Slide show from event at Cape Cod Trout Unlimited.

1. Wild Brook Trout Streams of Cape Cod and
Southeastern Massachusetts: 2018 Update
November 14, 2018
Steve Hurley, Southeast District Fisheries Manager
Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife
steve.hurley@state.ma.us

2. Slides from Steve Hurley,
MassWildlife
• Presentation was made to the Cape Cod
Chapter of Trout Unlimited on 11/14/2018
• For more information visit:
www.capecodtu.org
www.southeastmasstu.com
www.searunbrookie.org

3. A Lot of Progress (and some
significant losses) since 2014)
• Much Progress on
Habitat Restoration
• Many other
researchers
interested in
coldwater streams
• Monitored brook
trout populations
fluctuating
Setbacks
• Loss of Santuit River
and UT- Herring
River Populations

5. Brook Trout Response to Climate Change
Inland Areas
• Can move upgradient to
colder headwater areas
Coastal Areas
• Isolated streams
restrict movement
during critical
summer periods

6. Westport’s Brook Trout Streams: Land
Protection is key to Preserving these
Streams

7. Above Old County Road Westport
04/14/2012 John Kokoszka

8. Westport DMF Fyke Net Catch
2012

9. South River Marshfield Brookies
• Many wild brook Trout
from Marshfield
Fairgrounds Brook
found in South River in
spring during shad
sampling in 2017
• Zenas Brook Way
subdivision plan next to
brook withdrawn

10. Jones River Kingston Dam Removals
Elm Street Dam
Removal Study funded
By DER
Wapping Road Dam
previously removed
Three downstream wild brook trout tributaries
Two Upstream wild brook trout tributaries

11. Eel River
Good Wetlands Restoration but
Major Temperature Impacts
One of first extensive bog restoration
Wild brook trout and Bridle shiner
populations
Removed dam, extensive white cedar
plantings
Large amount of woody structure added

12. Tidmarsh Farms
Beaver Dam Brook
Plymouth
Coldwater habitat
considered

13. Wellingsley Brook –
Plymouth
Removal of Small
Dams October 2012

14. Wellingsley Brook - Plymouth

15. Town Brook - Plymouth – Holmes
Street Dam Removal

16. Martha’s
Vineyard
Brook
Trout
Streams

18. Tack Factory Dam - Norwell Removal
Wild Brook Trout in a
tributary just upstream
Lowest dam on Third
Herring Brook

19. Third Herring
Brook – Old Tack
Factory Dam site

20. Un-named Tributary To Third Herring
Brook
•Trout electrofished and
PIT tagged -2017 and 2018
in unamed tributary (1 in
mainstem)
•Three antennas placed
on Third Herring Brook by
NSRWAQ and SRBTC
•Two trout hit antenna at
Old Tack Factory Pond
dam in May and June
2018

21. Importance of Trees as Trout Habitat

22. 0.00
0.10
0.20
0.30
0.40
0.50
0.60
0.70
Sep-07 Sep-08 Sep-09 Sep-10 Sep-11 Sep-12 Sep-13 Sep-14 Sep-15 Sep-16 Sep-17 Sep-18
Fall Electrofishing Catch Per Unit Effort (Trout per Meter)
Quashnet
Red Brook
Childs
Coonamessett

23. 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400
YOY
Age
1+
Age
2+
Age
3+
Age
4+
Brook Trout Length in September
Coonamessett Childs Quashnet Red Brook

24. New Century Bog Herring Channel
Constructed by A.D. Makepeace
March 2016
Main Channel Filling
In With Vegetation
New Herring Channel

25. Century Bog 2018

26. Red Brook September 26 2016

27. Red Brook
May 2017

28. Red Brook Over Winter Growth 10
to 14 inches

29. Red Brook May 2017

30. Unusual coloration in Red Brook
Recapture 2018

31. Brook Trout Spawning under Salt
Water King Tide

32. Red Brook Trout Response to Summer
Tides
01-Jul-
16
04-Jul-
16
07-Jul-
16
10-Jul-
16
13-Jul-
16
16-Jul-
16
19-Jul-
16
22-Jul-
16
25-Jul-
16
28-Jul-
16
31-Jul-
16
0
5
10
00
02
04
06
08
10
12
14
16
18
20
22
Red Brook Antenna 1 Unique Fish per Hour
5-10
0-5

33. Century Bog Restoration Key Concepts
• Grading to remove expressions
of agriculture
• re-expose organic soils,
• a mosaic of natural community
types;
• seed bank re-vegetation as
primary means to colonize
organic soils;
• • Re-introduction of
microtopographic variation,
including seasonal habitat pools;
• • Consolidation of ditch network
to one efficient channel that
maximizes existing shading and
passage through sand rather than
peat
Century Bog New Channel

35. White Island Pond Fish Ladder
Managed for River Herring and
downstream Temperatures
Opened in March
Closed mid-June
Opened for Outmigration Early
October-Early November

36. A wild brook trout from the Quashnet River
• Tagged 09/24/2008 - 197 mm
• Recaptured 09/21/2010 - 347 mm
• 727 Days at Large
Largest recaptured PIT tagged brook trout
from the Quashnet River 09/21/2010
Tag# 985.121003981009

37. Upper Quashnet River Channel after berm subsidence during FS-1
Contamination Remediation

38. Main Quashnet River Bog Channel
has continued to degrade

39. Quashnet River Upper Bog Project
Funded by U.S. Air Force

40. Quashnet K1 Bog Spawning Area

42. Removal of Old Concrete Structures on
Quashnet by USFWS

43. USGS Short Courses on
groundwater/surface water
interactions use Quashnet River as a
field site

44. Brook Trout spawning November 2015 at Upper Bend, lower Quashnet River

45. Upper Bend
Spawning Area
Graphic from Martin
Briggs, USGS
USGS
Quashnet River Studies

46. Rainbow Trout in Quashnet
• A few
rainbows
also noted
in the
Mashpee
River

47. Mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis)
Quashnet River Only Known Location in
Massachusetts

48. 2018 Very High Water Year

50. Johns Pond Outlet to Quashnet
River

51. Quashnet River Habitat Improvement and Management
Changes have allowed populations to increase
0
50
100
150
200
250
2018201620142012201020082006200420022000199819961994199219901988
TotalNumberCaptured
Year
Quashnet River TU Annual Brook Trout
Inventory Sections 1 to 4

52. The Santuit River: Death of a thousand
cuts?
• Santuit Pond – Water Quality
Problems
• Road Crossings – Runoff,
Improperly Sized
• Water Withdrawals: Willowbend,
Cotuit #5
• Clearing of trees and woody
habitat intended to improve
herring run
• Loss of nearby population (Quaker
Run)
• Increased predatory birds (i.e
Osprey platforms next to river)
• Loss of eel grass
• Resurgence of otter
Trout Population
discovered to be
extirpated in 2015

53. Santuit River
Improvements
Wood Additions by
SRBTC, Barnstable DNR
and Mashpee
Wampanoag
Sampsons mill
Culvert to be
replaced
Santuit Pond
algae problems

54. Dead Brook Trout found in Santuit
River February 28, 2016
Could be a migrant from Mashpee
River but apparent mortality from
Bird?

55. Santuit River Brook Trout Restoration
• Transplant of 45
brook trout from the
Mashpee River, May
31, 2017
• Resampled September
2017
• 15 recaptures and 1
untagged

56. Santuit USGS Work
Summer, 2018

57. Santuit River – 2018
May 2018 – No Trout!
• September
21, 2018
• One trout !
133 mm(5.2
inches)
• Apparent
YOY

58. Cape Cod Rivers Observatory
• Started by Dr. Max Holmes of Woods Hole
Research Center in 2017
• Focused originally on sea run brook trout
streams
• Data freely available online

59. Santuit River Water Quality Issues
2017 - 2018
Filters from the Cape
Cod Rivers Observatory
Santuit River Filters
showing onset of Algae
Bloom in 2017
Santuit Pond underwent a
transformation from rooted
aquatics to an algae
driven system which
impacts the River
downstream

60. Childs River Length Frequencies

61. Childs River
Farley and Garner Bogs
• GPR Data from NRCS
• Fallow Bogs owned by town of
Falmouth and Mashpee
• Proposal by Falmouth Rod and
Gun Club to Lease and restore
habitats
• Need restoration plan for entire
river including breaching of Rod
and Gun Club dam

62. Childs River
Farley Bog
Concept

63. Falmouth Rod
and Gun Club
Ponds Dam
Removal

65. Falmouth Rod and Gun/TU
Monitoring – 10 sites

66. Increase in Childs River
temperatures from Bogs and Ponds

67. • May 19, 2015 survey Survey with Andy
Nabreski of On The Water Magazine Captured
40 trout (11 recaptures)
• http://www.onthewater.com/field-trip-
electroshocking-native-brook-trout/
•
381 mm (15
inches) Photo Courtesy of
Andy Nabreski
Photo Courtesy
of Andy Nabreski
Coonamessett River – Falmouth
Brook Trout Re-introduction
2013 and 2014 introductions from Mashpee River

68. September 26, 2015
Captured 50 trout (14 recaptures)
5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38
9/22/2015 2 5 5 8 3 2 3 2 1 5 2 3 3 1 3 1 1
9/29/2014 11 18 33 26 20 7 2 1 2 1 2 1 1 1
9/16/2013 2 1 1 2 1
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
NumberofBrookTrout
Coonamessett River Fall Trout Sampling

69. • Cooperative research
with Dr. Linda Deegan
and Dr. Andy Jones,
Coonamessett River
Trust
• Herring antenna in
place all year in prime
brook trout habitat
• Solar panels
repositioned Nov
2018

70. Masswildlife Coldwater
biologist Adam Kautza with
Coonamessett River Trout

71. Coonamesset River Restoration

74. Coonamessett River – Summer 2018

76. Coonamessett River
• Removal of lower dam
• Woody debris
installation and tree
planting below Thomas
B Landers Road
• Continued monitoring
of brook trout
restoration/dispersal

77. Marstons Mills River
Formerly Stocked Stream
Single wild trout surveyed at River Road
Spawned out female trout and 6 others
surveyed in November 2015
Limited habitat above Mill Pond

78. Pocasset River:
Four Ponds Conservation Area
• Resurveyed 2015
• Wild Brook Trout persisted
• Wild brown trout gone
2015
Survey

79. UT- Herring River Falmouth
•Wild Brook rout
documented by
Bergin 1975
•Wild Brook trout
found July 28
2011
•No trout on
resurvey in 2018
•Potential habitat
restoration site

80. Fresh Brook
Wellfleet
Hydrodynamic study
2018

82. Thanks To Cooperators
and Researchers
Corporate
Wetlands
Partnership
www.searunbrookie.org

83. Questions
or Comments?