Trout

Adk Stream Crossing Restored After Boquet Barrier Removed

August 19, 2026 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

This summer the Ausable Freshwater Center (AFC) finished a stream restoration at the Moss Road crossing of the North Branch Boquet River in the Town of Lewis, in Essex County, NY, by removing two old, undersized culverts to restore a natural river channel.

The culverts that had constricted the river and blocked fish for decades are now gone, and a natural channel carries the river through the road crossing. The project reconnected some 50 miles of Adirondack river and coldwater tributary habitat. [Read more…] about Adk Stream Crossing Restored After Boquet Barrier Removed

An Adirondack Trout Haiku

August 15, 2026 by K. Gordon Tidball Leave a Comment

Vermiculation
a million pathways to bliss
Adirondack trout

The brook trout was initially adopted as New York’s state fish in 1975; it was re-adopted as the official state fresh-water fish on August 16, 2006. [Read more…] about An Adirondack Trout Haiku

Adirondack Project To Reconnect 43 Miles of Brook Trout Waters

July 6, 2026 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and Trout Unlimited (TU) have announced a multi-phase aquatic re-connection project is underway in the Moose River Plains Complex, in the Adirondack Park in Herkimer and Hamilton counties.

The project, which began in June, is expected to replace more than 50 culverts in the next three to five years and reconnect 43 miles of brook trout waters. [Read more…] about Adirondack Project To Reconnect 43 Miles of Brook Trout Waters

2026 State of Lake Champlain Fisheries

June 16, 2026 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

The annual Lake Champlain Fish and Wildlife Management Cooperative State of the Lake meeting was held in March in Burlington, Vermont. The meeting offered an opportunity for the public to learn about the ongoing research and angling opportunities that exist on Lake Champlain and is now available online. [Read more…] about 2026 State of Lake Champlain Fisheries

New Study: Adirondack Brook Trout Recovering After Acid Rain Reductions

January 26, 2026 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

A new study by the US Geological Survey shows that a nationwide effort to control acid deposition by reducing sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions from power plants has worked, reversing decades of ecological damage and supporting significant recovery of brook trout populations in the Adirondack Park’s 30,000 miles of rivers, brooks and streams.

The study covered a period of more than 40 years, finding that Adirondack brook trout had repopulated streams once too acidic to support them. Of the 42 sites surveyed, more than half had no trout in 1984-89. By 2023 brook trout were living in 33 of the 42. Adirondack brook trout were one of signature species sampled in 42 streams across the Adirondacks. [Read more…] about New Study: Adirondack Brook Trout Recovering After Acid Rain Reductions

After Poor Performance DEC Maps New Fisheries Plan for Lake George

January 13, 2026 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has announced the release of a five-year (2025–2029) Fisheries Management Plan for Lake George in Washington, Essex and Warren County in hopes of reversing poor performance of the former management plan.

DEC found overall poorer health in the lake trout population despite fishing regulations and also determined that existing Atlantic salmon stocking is failing to create a viable, sustainable fishery. [Read more…] about After Poor Performance DEC Maps New Fisheries Plan for Lake George

After A 90% Habitat Loss, A New Plan for Adirondack Brook Trout Ponds

January 6, 2026 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

The brook trout is New York’s state fish and an iconic symbol of the Adirondacks, but about 90% of brook trout pond habitat has been lost due to poor management.

Now, for the first time in 46 years, New York State has a new plan that identifies the current risks for lacustrine (lake and pond living) brook trout and it hopes will guide the State’s management actions at Adirondack brook trout ponds for the next 15 years. [Read more…] about After A 90% Habitat Loss, A New Plan for Adirondack Brook Trout Ponds

Essex County Fish Hatchery Closing Update

November 12, 2025 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and Essex County have jointly announced DEC will continue to stock trout in Essex County waters following closure of the Essex County Fish Hatchery next year.

DEC said they will assume stocking trout in eight ponded waters and six trout streams at up to 31 locations within Essex County and will evaluate other waters for future stocking. [Read more…] about Essex County Fish Hatchery Closing Update

New Plans For Important Hamilton Co Conservation Easements

August 20, 2025 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is seeking public input on the Draft Recreation Management Plan for recreational access within the Speculator Tree Farm, Perkins Clearing, and Burnham Mountain Tracts in the Adirondack Park in Hamilton County, New York.

The tracts already include 36 miles of snowmobile trails and roads, several trailheads and parking areas – including Route 30, old Route 8 and “military roads” built at the time of the War of 1812. [Read more…] about New Plans For Important Hamilton Co Conservation Easements

New State Record Brook Trout Caught in St. Regis Canoe Area

July 22, 2025 by Editorial Staff 1 Comment

Benjamin Ferguson, a brook trout angler from Lowville, Lewis County, caught a 22-inch, six-pound three-ounce brookie from the St. Regis Canoe Area on July 5, 2025, edging out the 2013 state record brook trout by three ounces.

The record-breaking fish was caught while slow trolling a Lake Clear Wabbler. [Read more…] about New State Record Brook Trout Caught in St. Regis Canoe Area

New Brook Trout Management Plan Proposed, First in 50 Years

May 23, 2025 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

The brook trout is New York’s state fish and an iconic symbol of the Adirondacks. In the U.S., pond-dwelling populations of brook trout are extremely rare outside the states of Maine and New York. Pond-dwelling brook trout are also a key element of the Adirondack ecosystem. [Read more…] about New Brook Trout Management Plan Proposed, First in 50 Years

An 1840s Adirondack Travelogue: Speculator to Long Lake

May 5, 2025 by Guest Contributor 2 Comments

What follows is an excerpt from The Hunter-Naturalist. Romance of Sporting; or, Wild Scenes and Wild Hunters (ca. 1851) by journalist and explorer Charles Wilkins Webber (1819-1856). In 1855 Webber went to Central America where he joined the filibuster William Walker in Nicaragua to fight in the Filibuster War and was killed in the Second Battle of Rivas on April 11, 1856.

A summer’s journey of sporting adventure towards the North, dating at a much later period in my life than those previously given as personal, included a sojourn amongst that linked and wonderful cluster of Lakes, extending from Hamilton County, in the west of New York, north to Lake Champlain and the St. Lawrence. Something of the “Wild Scenes” and characteristic incidents amidst the haughty solitudes of those rugged hemlock-bristled Adirondacks, and their chaste, cold, glistening Lakes, I must give in a fragmentary way. [Read more…] about An 1840s Adirondack Travelogue: Speculator to Long Lake

After 70 Years, Lake Trout Stocking in Lake Champlain Ends

April 29, 2025 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Lake trout have been restored to Lake Champlain according to an announcement by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. As a result, the wild population no longer needs to be augmented by hatchery-reared fish, and stocking will end after this spring.

The decision was announced by the Lake Champlain Fish and Wildlife Management Cooperative — a working group of fisheries professionals from the three agencies — at its annual meeting in April. [Read more…] about After 70 Years, Lake Trout Stocking in Lake Champlain Ends

Major Catskill Park Land Acquisition Protects 3,100 Acres

April 2, 2025 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

The Open Space Institute (OSI) has acquired more than 3,100 forested acres in the town of Neversink in Catskill Park — one of the largest parcels of privately-owned, contiguous forestland remaining within the Catskill Blue Line.

It’s hoped the acquisition will safeguard sources of clean water, provide habitat for birds, turtles, fish, and other wildlife, and enhance recreational opportunities. [Read more…] about Major Catskill Park Land Acquisition Protects 3,100 Acres

State of Lake Champlain Fisheries Meetings

February 21, 2025 by Editorial Staff 1 Comment

The Lake Champlain Fish and Wildlife Management Cooperative, a working group of fisheries professionals from the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) hosts annual “State of the Lake Fisheries” meetings.

This year’s public meeting on Saturday, March 15 is open for anglers and other individuals interested in the fisheries of Lake Champlain. Registration is not required. [Read more…] about State of Lake Champlain Fisheries Meetings

Cranberry Lake Purchase Connects Miles of Trails, Rivers and Trout Streams

January 23, 2025 by Editorial Staff 1 Comment

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has acquired more than 965 acres along the Oswegatchie River that connects portions of the Cranberry Lake Wild Forest in the Adirondack Park with nearby conservation easements. [Read more…] about Cranberry Lake Purchase Connects Miles of Trails, Rivers and Trout Streams

Warren County Fish Hatchery: Century-Long Support for Anglers

December 15, 2024 by Anthony F. Hall Leave a Comment

The 110-year-old Warren County Fish Hatchery in Warrensburg, county-owned and operated since 1982, is not only a public park and educational facility, drawing groups throughout the year to see firsthand how fish are raised, but an essential piece of the county’s multi-million-dollar recreational economy. [Read more…] about Warren County Fish Hatchery: Century-Long Support for Anglers

Otsego Lake Artificial Spawning Reefs Deployed

December 9, 2024 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Region 4 has announced the completion of three new artificial spawning reefs in Otsego Lake. DEC, in partnership with the State University of New York (SUNY) at Cobleskill and the SUNY Oneonta Biological Field Station, constructed the artificial reefs in hopes of creating new, clean spawning habitat for lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis), a native coldwater species once abundant in Otsego Lake. [Read more…] about Otsego Lake Artificial Spawning Reefs Deployed

43rd Edition of Adirondack State of the Park Report Issued

October 10, 2024 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

The 43rd Edition of Adirondack Council’s State of the Park Report has been released October 8, 2024.

The Report is the Adirondack Council’s comprehensive annual assessment of environmental conditions, social issues and government actions for the largest park in the contiguous United States. Its current 43 editions serve as an almanac of important events and decisions in the Adirondacks, affecting generations of New York residents. [Read more…] about 43rd Edition of Adirondack State of the Park Report Issued

Hooked on Hatcheries

July 28, 2024 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

A recent episode of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s (DEC) bi-weekly podcast “DEC Does What?!” highlights the work of DEC’s fish hatcheries and how these facilities support fish species restoration and opportunities for anglers in New York’s freshwater streams. [Read more…] about Hooked on Hatcheries

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