GRTU Presentation on Maine’s Wild Brook Trout: The past, present, and future of a Heritage Fish with Merry Gallagher.
George's River Trout Unlimited (GRTU) welcomes Merry Gallagher, MDIFW Native Fish Conservation Biologist, October 16 in Rockport to kick-off the 2017-2018 GRTU presentation/meeting series. This talk explores how the history and current status of Maine’s wild Brook Trout (Salvelinus fontinalis)sets the stage for current conservation efforts.   Past practices, and the species ecology and habitat needs, play heavily on shaping current and future conservation efforts including habitat restoration, mitigating threats, and cutting edge research.  It will explore how such topics as temperature monitoring, road/stream crossings, invasive species, and DNA detection can all contribute to a more comprehensive conservation effort directed to this iconic Maine species.

 
Gallagher is a stream ecologist with over 20 years of experience in stream survey methodology, native fish ecology, and landscape/GIS data analysis.  She has worked for the MDIFW as a Fishery Biologist since 2001.  She oversees statewide efforts to survey and assess stream habitats, restore degraded aquatic habitat, document wild brook trout populations and improve the general knowledge regarding the distribution of Maine's native fishes. Gallagher manages MDIFW's databases for stream survey information, commercial fish harvest, and has overseen the effort to convert historically collected fisheries data into GIS compatible formats.  She is Maine's representative for the Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture and the Northeast Fish & Wildlife Diversity Technical Committee.

 
Trout Unlimited is a non-profit organization with a mission dedicated to conserve, protect and restore North America's cold water fisheries and their watersheds. The GRTU meeting October 16 will be held in the upstairs mezzanine at Flatbread Company in Rockport. The meeting will start at 6 pm with an informal gathering for those who wish to converse and enjoy a casual meal. The featured presentation begins at 7 pm. GRTU conducts a raffle directly following the speaker.  Membership is open to all, and the George’s River chapter welcomes individuals from midcoast and downeast Maine. Meetings are free and open to the public.