New York has many state symbols like the rose, the bluebird and the sugar maple. The state\u2019s Department of Environmental Conservation wants to protect New York\u2019s fish, the brook trout, specifically, focusing on brook trout living in ponds.<\/p>\n
They even stock some of the state\u2019s waterways with brook trout raised in hatcheries. South Otselic\u2019s hatchery is one place where these fish are raised.<\/p>\n
What You Need To Know<\/p>\n
The\u00a0brook trout is New York\u2019s freshwater fish
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The last time the state came up with a plan for conserving brook trout was 1979
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There\u2019s a new plan for how to care for their 425 pond habitats throughout the Adirondacks\u00a0<\/p>\n
The last time New York came up with an official plan for managing brook trout was 1979. It took several years to develop the new plan, including surveying anglers, public meetings and a team of people all invested in the same goal, sustaining the population of brook trout in the more than 400 ponds of the Adirondacks.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to ensure that they remain part of New York’s natural heritage for future generations,\u201d said David Erway, aquatic biologist with the DEC.<\/p>\n
Since 1975, brook trout have been a symbol for the Empire State. The fish live in 425 Adirondack ponds.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd our plan is to hopefully have wild sustaining populations of brook trout in these ponds where we don’t have to stock. That’s where a lot of this plan is going to help guide us in that direction,\u201d said Erway.<\/p>\n