Photo: NCC-TU Conservation Chair, Andrew Sarcinello, @suburbanflyfisher
Wild Trout in Maryland
Wild trout in Maryland, especially native brook trout, face many existential threats. According to MD DNR, brook trout have disappeared from 49% of previously-inhabited streams in central Maryland in just the past 30 years. Urban/suburban expansion is the primary reason for loss of brook trout, followed by competition with non-native brown trout. In a warming climate, Maryland brook trout populations will become even more stressed in the future. Brown trout are thriving and even expanding their range in many dozens of Maryland streams, but they are similarly vulnerable to urbanization and unchecked agricultural runoff.
What NCC-TU is Doing About It
Catoctin Mountains Project. In 2020, with support from a Patagonia retail grant, NCC-TU volunteers placed data loggers in known brook trout streams in the Catoctin Mountains as part of a project to map their temperature profiles during the summer months at a level of detail that has never been done before.
The goal is to reveal the locations of summer coldwater refuges that need protection, reveal warm water influence areas to be mitigated with future projects, and give general insight into how streams in that region may hold up long term against the impacts of climate change. The data loggers will document the warmest summer water temperatures at each site. We expect to collect an incredible amount of data from this effort, which can inform future work by TU and Maryland DNR and help them act in the best interests of these critically important brook trout populations. Patuxent Watershed Project. In 2021, volunteers from Potomac-Patuxent TU, Seneca Valley TU and NCC-TU installed temperature loggers to map the temperature profiles during the hottest months of the year. Doing so will reveal locations of summer coldwater refuges, reveal warm water influence areas, and give general insight into the biggest problem areas for future projects, to preserve the health of the existing wild brown trout population in the stream and several of its tributaries. This follows the successful Catoctin Mountain project led by NCC-TU last year, which allowed our chapter to provide the temperature loggers and help design this new effort. |
Catoctin Mountain Water Temperature Study
In summer 2020, NCC-TU monitored water temperature at 32 sites across four Catoctin Mountain watersheds. All sites monitored are known to support native brook trout populations ranging from stable populations comprised of hundreds of fish to marginal populations sustained only by a few spawning pairs of adult fish in the entire stream. NCC-TU hoped the data obtained would offer insights into the resilience of these native trout populations to the predicted warming effects of climate change and help Trout Unlimited identify areas that might present opportunities for future projects to reduce water temperatures or otherwise strengthen the resilience of these populations to warming conditions.
In April 2022, NCC-TU's conservation chair, Andrew Sarcinello, prepared a report that provides a detailed overview of the study design, key findings and recommendations for how TU can help.
View full report HERE.
In April 2022, NCC-TU's conservation chair, Andrew Sarcinello, prepared a report that provides a detailed overview of the study design, key findings and recommendations for how TU can help.
View full report HERE.
What's Next?
Some of the Catoctin Mountain and Patuxent temperature loggers will be left in the streams to record data for several years. The multi-year data will be used by MDE for regulatory purposes. The data loggers that were retrieved will be deployed again in different watersheds across Maryland in the future.
Results of these studies will be published shortly.
Results of these studies will be published shortly.
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Resources
MDE Water page: https://mde.maryland.gov/programs/Water/Pages/index.aspx
MDE Designated Use Definitions: https://mde.maryland.gov/programs/Water/TMDL/WaterQualityStandards/Pages/wqs_designated_uses.aspx
MDE Stream Designated Use Map: https://mde.maryland.gov/programs/water/tmdl/waterqualitystandards/pages/designatedusesmaps.aspx
MD DNR Freshwater Fisheries Management: https://dnr.maryland.gov/fisheries/Pages/inland.aspx
MD DNR Brook Trout Program: https://dnr.maryland.gov/fisheries/pages/brook-trout/index.aspx
Maryland Biological Stream Survey (MBSS): https://dnr.maryland.gov/streams/pages/mbss.aspx
Maryland Stream Health Map: https://dnr.maryland.gov/streams/Pages/streamhealth/default.aspx
Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture: https://easternbrooktrout.org/
MDE Designated Use Definitions: https://mde.maryland.gov/programs/Water/TMDL/WaterQualityStandards/Pages/wqs_designated_uses.aspx
MDE Stream Designated Use Map: https://mde.maryland.gov/programs/water/tmdl/waterqualitystandards/pages/designatedusesmaps.aspx
MD DNR Freshwater Fisheries Management: https://dnr.maryland.gov/fisheries/Pages/inland.aspx
MD DNR Brook Trout Program: https://dnr.maryland.gov/fisheries/pages/brook-trout/index.aspx
Maryland Biological Stream Survey (MBSS): https://dnr.maryland.gov/streams/pages/mbss.aspx
Maryland Stream Health Map: https://dnr.maryland.gov/streams/Pages/streamhealth/default.aspx
Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture: https://easternbrooktrout.org/