| Harrisburg, PA - The
Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) has 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.
Changes
to state wildlife action plans are made through amendments to the original document. See
our State Wildlife Grant Program page to view Pennsylvania’s
Wildlife Action Plan and amendments. |
