The Great Smoky Mountains
National Park sports approximately 2,115 miles or streams within in
boundaries, and one of the last trout habitats in the Eastern United
States.
From most of their beginnings from
springs high along the Appalachian trail, advance down the
mountainsides gaining size and volume as they merge with other small tributaries,
changing from waterfalls and cascades till they reach more gradual
descents allowing them to transform into deeper pools, small rivers, and
eventually into our lakes.
Along this journey, the waters offer
different composition favoring different aquatic species along its
way. Just as streams above approximately 3,000 feet favor native
brook trout, lower elevations first show mixes of native brownies along
with non-native rainbow
trout, eventually becoming larger and warmer,
favoring rock bass, smallmouth bass, minnows, suckers, shiners and
darters, totaling 53+ fish species.
Brook trout are the only native salmonid
in the park. At the turn of the century, the brook trout lost about 75%
of its range in the park due to logging along with the introduction of
the non native rainbow
trout.
Since 1987 the park has had an active
brook trout restoration program. The objective is to restore native
brook trout populations to streams with natural barriers like waterfalls
that prevent invasion of non-native trout species. The program has
restored nine streams, and is in progress of restoring eight additional
streams at mid to low elevations . The restoration of the brook trout
have restored 11.1 miles of stream or 11% of the 97.5 miles of stream
occupied by brook trout.
Acidity in streams have increased 5 times
in high elevation streams in the last 20 years due to pollution of
combustion of fossil fuels. This data adds urgency to the need to
restore brook trout to streams at lower elevations with more stable
water chemistry.
The organizations of American Fisheries
Society, Trout Unlimited, Tennessee Brookies, artist Jim Gray, Friends
of the Great Smoky Mountains, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation of
which these are just a few that have joined hand in hand with the
National Park Service to raise money for the restoration effort.
DiscoverTheSmokies.com
News Service
