Restoration Roundup: Fish Grow on Trees

Enjoy the June episode of the “Restoration Roundup” podcast which informs us about the importance of trees for fish habitat and how restoring riparian forests along waterways can help fish populations.

In the tenth episode of Restoration Roundup, Alison Adams and Liz Woodhull, of the Watershed Forestry Partnership and Lake Champlain Sea Grant, sat down with Bret Ladago and Will Eldridge, who work with the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department. Bret is a fisheries biologist, and Will is an aquatic habitat biologist and works to protect and restore habitat for fish and other aquatic organisms.

In this podcast episode, learn from Bret and Will about how fish rely on trees and what we can do to support their populations—both the fish and the trees! Climate change threatens fish populations with rising water temperatures and altered ecosystems. Riparian forests along waterways help to reduce these impacts. Tree leaves carry the bugs fish eat to streams; tree canopy cover provides shade and keeps water cooler; and “fish hotels," or log jams create important habitat for fish populations. 

Listen to this podcast and many others on Lake Champlain Sea Grant's Watershed Forestry Partnership Restoration Roundup Podcast webpage or find the episode on most podcast streaming platforms.

The Restoration Roundup podcast, released on the last Wednesday of each month, is supported by NEIWPCC and the Lake Champlain Basin Program.