The Lifeblood of our Mountains

Written By: Sarah Pursel | Issue: August - 2022

Here in the higher elevations of the Highlands-CashiersPlateau, mountain streams originate, forming theheadwaters of larger streams and waterways below.Our small seeps, trickles, and creeks collect water from rainevents and feed into larger and larger bodies of water includingthe rivers, lakes, and reservoirs that support drinking water forour communities. Healthy water upstream can have a directimpact on water quality downstream and one of the indicatorsof a healthy stream is the presence or absence of certain animalsthat live within them.Southern Appalachian Brook Trout, the only native “trout” spe-cies on the Highlands-Cashiers Plateau, require cool, pristinemountain waters to survive and thrive. As top predators in thestream food chain, brook trout are a crucial keystone species inour waterways. They feed on aquatic insects, including mayfly,caddisfly, and stonefly larvae, which are vital to the function-ing stream ecosystem – breaking down organic material andrecycling it back into the system.Brookies were pushed down the Appalachians during the lastice age over 10,000 years ago. These ancient fish were almostdriven to extinction when our mountains were clear-cut fortimber, opening up the forest canopy, warming the waters andincreasing runoff and sedimentation into their habitat.In North Carolina since 1900, the brook trout range is believedto have declined by roughly 80 percent. Other factors thatcontribute to the challenges our aquatic species face include:introductions of non-native trout species (such as the predatoryRainbow and Brown Trout), increased development pressuresalong riparian areas, decimation of eastern hemlock populationsby the invasive hemlock wooly adelgid, water temperatureincreases resulting from spillover impoundments (ponds),climate change, impediments to movement and migrationsuch as culverts, clearing of riparian vegetative buffers along waterways, and the fragmentation of quality habitat. Asnegative impacts have now compounded over severalhundred years, these incredible animals need our help andprotection more than ever to prevent loss of the speciesand ecosystem collapse across the plateau.To learn more about this topic, please join Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust and The Village Green for ourHealthy Headwater Streams Village Nature Series talk,5:00 to 6:00 P.M. Tuesday, August 30, at theVillage GreenCommons at The Village Green, Cashiers. PresenterPatrick Weaver, Education Coordinator at HeadwatersOutfitters, will discuss the conservation challenges forlocal streams and trout waters and explore what we can alldo to help promote our local brook trout populations andbolster riparian buffers.Let’s protect the lifeblood of our mountains.

by Sarah Pursel, Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust

photo by Andrew Renfro