10/08/2025

IRON COUNTY - As dwindling brook trout populations are a concern across Wisconsin, conservation efforts in Iron County are increasing viable habitats for the native species.

Fish population spikes are being observed at Kaari Creek and the Tyler Forks River after major culvert replacement and restoration projects. A fisheries biologist for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Zach Lawson, says post-project monitoring shows a 94-percent increase in juvenile trout at Kaari Creek – and fishermen at Tyler Forks report seeing more juvenile trout than they have in a decade.

                    0:11  "We see a more even distribution of different size and age classes throughout the stream, along the entire reach of Kaari Creek, which is fantastic, just what we want to see."

Lawson says brook trout are important as a good indicator of high-quality water resources. Despite the fluctuating weather conditions of climate change, Iron County is predicted to be one area in Wisconsin where brook trout will still be able to thrive. Lawson says that’s why projects like these are so crucial.

Kaari Creek, which serves as a nursery habitat for brook trout, had been diverted from its natural channel into a roadside ditch, causing erosion and flooding issues. Improving it meant replacing nine culverts and an 800-foot stream restoration that cost more than 400-thousand dollars to complete. Heather Palmquist with the Iron County Land and Water Conservation Department says most of the funds came through the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources’ Trout Stamp Fund.

                    0:15  "Our towns, our private landowners, our Wisconsin DNR, just bringing in all sorts of entities. And talking with my fisheries biologist about this project, that's how I ended up getting the trout stamp funding. He said, 'Hey, there's a pot of money that maybe we could apply for.'"

Without grant funds and strong partnerships, she says rural, underserved areas like Iron County, with a population of just 65-hundred, could not undertake these kinds of projects.