The Fish and Boat Commission formally added naturally reproducing eastern brook trout to the Pennsylvania Wildlife Action Plan, the document that prescribes conservation measures for species and their critical habitats before they become more costly to protect and restore.

“The Pennsylvania Wildlife Action Plan is the guiding document for protection, management and recovery of species of concern,” said Doug Austen, PFBC Executive Director. “A major theme of state wildlife action plans is to ‘Keep Common Species Common,’ and by amending our plan to include wild eastern brook trout, we are recognizing their needs and their habitats.”

The amendment, which was recently approved by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, provides goals and objectives for managing the species. Although wild eastern brook trout are doing well in Pennsylvania, their habitat continues to be degraded by pollution, poor land-use practices, acidic precipitation and sedimentation.

A 2006 report by the Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture, a partnership of the National Fish Habitat Initiative, found that populations of the fish have been eliminated or greatly reduced throughout more than 70 percent of their historic habitat in Pennsylvania.

“This amendment specifically identifies goals and objectives to improve our understanding of the status of wild eastern brook trout and approaches for protection, management, and restoration,” Austen said. “The proposed amendment received overwhelming support during the public comment period when we were considering the addition.”

Austen emphasized that the designation does not prohibit anglers from catching and releasing or harvesting eastern brook trout, which is the Commonwealth’s state fish.

The native range of the eastern brook trout extends along the Appalachians from Georgia to Maine and encompasses 17 states. With the addition by Pennsylvania, 13 of the 17 states have listed eastern brook trout in their Wildlife Action Plans.

Nationally, each state and U.S. territory was required by Congress in 2005 to complete a wildlife action plan in order to continue to receive funding from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for State Wildlife Grants program.

Historically, since 2002, Pennsylvania has received approximately $2 million annually. These funds are shared equally between the Fish and Boat Commission and the Game Commission to address species identified in the Wildlife Action Plan.

7/4/2008