Lake Champlain’s Trout Population Is Now Officially Self-Sustaining

Syracuse -  In a feat five decades in the making, Lake Champlain officially has a self-sustaining trout population. So rather than continuing to stock lake trout, Vermont, New York, and federal wildlife officials announced they will switch the focus to monitoring the current population.
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“Bringing back Lake Champlain’s native lake trout to the point that they no longer depend on stocking is an incredible conservation success,” Andrea Shortsleeve, interim commissioner for the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, said in a statement.
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After stocking trout once more this spring, the Lake Champlain Fish and Wildlife Management Cooperative will keep a watchful eye on the population and develop a benchmark system to renew stocking efforts only if trout seem to be on the decline. It’s a significant switch up from a system established in 1972 to boost the trout numbers by adding hundreds of thousands of hatchery-raised juvenile fish.
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“This would not have been possible without strong partnerships — scientists and conservation groups from across the region support our decision to stop stocking and focus on maintaining good numbers of wild trout,” Shortsleeve added.