The struggle to save Appalachia’s native brook trout

On a startlingly beautiful day high in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Thomas Champeau waded into Yellowstone Prong hoping to catch the elusive Southern Appalachian brook trout. A pull-off along Blue Ridge Parkway had led him to a short path lined with mountain laurel. He and a smattering of afternoon anglers followed it to a rocky creekbed running cold and clear toward the Pigeon River. Champeau, already in waders, left a cooler on the bank in case of a lucky catch and stepped in. Rod in hand, he treaded lightly from one smooth rock to another, carefully staying out of sight of his quarry. Brook trout are, like Champeau, alert, cautious, and observant, hanging tight in the shaded pools where they make their home.

“Your approach has to be low, quiet, and so it’s a little bit like hunting ‘cause