New York
Overview
The Upper Delaware tailwater is the best wild trout water within a short drive of New York City. The Adirondacks are a brook trout sanctuary in a vacationland steeped in history. Upstate New York is where the Susquehanna River begins its path to the Chesapeake Bay. From the Genesee in the west to the Battenkill in the east, Trout Unlimited is at work recovering and reconnecting trout habitat and helping rural communities prepare for the next flood. TU’s work in New York improves water quality, creates family-wage jobs, and boosts a $21 billion outdoor recreation economy.
Fish We're Protecting
Threats & Opportunities
Even in pristine, protected areas such as the Adirondacks and the Catskills, climate models show a future with limited trout water. Federal, state, and private investments provide an opportunity to reconnect ecosystems and restore fisheries that will be in a better position to weather a warmer, unpredictable climate future.
What We're Accomplishing
Reconnecting trout habitat in the Adirondacks.
A recently launched initiative with the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) will reconnect more than 40 miles of streams within the South Branch Moose River watershed over a five-year period by addressing over 50 barriers. In the Saranac River watershed, crews will replace six culverts to open an additional 10.5 river miles to enhance access for brook trout. Work in the lower Saranac watershed, including a major dam removal in 2023, improved connectivity to help landlocked Atlantic salmon reach historic spawning grounds.
Restoring trout habitat in the Catskills.
A new tri-state brook trout restoration initiative will benefit trout streams throughout the upper Delaware watershed. In New York, TU has been dedicated to restoration in the Beaverkill/Willowemoc watershed for decades. On the upper Willowemoc and Mongaup Creek, restoration projects continue to support NYSDEC’s wild trout management goals with the upper watershed targeting specific brook trout conservation strategies. Habitat restoration work on the Battenkill has helped wild brown trout by providing protective cover from predators. Restoration was so effective on Camden Creek that the state has stopped stocking and prioritized wild trout.
Surveying large landscapes to prioritize reconnection and restoration projects.
In recent years, TU crews have surveyed hundreds of road stream crossings annually to help identify problem culverts and prioritize the worst barriers for replacement with fish-friendly crossings. Partnering with municipalities, TU has replaced failing infrastructure in the headwaters of Kinderhook and Taghkanic creeks, as well as the Roeliff Jansen Kill, not only reconnecting trout habitat but protecting small towns from flooding risks. In the Genesee River watershed staff have expanded our partnerships with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife’s Great Lakes office to survey miles of potential brook trout and Atlantic salmon habitat using drones for thermal imaging.
Engaging anglers, partners, and community to promote the benefits of wild fisheries.
A focus on outreach and engagement is helping connect anglers and the community with TU’s work and priorities. We have partnered with local businesses to bolster community connections, for example by collaborating on special beers to improve awareness of TU while also raising funds for our work. New York film projects, including “Connected Conservation” in partnership with NYSDEC and “Miracle in the Mountains,” have reached large audiences on social media.
How You Can Help
Help us recover New York’s Priority Waters by planting trees, doing community science, and more.
VolunteerConnect with New York Trout Unlimited.
CONNECTFollow @TU_Northeaston Instagram to see what we’re doing in New York and across the Northeast.
For specific inquiries, reach out to TU Engagement Manager Jesse Vadala.
New York Conservation Team
Tracy Brown
Northeast Restoration Manager
tracy.brown@tu.org
Northeast Restoration Manager
tracy.brown@tu.org
Priority Waters
-
Upper Delaware
In a tailwater system famed for its large, fussy wild brown and rainbow trout, we are reconnecting tributaries to the West Branch and East Branch, opening up spawning habitat to wild trout and reducing risk in flood-prone communities. In the Willowemoc, we are laying the foundation for the recovery of a native brook trout fishery that inspired the earliest American fly anglers in the Catskills.
-
Susquehanna Headwaters
Draining 27,500 square miles, second most east of the Mississippi, the Susquehanna River system starts in New York, snakes through Pennsylvania and Maryland, then flows into the Chesapeake Bay. Up in the headwaters, Trout Unlimited is doing a full study of Wylie Brook, a largely intact native brook trout stronghold, to assess habitat restoration needs.
-
Battenkill River
The Battenkill—namesake to a popular line of reels from Orvis, the company based on the river in Manchester, Vt.—is a wild trout destination that anglers know the world over. But the numbers of wild brookies and browns are not what they once were, and we are working to rebuild fish habitat by adding trees that provide cover, removing obstructions to reconnect stretches, and shoring up eroding stream banks. This is a model “One TU” partnership, with national staff and state and chapter volunteers collaborating to raise funds, plant trees, work on habitat, and conduct spawning surveys.
-
Adirondacks / Tug Hill
America’s first state forest reserve still harbors native Eastern brook trout and still draws anglers. In this national landmark, we are assessing watershed fragmentation on the west slope streams, which drain into Lake Ontario, by surveying 400 culverts on state land. In the Black River watershed, we are reconnecting tributaries by replacing failing culverts.
-
Taconic Range
The Taconic Mountains, east of the Hudson, span the state’s border with Vermont and Massachusetts. Streams here include headwaters to the Hoosic, Kinderhook, and Roeliff Jansen Kill, and we are collecting data about culverts that may present fish passage barriers and meeting with towns to understand their infrastructure concerns.
-
Genesee River
Wiscoy Creek, a scenic, 25-mile tributary of the Genesee River in western New York, is a priority for wild trout recovery. We are assessing road-stream infrastructure that presents barriers to fish passage and laying the groundwork for new collaborations with local communities to replace them.
-
Saranac River
Fresh off the heels of a hard-fought battle that resulted in the removal of the Indian Rapids and Fredenburgh Falls Dams, Trout Unlimited staff, local advocates from the TU Lake Champlain chapter, and U.S. Fish & Wildlife wage on in the Lake Champlain Basin. Barriers to the migration of spawning trout and salmon have been in place for decades, stunting populations of all wild salmonids throughout the Saranac River and its tributaries. These barriers come in all sizes, many of these in form of small pipes (culverts) just a fraction of the size of the Indian Rapids dam. The origin or headwaters of the Saranac is of paramount concern for native brook trout. TU and our partners are working to systematically remove priority undersized culverts to help reduce habitat fragmentation and support community resiliency in the watershed.
Stories
