Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Deep in the cold, clear headwaters of Appalachia, biologists are searching for a fish that has called the mountains home long before West Virginia was even a state.
“We’re hoping we find plenty of trout at different age classes," said David Thorne, a Cold-Water Fisheries Biologist with the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources. "We want to see young fish, we want to see adults, because that tells us we have a healthy, reproducing population here."
The brook trout is West Virginia’s state fish and the only member of the salmon family native to the Mountain State. It’s also an Ice Age relic. Brook trout were swimming in Appalachian waters more than 10,000 years ago, when the climate across the region was much colder.
On this day, electrofishing was the way to "catch them."
A mild electrical current briefly stuns the fish, allowing biologists to safely scoop them up. The gentle shock doesn’t hurt them – and after they’re measured and documented, they’re returned to the stream.
These fish are tough. They’ve survived thousands of years of change. But they’re still vulnerable to warming water, sediment, pollution, flooding, drought and changes to their habitat. Thorne says this is why brook trout can tell you a lot about the health of a stream.
“Brook trout are really an indicator species," Thorne said. "If we have a healthy brook trout population, that tells us a lot about the health of the stream. They need that cold, clean water so when those populations start changing, it can tell us something is changing in that watershed."
That makes protecting these fish even more important.
Multiple partners across the state recently helped designate more than 170 miles of streams as trout waters, giving those waterways stronger protections.
“There are increased water quality standards through the DEP," Thorne said. "We have different levels of standards depending on the use of designation of that water, and a trout designation – trout usage of the water – has the most stringent standards. If there’s development planned for a stream, they know that there’s going to be extra scrutiny placed on them for any effluent, any runoff coming off of a project, or when a project is complete, if they’re discharging effluent routinely, those effluents have to meet certain minimum standards."
Cleaner streams for brook trout also mean cleaner water for people – helping protect drinking water sources, recreation and the outdoor tourism that depends on West Virginia’s rivers and streams.
And the work isn’t finished. Biologists hope surveys like this one will identify even more streams that can be added to the state’s protected trout-water list in the future.
A tiny, colorful survivor of the Ice Age, now helping scientists protect the future of West Virginia’s cold mountain streams.
"We want to assure that the streams with the best populations, self-sustaining reproducing populations, have the best water quality standards we can give them, the best protections we can give them," Thorne said.
FULL STORY: wchstv.com/community/wild-appalachia/wild-appalachia-brook-trout-protection
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Deep in the cold, clear headwaters of Appalachia, biologists are searching for a fish that has called the mountains home long before West Virginia was even a state.
“We’re hoping we find plenty of trout at different age classes," said David Thorne, a Cold-Water Fisheries Biologist with the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources. "We want to see young fish, we want to see adults, because that tells us we have a healthy, reproducing population here."
The brook trout is West Virginia’s state fish and the only member of the salmon family native to the Mountain State. It’s also an Ice Age relic. Brook trout were swimming in Appalachian waters more than 10,000 years ago, when the climate across the region was much colder.
On this day, electrofishing was the way to "catch them."
A mild electrical current briefly stuns the fish, allowing biologists to safely scoop them up. The gentle shock doesn’t hurt them – and after they’re measured and documented, they’re returned to the stream.
These fish are tough. They’ve survived thousands of years of change. But they’re still vulnerable to warming water, sediment, pollution, flooding, drought and changes to their habitat. Thorne says this is why brook trout can tell you a lot about the health of a stream.
“Brook trout are really an indicator species," Thorne said. "If we have a healthy brook trout population, that tells us a lot about the health of the stream. They need that cold, clean water so when those populations start changing, it can tell us something is changing in that watershed."
That makes protecting these fish even more important.
Multiple partners across the state recently helped designate more than 170 miles of streams as trout waters, giving those waterways stronger protections.
“There are increased water quality standards through the DEP," Thorne said. "We have different levels of standards depending on the use of designation of that water, and a trout designation – trout usage of the water – has the most stringent standards. If there’s development planned for a stream, they know that there’s going to be extra scrutiny placed on them for any effluent, any runoff coming off of a project, or when a project is complete, if they’re discharging effluent routinely, those effluents have to meet certain minimum standards."
Cleaner streams for brook trout also mean cleaner water for people – helping protect drinking water sources, recreation and the outdoor tourism that depends on West Virginia’s rivers and streams.
And the work isn’t finished. Biologists hope surveys like this one will identify even more streams that can be added to the state’s protected trout-water list in the future.
A tiny, colorful survivor of the Ice Age, now helping scientists protect the future of West Virginia’s cold mountain streams.
"We want to assure that the streams with the best populations, self-sustaining reproducing populations, have the best water quality standards we can give them, the best protections we can give them," Thorne said.
FULL STORY: wchstv.com/community/wild-appalachia/wild-appalachia-brook-trout-protection
_________________________________________
Follow WCHS on social media:
Facebook: facebook.com/eyewitnessnewscharleston
Twitter: twitter.com/wchs8fox11
Instagram: instagram.com/wchs8fox11
For the latest local and national news, visit our website: wchstv.com
Sign up for our newsletter: wchstv.com/sign-up
