New York

The Great State of

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 climate change.

Fish Protected In The Area
Threats & Opportunities

Even in pristine and protected areas such as the Adirondacks and the Catskills, climate models show a future with little trout water.

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Upwards of 80 million salmon return to Bristol Bay each year. (Flyout Media)
The waters of Bristol Bay continue to produce the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery. (Flyout Media)
Anglers float down a tributary of the Susitna River in southcentral Alaska. (Mountain Mind Media)
An angler fishes the waters of the Tongass National Forest. (Lee Kuepper)
Fireweed lines the Kenai River in late summer. (Zach Seeland)
Sockeye gather in the Kenai River. (Zach Seeland)

Upwards of 80 million salmon return to Bristol Bay each year. (Flyout Media)

The waters of Bristol Bay continue to produce the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery. (Flyout Media)

Anglers float down a tributary of the Susitna River in southcentral Alaska. (Mountain Mind Media)

An angler fishes the waters of the Tongass National Forest. (Lee Kuepper)

Fireweed lines the Kenai River in late summer. (Zach Seeland)

Sockeye gather in the Kenai River. (Zach Seeland)

 
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How We Work

Reconnection

In a tailwater system famed for its wild, fussy, large 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.

 

Restoration

A full study of Wylie Brook, a well-connected native brook trout stronghold, will help us assess habitat needs.

 

Wild Trout Recovery

Working with the state, we have identified eight rivers that are priorities for ending stocking and recovering wild trout populations.

 

Temperature Monitoring

By identifying the places where groundwater influences keep streams colder, we can focus our work in sections of rivers where trout populations will survive warming temperatures.

Get Involved

Here’s How You Can Help

Tree-planting events, community science opportunities, advocacy opportunities

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New York Conservation Team

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View our Staff Directory at tu.org

70% TOTAL METRIC ACHIEVED
33 TOTAL METRIC ACHIEVED
4 TOTAL METRIC ACHIEVED
Priority Waters
  • Upper Delaware

    River In a tailwater system famed for its wild, fussy, large 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.

  • Susquehanna Headwaters

    A full study of Wylie Brook, a well-connected native brook trout stronghold, will help us assess habitat needs. 

  • Battenkill River The Battenkill

    namesake to a line of reels from Orvis, which is 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 were, and we are working to rebuild habitat by adding trees to provide cover, removing obstructions to reconnect stretches, and shoring up eroding streambanks

  • The Adirondacks America’s

     first state forest reserve still harbors native brook trout and still draws anglers. In this national landmark, we are assessing 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.

Priority Waters