TU field crews busy in NY's Moose River watershed and beyond

TU field staff in New York worked extensively in the South Branch of the Moose River, Otter Creek, and Black River watersheds in the summer of 2023.  Crew leader Jeremiah Stone, alongside field technicians Andrew Deyo and Hunter Dellow, have…

TU field staff in New York worked extensively in the South Branch of the Moose River, Otter Creek, and Black River watersheds in the summer of 2023. 

Crew leader Jeremiah Stone, alongside field technicians Andrew Deyo and Hunter Dellow, have been collecting comprehensive data around aquatic passage and potential barriers to trout movement within each watershed.

Data collected this season will be prioritized to inform future culvert replacements and other habitat improvement opportunities within the Black and Moose River watersheds. 

fPerched culverts create barriers to fish passage.

Replacing culverts allows TU to improve the resiliency of our local communities, which face potential flood and property damage caused by eroded streambanks and undersized culverts. Our team designs solutions that not only allow for better distribution of water across high and low seasons, but which also restore natural stream features and repurpose local down trees for improved habitat. 

While dodging swarming black flies, sketchy culvert pools, and flashy rainstorms, our field crew found time to forge new friendships, and meet a few local brook trout that were still looking up after the fellas clocked out.  

To learn more about Trout Unlimited’s staff-supported and local volunteer initiatives across the Northeast, please reach out to northeastconservation@tu.org 

By Mark Taylor. A native of rural southern Oregon, Mark Taylor has lived in Virginia since serving a stint as a ship-based naval officer in Norfolk. He joined the TU staff in 2014 after a 20-year run as a newspaper journalist, the final 16 as the outdoors editor of the Roanoke Times. A graduate of Northwestern University, he lives in Roanoke with his wife and, when they're home from college, his twin daughters.