Chapter Meeting: Southeast MN Stocking--History, Brook Trout Update, and Brown Trout Evaluations

Join us for a deep dive on trout stocking in Southeast Minnesota.  Starting with where we have been, Melissa will provide historic summaries of stocking Brown Trout, Rainbow Trout, and Brook Trout, and share past evaluation efforts that have guided the current stocking quotas of today.  The MN Driftless strain of Brook Trout have been stocked now for three years and it’s time for an update on those efforts and which streams they will shift to next.  Melissa will also provide updates on a few Brown Trout fingerling stocking evaluations and some adaptive stocking approaches that could be initiated in the future.  This summary will provide details on how our changing stream conditions have shifted our approaches over time and how much information actually guides these management decisions.
 
Melissa Wagner is the Lanesboro Area Fisheries Supervisor for the MN DNR.  She went to the University of St. Thomas for her undergrad degree, and North Dakota State University for her Masters.  She started with the DNR in 2007 and has been working in the Driftless Area ever since.  Her roles have shifted between stream monitoring, habitat improvement, and now management, which provides her a wide perspective on opportunities to improve MN driftless streams.