A sign project at Vermont’s state fishing access areas featuring wild native lake trout got underway this month thanks to a joint effort by the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department and the Native Fish Coalition.

“Lake trout have thrived in Vermont’s cold, clean lakes for thousands of years.  This sign project reminds the public about important habitat features that will continue the legacy of lake trout.” said Eric Palmer, Fish and Wildlife’s director of fisheries.

Native lake trout live in Vermont’s deepest and cleanest lakes.  Only a handful of Vermont waterbodies retain wild populations of the species.  Lakes featured in this sign project include Caspian, Crystal, Echo, Maidstone, Seymour, and Willoughby.

Lake trout thrive in deep, cold oligotrophic lakes.  They are native in northern latitudes and often survive for decades.  They forage for baitfish and spawn on rocky lake shoals and shorelines in autumn.  Though lake trout are often raised in hatcheries and stocked for recreational fishing, the lakes designated in this education project retain wild, naturally reproducing populations of the species.

“Native fish in Vermont are under pressure from invasive species and changing habitat conditions.  These signs note the importance of healthy habitat for lake trout,” said Paul Bugeja, chair of Native Fish Coalition’s Vermont chapter.