For the love of brook trout, we plant trees

Rocky soil makes for tough planting conditions but Trout Unlimited volunteers are tougher. (Photo: Mike Anderson, volunteer)

By Brooke Andrew

After a month and a half, several hundred hours dedicated to onsite work by a total of 29 volunteers, and many, many brown bag lunches, Trout Unlimited is looking forward to wrapping up yet another successful riparian planting season in West Virginia.

This fall we planted approximately 800 trees on five different private lands project sites in Pendleton and Hardy County. These projects are part of a larger restoration program that includes effort to reforest the stream banks of the headwaters of the mighty Potomac, to ensure cold, clean water for our beloved, native brook trout.

Our volunteers ranged from conservation professionals to outdoor enthusiasts, from the retired to those who are still in high school, and from West Virginia residents to those who traveled from out of state.

Sometimes it’s hard to see the fish through the trees, so we made sure to allow for plenty of field trips for our volunteers to observe spawning brook trout.

To ensure that our plantings are as successful as possible, the second and final step to our planting process was to either tube or cages our trees. This precaution helps prevent against browsing deer and a whole host of other challenges that our new trees might face. The tubes and cages will be removed when trees are strong enough to withstand nature on their own. 

Thank you to all the volunteers who dedicated their time and effort!

If you want to find out how to get involved in future plantings or other TU activities send an email to Brooke Andrew at bandrew@tu.org or call/text (304)614-6699.

Brooke Andrew is Trout Unlimited’s AmeriCorps West Virginia Volunteer Restoration and Monitoring Organizer.