Brooktrout Lake
A crystalline Adirondack lake once held up as an example of a lake devastated by acid rain has now become a symbol of nature’s ability to heal itself once pollutants are curbed.
Brooktrout Lake teemed with trout before air pollution from faraway cities began to change the chemistry of lakes and soils in the 6-million-acre Adirondack Park. In 1984, biologists found that Brooktrout Lake and hundreds of others in the rugged region were completely devoid of fish.
Now it looks like the lake is slowly coming back. After the Clean Air Act amendments of 1990 tightened emissions limits on Midwest coal-burning power plants, acid rain decreased. In turn, pH levels of many Adirondack lakes began to rise, becoming less acidic.
Biologists stocked Brooktrout Lake with over 20 adult trout and 2,000 fingerling trout. It was the first time a once-dead Adirondack lake had been restocked with fish after improving enough to sustain life. But the comeback may be short-lived. The soil in much of the Adirondacks, particularly at higher elevations, have been depleted of calcium and other acid-neutralizing minerals, weakening their ability to serve as a buffer against acid rain,
June 6, 2006 6:31 AM | Category: Cleanup