Fish Habitat Partnerships Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture
| Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture |
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In 2005, in recognition of the need to address regional and range-wide threats to brook trout, a group of public and private entities formed the Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture (EBTJV) to halt the decline of brook trout and restore fishable populations of this iconic species. The EBTJV directs locally-driven efforts that build partnerships to improve fish habitat, working to ensure healthy, fishable brook trout populations throughout their historic eastern United States range. The EBTJV’s long-term goals are to develop a comprehensive restoration and education strategy to improve aquatic habitats; build awareness through education; and raise federal, state, and local funds for brook trout conservation that will ultimately help enhance public use of brook trout and generally improve ecosystems and water quality within the watersheds they inhabit. Since its formation, the EBTJV has spearheaded a range-wide assessment of brook trout populations and threats to brook trout and brook trout habitat in the Eastern United States. Seventeen states are currently drafting strategies to prioritize policy changes and on-the-ground actions to improve water quality and restore brook trout habitat and populations in their individual state using locally-driven, incentive-based, and non-regulatory programs. Working together, partners are building a broad-scale, range-wide conservation strategy necessary to stop brook trout declines, improve technology transfer, and effectively prioritize funds and projects to restore this keystone species. A web-based interactive data management system with GIS capabilities has also been developed. More information is available at EasternBrookTrout.org. Contact:
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Grant County, Wisconsin. The project area is located on the Big Spring Fishery ground owned by the Wisconsin DNR (WiDNR) and a small segment owned and operated by Menke Brothers Farms. It has been a stream under close surveillance by the WiNDR for the past several years, which continues to supply excellent information as to the effectiveness of the project. It is in conjunction with projects from years past; as you can see in the map below upon completion of the 2009 planned project there will be a continuous stretch of approximately three and a half miles of restoration.