The Brook Trout of Trout Brook: Presenting our Findings...
“The degradation of Trout Brook did not happen overnight. It was not the result of a single catastrophic event. The changes occurred over a couple of decades and were incremental in nature...”
In 2023, the Massachusetts chapter of Native Fish Coalition initiated a project to assess the condition of Trout Brook in Dover, Massachusetts. This was the pilot project for an NFC developed Holistic Stream Assessment methodology. As it turned out, Trout Brook proved to be the perfect testing ground as we encountered just about every challenge a stream can face.
Trout Brook is a coldwater ecosystem located less than 15 miles from downtown Boston. A tributary to the Charles River, the largest watershed wholly in MA, it is home to a rare to the area self-sustaining population of native brook trout. NFC decided to act when a 2021 survey by MassWildlife failed to confirm the presence of wild brook trout for the first time since the 1960’s.
After 2 seasons of extensive fieldwork and analysis, NFC has concluded that brook trout are remnant at best and possibly extirpated from Trout Brook. Equally concerning is that the stream is no longer functioning as a coldwater system. NFC will be presenting our findings along with recommendations in regard to improving the situation and ideally restoring wild native brook trout.
The first presentation will be held March 4th at 7:00pm at the Fin, Fur, and Feather Club in Millis, MA. The second presentation will be held on March 5th at 6:30pm at the Dover Town Library in Dover, MA. If you are interested in learning more about this unique semi-rural stream and what can be done to try to restore it to a functioning coldwater ecosystem, please drop by.
“Trout Brook without brook trout is like Deer Valley without deer, Bear Mountain without bears, and Loon Lake without loons...”
