South Pine Creek: a habitat success story

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South Pine Creek supported what was once the last population of native brook trout in Iowa. With combined efforts of many public and private partners, its trout habitat is being protected and expanded.

INHF has focused on two methods: purchase of properties for public ownership by the Iowa DNR and voluntary protection agreements (conservation easements) with private landowners to minimize impacts on trout streams.

The Iowa DNR, Natural Resources Conservation Service and Iowa Department of Agriculture have promoted special conservation practices by private landowners throughout this targeted watershed—fighting soil erosion and stabilizing stream banks. Through these actions, the stream’s brook trout population showed an increase in the most recent census (2002).

Meanwhile, Iowa DNR Fisheries is also using fish eggs from this stream to raise wild brook trout fingerlings. The fingerlings are used to establish brook trout in other nearby trout streams—thereby making the entire population larger and more stable. To date, this program has yielded successful reproduction in the upper branches of French Creek and sporadic results in Dutton’s Cave Creek and the upper portion of Little Paint Creek.