big apple brook trout
FINDING NATIVE TROUT A STONE’S THROW FROM NYC
The verdant hills of Fairfield and Westchester counties, especially the large blocks of open space in and around public water supply lands, have been hiding a secret for decades. These waters, just a stone’s throw from New York City, are strongholds for the last remaining native Brook Trout in the most heavily developed areas of our region. Thanks to the new science of Environmental DNA (E-DNA), however, we now have a way to find these fish - and protect them. A simple water sample can quickly prove the presence of Brook Trout in these waters - and help us prioritize the work needed to ensure they persist and thrive well into the future!
Once our eDNA sampling identifies native Brook Trout in a stream, the state comes out and does formal population studies to confirm their presence and add regulatory protections to the river.
We plan to collect eDNA from 125 sampling sites covering 250 miles of streams in Fairfield and Westchester County, locations where there was historic Brook Trout presence, but no recent state sampling.