Heritage Brook Trout Workshop

Vision: Trout Unlimited will work with local partners to better understand the trout populations, spawning habitats, threats and opportunities in the Owego Creek watershed and continue the implementation of survey, management and improvement projects that reconnect, restore and sustain brook and brown trout populations.

Why Owego Creek?: The Owego Creek watershed was chosen by TU as a priority watershed based upon the size, quality and interconnectedness of its brook trout habitats. It is the largest, most intact brook trout system (our official State fish) in western New York. It also hosts a substantial naturally reproducing brown trout population. It receives several cold groundwater inputs in a rural, primarily forested landscape, thus making it a strong candidate for long-term resilience.

The Water and its Trout: The Owego/Catatonk Creek watershed lies primarily in Tioga County, with important spawning headwaters also in Tompkins and Cortland Counties. Although the Owego and Catatonk systems are generally thought of as separate, they in fact join above the Village of Owego, thus making the Catatonk a tributary of the Owego. This is a critical distinction for trout management because some of the best trout spawning areas are in the headwaters of the Catatonk.

Before 2010, brook and brown trout were reported to be abundant with catch rates of up to 5-10 fish/hour documented in prime habitats. After that, a steep, more than 50% decline in the population was noted. The populations of both species remain low. Catch rates of 1-2/hour are now reported. The cause of this precipitous decline is suspected to be a series of major flood events and flash droughts that began in 2005 and which eliminated multiple years of spawning effort:

What We Will Do: We will act to restore connectivity to maximize the ability of trout to migrate seasonally, especially to spawning reaches and cold-water refuges and to complete other projects that enhance spawning, flood and drought resiliency to restore the wild brook and brown trout population to their pre-flood and pre-drought level of abundance:

• Assessment: Identify critical spawning tributaries and cold water refuges, conduct electrofishing surveys and identify culverts and dams that are barriers to trout movements and spawning.

• Reconnection: Replace barrier culverts with larger structures and remove or modify dams to allow fish passage.

• Habitat Improvement: Stabilize eroding banks and add woody material to over-wide, shallow downstream reaches, replace or install pool diggers at priority locations and consider the creation of cold, groundwater ponds that are connected to the stream for summertime refuge. Manage key spawning areas and consider reintroduction of brook trout to suitable unoccupied tributaries that were cut off by dam or culvert barriers.

• Outreach: Promote a catch and release ethic for brook trout to help the population recover. Form an Owego Creek steering committee to collect data and advice from the angling community, update the plan annually and conduct annual workshops. Maintain communication with local municipalities and conservation organizations.

What You Can Do: First, release all brook trout to help the population recover. Take a picture of any stream culvert whose outlet is so high above the stream below that no trout can make it through and email it with location data to TU coordinator Allen Peterson at Allenpeterson54@gmail.com. Do the same thing if you see any tributaries with young trout <3” long. Finally, spread the word that things are happening on Owego Creek and consider joining Trout Unlimited to meet and work with other local anglers in protecting, conserving and enjoying our trout resources. The local chapter is the Al Hazzard chapter. Find us on Facebook or at www.alhazzardtu.org, or nationally at www.TU.org.