In early fall, as the leaves on the trees in Maryland’s western counties signal their seasonal transition, brook trout prepare for a change as well as their spawning season will begin soon. During this time, males’ colors become more brilliant, and females create underwater nests called redds where they will lay their eggs. Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) biologists have a plan for a different type of change of scenery for a group of these native fish. They will carefully collect and move adult brook trout to a different stream where DNR and its partners are working to bring back local populations from zero. Brook trout are Maryland’s only native salmonid. Despite their name, they are a type of char. Because they require cold, pristinely clean water to survive, brook trout are an indicator species for environmental conditions. Their habitat has been heavily impacted by urbanization and land development, and they are listed as a species of greatest conservation need in Maryland. Streams near areas where impervious surfaces such as buildings and parking lots dominate the landscape often have warmer, more polluted water that threatens brook trout survival. One survey by DNR’s Maryland Biological Stream Survey found that the vast majority […]
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