AUTHORS: Michael Siepker, Iowa DNR; Caleb Schnitzler, Iowa DNR; Dan Kirby, Iowa DNR
ABSTRACT: Although Brook Trout were likely native to Northeast Iowa, early degradation of streams led to widespread extirpations along with regulations and stocking to restore and maintain populations. Brook Trout were a common part of early fish stockings, but disappeared from Iowa stocking records by 1956. Brook Trout remained largely absent from the trout program until 1993 when fingerling and catchable Brook Trout stockings resumed. The ancestry of Brook Trout used for early stockings is generally unknown; however, Brook Trout used for fingerling and catchable trout production that began in 1993 were acquired as eggs from the St. Croix Falls fish hatchery in Wisconsin. The first genetic evaluation of Iowa Brook Trout suggested the South Pine population was a unique population, but with low genetic diversity. As a result, South Pine fingerlings were used to restore Iowa Brook Trout fisheries beginning in the mid-1990s. Today, restoration stockings are conducted throughout northeast Iowa to expand wild Brook Trout populations.
