The eggs were packaged inside bundles of astroturf and then into coolers at the hatchery.  On December 19, a total of 24,140 eyed eggs were stocked.  On January 16 a total of 25,860 eyed eggs were stocked. 

At the stream, the astroturf bundles were placed in hatching boxes that were staked to the stream bed at suitable sites along the creek.  The eyed eggs represented all year classes and all eight weeks of the spawning cycle to ensure a complete genetic component reached the stream.

The Ashland NFWCO will monitor the progress and hatching success of each artificial egg box over the next several months.  These stocking events represent one part of an overall plan to determine which life stage of coaster brook trout is best suited to use for reestablishing a migratory brook trout population in Whittlesey Creek.

Staff from the Ashland National Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office coordinated the efforts with assistance from Iron River NFH staff, Whittlesey Creek NWR staff, local volunteers, the Wisconsin DNR and Trout Unlimited.