An Introduction to Brook Trout in Sulfur Springs
In the South Chagrin Reservation, only 20 minutes from downtown Cleveland lays Sulfur Springs. This amazing little stream remains the only stream in Ohio with a large, publicly accessible population of brook trout. Now classified as a threatened species in Ohio, the brook trout is a very important game fish throughout the United States. It is also an environmentally sensitive fish, whose presence can be used as an indicator for the health of a stream. Sulfur Springs' ability to maintain a population of brook trout is quite remarkable for a stream in Ohio, let alone a stream in a heavily trafficked park so close to a major city. As with many small streams, there was very little readily available information on its background, or scientific data concerning the life that it held. In the summer of 1998, working through the Chagrin Watershed Institute, I began a study on the population, habitat, and behavior of the brook trout in Sulfur Springs. The final result was the paper "An Introduction to Brook Trout in Sulfur Springs". Most recently, I have revised and updated the original paper and present it in the following chapters:
Chapter One: An Introuduction to Brook Trout
Chapter Two: A History of Brook Trout in Sulfur Springs
Chapter Three: General Trout Biology
Chapter Four: An Introduction to Sulfur Springs
Chapter Five: Brook Trout Behavior in Sulfur Springs
Chapter Six: Future Research and Conservation
Chapter Seven: Personal Contacts and Bibliography
Appendix A: 1998 Brook Trout Habitat and Population Catalog
Appendix B: 2000 Adendum