National Fish Habitat Action Plan

Aaron Run is a tributary of the Savage River located in Garrett County, Maryland and has been identified on Maryland's List of Impaired Waters as impaired by low pH. As a result of this impairment, a multi-year Watershed Restoration Project has been established. The main goals of the project are to:

• Remove the Aaron Run watershed from Maryland’s List for a low pH impairment
• Restore what is now an extirpated population of native brook trout
• Remediate numerous acid mine drainage impacts
• Protect important economic fisheries

Trout are important as an “indicator species” of a watershed. When a watershed is in trouble, the trout are the first to die. Species like the greenback cutthroat, gila, and westslope cutthroat trout thrived in Western watersheds until their habitats were altered because of roads, dams, agriculture, and logging. Human introduction of non-native trout species, such as rainbow, brown and brook trout put further pressure on native species by out-competing them for food and by eating native fry. Conservation of Western native trout and their habitats is critical in maintaining their cultural, scientific and recreational value.

www.westernnativetrout.org