After much study, planning, and volunteer labor to improve the wild trout habitat in Deep Brook and the Pootatuck River, the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection's (DEEP) fisheries division recently delivered a number of small native brook trout to a tributary of Deep Brook, according to a statement from Pootatuck Watershed Association (PWA).

This event was emotional for all those who have followed the recent history of the brook trout population in Deep Brook, because, although this area is a Class I Wild Trout Management Area, the brook trout here have declined substantially over the last decade, according to PWA.

Heating fuel spills in 2003 and 2004, and another spill in 2013 were largely to blame, according to PWA. Other factors also had made the spawning location for wild brook trout inaccessible to them.

Since last spring, PWA members and PWA intern Cole Baldino, as well as volunteers from the Candlewood Valley chapter of Trout Unlimited (CVTU), completed several habitat improvement projects.

Michael Humphreys, a DEEP fisheries biologist, and some DEEP interns in late September found in northern Connecticut the wild trout to be stocked in Newtown. Once captured, the brook trout were placed in two 70-gallon tanks on a DEEP truck, which has oxygen pumps to keep the fish healthy during their transport.

According to Michael Fatse, a board member of PWA and CVTU, the fish "shot out of the containers and immediately disappeared" into the stream, signifying that the fish were unharmed by the transfer, and they quickly found hiding places in the stream.

A Class-1 Wild Trout Management Area, such as the one in Newtown, is defined as relying solely on natural reproduction of trout species without stocking. The reintroduction of brook trout into this system is not meant to be part of a regular stocking program, but to assist a compromised trout habitat to reach its original potential after having suffered numerous threats to its health. These new fish are expected to spawn this fall to provide a natural, expanded population, according to PWA.

Rules for fishing in a Class-1 wild trout stream require that caught fish be released immediately. Also, only artificial flies and single, barbless hooks are allowed.

The PWA requests that anglers refrain from fishing this stream until the normal population of brook trout is restored and sustained for at least one year.

Part of the success of this effort will depend on adequate rainfall/snowfall, which has been in serious decline for the last two years, according to PWA.