Loss of Historical Range

A historical photograph showing loggers hard at work taking down trees and stripping the bark in what would soon become Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

National Park Service Photo

 

Way to go!

Brook trout have lost approximately 75% of their native range in the park since the early 1900s mostly due to logging and the introduction of non-native rainbow and brown trout. As brook trout disappeared from the streams, anglers brought in rainbow trout and brown trout to “improve” fishing in the mountains. These non-native species are larger and more prolific in spawning which further decreases the number of brook trout in the park.

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