Youth Conservation Corp crew measure habitat in Whittlesey Creek. - FWS photo by Darienne McNamara

The Whittlesey Creek National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1999 to provide spawning and nursery areas for migratory trout that live in Lake Superior.  Of particular interest is the Coaster Brook Trout, which was once abundant along the shores of Lake Superior.  Overfishing and habitat degradation nearly caused it to become extirpated from the Lake and its tributary waters.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and it partners have been attempting to restore Coaster Brook Trout in Whittlesey Creek through an experimental stocking program.  But habitat needs to improve within the Creek itself.  Refuge staff, with significant help from the Youth Conservation Corps, collected stream habitat data over the last two summers. 

Whittlesey Creek Refuge’s stream habitat is fair to poor, using the stream monitoring system established by the Wisconsin DNR.  The upper reaches of the stream, outside the refuge, have better fish habitat with a rating from fair to good.  The Refuge’s goal for stream habitat is good to excellent. The rating is based on 20 long-term monitoring stations from the mouth of Whittlesey Creek to its headwaters. 

As we restore habitat in the watershed and stream, we expect fish habitat to improve.  This stream monitoring system will allow us to measure whether the stream improves or stays the same.  Data will be collected at one station every year.  All other stations will be monitored every two to five years, depending on habitat work that is being done upstream.