Global Warming and Brookies

One of the constant threats to brookies brought up by fisheries officials and TU members on this trip was global warming. There was not necessarily a consensus about how much warming has or will take place, but most agreed that temperature increases have taken place and rainfall is less consistent, more flashy.

Now that I am back in the Deep South, the heat has inspired a post about global warming.

Fish found in spring-fed headwater streams fair well in normal drought situations. They are fed by cold, underground sources. But for headwater streams to remain perennial versus ephemeral, rain and snow has to recharge these watersheds. And today in the Deep South, the recent drought has alarmed many because rainfall has significantly decreased. States such as Georgia, North Carolina and eastern Tennessee have all been in drought conditions over the past several years. All one has to do is visit a reservoir in northern Georgia and take a look at lake levels to understand how bad the drought has been.

Brook trout are resilient, but as stream flows decrease, fish will be lost even in cold headwater streams because fish obviously need a minimum flow to survive tough years. Smaller pieces of water can heat up more quickly during hot summer days. It it not yet known how significant this drought will be regarding brook trout range in the South, but if this current pattern of heat and lack of rainfall isn't broken, the prognosis isn't good for some streams at the southern edge of the brookies range.

What does Tiger have against trout?

Tiger Woods has helped design and given his name to a development called The Cliffs at High Carolina in Asheville. Sounds nice doesn't it? It is luxury development high in the Appalachian Mountains with stunning views that just happens to have two native brook trout streams. But, given the steep nature of mountains, the mountains are being completely altered/leveled to make room for the golf courses and huge homes. Driving by it today, it resembled a strip mine. It was once a lush mountain with native trout. Given the barren hills I saw today, it's unlikely the property still contains streams with trout.

Does golf really belong in mountains? What does Tiger have against trout?

Now I doubt Tiger Woods knows his development has trout, and probably doesn't have anything against the brookie. But these are the types of projects that have reduced the range of the brookie in desirable areas such as western North Carolina. Aren't there enough golf courses already?

According to fisheries biologist Doug Besler, these types of developments are all but impossible to stop. But, in order to change behavior, he has proposed that the state create a green certification program for builders who plan developments that take trout (and other plants and animals) into consideration. While this program won't save Tiger's trout, it may save streams in the future because development isn't going away around Asheville.

Acid Rain in North Carolina

I am in North Carolina, a state that still contains extensive brook trout. But, like Virginia to the north, the recent heat and drought has constricted brookies at lower elevations. On the other end of the mountains, acid rain remains a problem in North Carolina (see picture). See the dead trees that stand out in this high elevation forest. So brookies are getting squeezed at low and high elevations.