Data and Brook Trout Decision Support Tools

The EBTJV believes the following suite of decision support tools provide the means for identifying priority focal areas for implementing on-the-ground actions that will produce the best wild Brook Trout conservation outcomes. Consequently, we strongly urge our partners to take full advantage of these tools to assist with your planning efforts.

TU Eastern Brook Trout Conservation Portfolio, Range-wide Assessment and Focal Area Tools

Trout Unlimited developed three conservation planning products to help identify strategic conservation opportunities and evaluate potential projects within the range of Eastern Brook Trout (EBT) in the eastern US.

Riparian Restoration Decision Support Tool

An innovative riparian planting and restoration decision support tool, this user-friendly tool allows managers and decision-makers to rapidly identify and prioritize areas along the banks of rivers, streams, and lakes for restoration, making these ecosystems more resilient to disturbance and future changes in climate.

Brook Trout Thermal Habitat Forecasts Catoctin Mountain Park, Maryland & Shenandoah Valley, Virginia

Users can zoom-in to an area of interest and then compare current conditions against various future scenarios (3 levels of air temperature change x 3 levels of GW sensitivity to air temperature change). The interpretation is simple: red sites are too warm (MWAT > 23 C) and blue sites have suitable temperatures.

North Atlantic Aquatic Connectivity Collaborative

The North Atlantic Aquatic Connectivity Collaborative (NAACC) is a network of individuals from universities, conservation organizations, and state and federal natural resource and transportation departments focused on improving aquatic connectivity across a thirteen- state region, from Maine to West Virginia. The NAACC has developed common protocols and training for assessing road-stream crossings (culverts and bridges) and developed a regional database for this field data. The information collected is then used to identify high priority bridges and culverts for upgrade and replacement. The tool supports planning and decision-making by providing information about where restoration projects are likely to bring the greatest improvements in aquatic connectivity and has a subwatershed prioritization map to help focus survey efforts in the project area, as well as a customizable prioritization component for use with ArcGIS Desktop. NAACC partners have also compiled resources, tools, and best practices from organizations around the country covering a wide range of topics related to addressing aquatic connectivity.