Rinehart Brook:

[AndyS]

Rinehart Brook —
Brook Trout Restoration Project
A brook trout restoration project was initiated in 2017 on Rinehart Brook, a tributary to the Black River within Hacklebarney State Park. This restoration project, the first of its kind in New Jersey, was designed to assist the recovery of a struggling brook trout population by removing inter-specific competition exerted by non-native brown trout, the dominant species in Rinehart Brook. Initially, 93 percent of trout in this stream were brown trout. Fish and Wildlife biologists removed more than 1,100 brown trout by electrofishing approximately 2 miles of stream eleven times. These efforts caused a dramatic shift in species composition, and by early October 2018, zero brown trout were found for the first time in the study! In that time the brook trout population has more than doubled. These initial results are very encouraging. The brook trout population has more than doubled,comprising nearly 100 percent of all trout present in Rinehart Brook. In addition, there was no evidence of a successful brown trout spawn during the fall of 2017, as no young-of-the-year browns were found during sampling the following spring. Biologists will continue to remove brown trout and monitor the brook trout population through electrofishing.