Angeline Brook

SAVING SEA-RUN BROOK TROUT—ONE OF THE FEW REMAINING SALTER STREAMS NEEDS OUR HELP NOW.

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Along the beautiful, rugged shoreline of Westport MA, the Angeline Brook and its branches provide home waters to one of the most important remaining native sea-run brook trout populations in all of New England.

In the face of encroaching development, the Massachusetts/Rhode Island Trout Unlimited Council has a rare opportunity to help preserve it.

How we can help.

The Angeline Brook Land Conservation Project will acquire and permanently protect 102 acres of forested land, including 1.7 miles of high-quality coastal stream habitat along the Angeline Brook watershed.

The project will connect to existing conservation lands, creating a contiguous area of over 630 acres straddling both sides of Angeline Brook, its side channels, and its tributaries.

These assembled parcels and waterways will provide critical protection for one of only two Massachusetts areas where the status of coastal brook trout populations are considered “Abundant.”

The mission of Trout Unlimited is to conserve, protect, and restore North America’s coldwater fisheries and their watersheds.

The MA/RI Trout Unlimited Council and its constituent chapters are now seeking to support the Buzzard Bay Coalition and its partners in the land acquisition for The Angeline Brook Project to protect this rare and vital coastal stream and its associated watershed lands.

Time is limited for us and the sea-run trout.

• Eastern brook trout are declining throughout their range due land use change, habitat loss and fragmentation, and interactions with non-native species.
• The proposed land acquisition has been identified by the Massachusetts BioMap 2 as “Core Habitat” and “Critical Natural Landscape.” The Angeline Brook system is one of the most important clusters of remaining native sea-run brook trout populations along New England’s coast.

The Angeline Brook Land Conservation Project has the opportunity to acquire and protect some of the most important lands that support this important resource. In order to secure the remaining $100,000 to purchase the remaining land and embedded watershed, the project needs to be funded by June 1st, 2016.

With the financial support of the member chapters of the MA/RI Council of Trout Unlimited, and with truly valued donations from you, we can meet this goal.

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Thank you so very much. See you on the water!

Recent Examples of Successful MA/RI Trout Unlimited Support of Land/Watershed Conservation Projects.

• Sea-run brook trout protection work at the Lyman Reserve in Wareham, Massachusetts in conjunction with a variety of state agencies and entities.
• Financial assistance given by the Council and member chapters to the Franklin Land Trust for their purchase of property in Heath, MA along the West Branch of the North River.

More information about The Angeline Brook Land Conservation Project .

• The primary objective of this project is to protect a substantial amount of key habitat supporting sea-run brook trout and the associated high quality ecological conditions indicated by their presence. The project helps to preserve the rural character of this area and expands recreational access for the public to the stream and the open space around it.
• The Angeline Brook Land Conservation Project is a rare opportunity to intervene before the Angeline Brook populations go the way of the other sea-run brook trout habitats.
• The MA-RI Council is supporting the Buzzards Bay Coalition and its project partners ( Westport Land Conservation Trust and Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife .) These latter organizations all have full time conservation land management staff and the necessary resources to appropriately steward this conservation land.
• A conservation restriction will separately be placed on all of the property to further ensure permanent protection.
• These streams are regularly assessed by the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife for the fish resource, water quality and habitat temperature.