new research from the United States Geological Survey (USGS). The research looked at streams that were vacant of fish as recently as 1989, due to acid rain in the region. Of the 42 streams surveyed in this research, 33 are now home to wild, native populations of brook trout.
The study authors largely credit the 1990 amendment to the Clear Air Act (CAA) for the gains that have been made in water quality, which have allowed the brook trout to return to their historical native range.
“Very few people know how successful the 1990 amendment to the CAA has been at improving conditions in 1000s of lakes and streams across the northeastern United States,” the study authors wrote.
In particular, the 1990 amendment and following regulations decreased the amounts of monomeric aluminum, which was one of the leading contaminants in the brook trout’s range due to acid rain in the region.
Around the same time that this study was published, News 10 out of Albany, New York, also reported that the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation finalized a “15-year ‘Adirondack Brook Trout Pond Management Plan’ on January 5. To protect wild populations, the plan prioritizes self-sustaining fish over stocked hatchery trout and bans using live baitfish in most Adirondack Park waters.”
This gives the brook trout another safeguard as they continue to recolonize habitat they occupied for most of the 20th century.