It marks the first time since the park’s establishment in 1934 that fishing has been allowed in all park streams. 

Lynn Camp Prong was targeted for brook trout reintroduction as part of the Smokies’ long-range habitat restoration of the embattled species, which retain less than 5 percent of their native range in the Southeast.

The work entails eradicating all the rainbow and brown trout from the stream, and then reintroducing brook trout.

Rainbows and browns were introduced to mountain streams in the early 20th century after logging impacts caused brook trout to lose 75 percent of their former range. The introduced trout then outcompeted and displaced many remaining brook trout, with acid rain and warming stream temperatures further reducing trout population in higher elevations over the last 30 years. 

Since 1986, the park has restored brook trout to 27.1 miles in 11 different streams. Hundreds of volunteers and groups such as Trout Unlimited, Federation of Fly Fishers and Friends of the Smokies participated in the efforts. 

Of the park’s 2,900 miles of streams, about 20 percent are large enough to support trout. Brook trout only occupy 8.6 percent of these, browns are found in 4.6 percent and rainbow trout in 15.2 percent. 

Fisheries biologists have determined that recreational fishing won’t harm the population of brook trout. www.nps.gov/grsm/naturescience/upload/fishing-study.pdf