Rhode Island NFC Adopts Dutemple Brook for Holistic Stream Assessment/Restoration...
The Rhode Island chapter of NFC has decided to adopt Dutemple Brook for a top-to-bottom Holistic Stream Assessment/Restoration project.
Dutemple Brook is a 1.8 mile Class A coldwater stream with a 0.94 square mile drainage. It is part of the Wood-Pawcatuck Watershed. Dutemple Brook tributaries into Fisherville Brook which empties into Queen River. The Queen River terminates at Pawcatuck River.
Dutemple Brook was last surveyed in 2019. At that time, it was the coldest stream in the Queen River watershed. Wild native brook trout numbers were solid as well. But a lot has happened in the last 7 years including several warm summers and chronic droughts.
The first step will be to perform a top-to-bottom visual survey to identify potential impediments to fish passage such as dams and waterfalls, thermal stressors such as impoundments and beaver ponds, and other issues that can impact fish.
As soon as the flow and water temperature stabilize in the spring, RI NFC will deploy data loggers at various sites on the stream to collect a full season worth of water temperature data. This data will be used to identify trends, thermal stressors, thermal refuges, and the impact of stormwater.
