West Virginia Wildlife from Eyewitness News

Back The Brookie

Trout Unlimited's Back The Brookie program goes a long way towards restoring West Virginia's only native trout in mountain waters. Patrick McMurtry shows us how the DNR and Trout Unlimited are working together on a project that will benefit all of us.

December 14, 2005
Reporter: Patrick McMurtry
Videographer: Brad Rice

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Trout fishing rules in mountain streams in West Virginia, and the brook trout is the king. Our only native trout is also the hardest to find here. Now Trout Unlimited and the DNR is working together to increase the number of brookies in our state.

Lee Orr/Trout Unilimited says:
"Back the Brookie campaign is part of Trout Unlimited's program in several states in the south east-WV, VA, NC,SC, TN and GA. It's a program to raise awareness of brook trout and restore brook trout streams and to protect the resource that we have brook trout in the future."

That's where the DNR comes in. The Division of Natural Resources treats 200 miles of trout streams with West Virginia limestone. This mitigates the impact of acid rain on our delicate mountain waters. That translates into more brookies for everyone to enjoy.

Steve Brown/DNR says:
"One important link between the liming program and the Back the Brookie program is that 80% of the streams that we lime are brook trout streams and are managed as brook trout streams, so from one perspective, our liming program is a nbrook trout program and that winds up being an important link between TU's program and our management activity."

And Trout Unlimited members say the link is actually much stronger between TU and the DNR.

Lee Orr/Trout Unilimited says:
"DNR provides a lot of valuable assistance and technical expertise. They're the experts on brook trout in West Virginia and through the liming process, they actually help restore brook trout. We work with them on several projects that helps restore quite a few miles of brook trout streams."

And the money Trout Unlimited gives the DNR in turn helps them lime even more streams. A reciprical process that makes all of us winners.