Wood is Good!

Wood is Good and Mess is best for Vermont trout!

Check out these videos from Vermont Fish and Wildlife.

This is why we plant trees and why one shouldn’t cut trees within 100′ of the bank!

Brook trout also thrive in streams that are complex with a mix of depths, flows and cover. Streamside trees add to this complexity while standing and after they fall into the water. Trees along the bank can be undercut providing cover for trout to hide from predators. Trees that fall into the river can form scour pools which trout prefer, and provide cover for feeding or protection from predators or high flows. Research in Vermont has shown that brook trout abundance can be up to 200% higher in stream reaches with wood jams than in comparable stream reaches without.

No matter how you look at it, brook trout in Vermont grow on trees!