Rainbows Took Train to Ozarks

Tim Wade describes how back when eastern brook trout populations first came under pressure, hatcheries managers thought it would be a good idea to ship rainbows east via train.  The only problem: refrigerated cars were notoriously unreliable, so lots of rainbow trout ended up being dumped in Missouri streams.

“When the refrigerated cars broke down (apparently this happened frequently) and a creek, stream or river was close by, railroad employees dumped the trout into these creeks in the hope some would survive.  In Missouri, the railroad happened to run through the northern end of the Ozark Mountains, where miles and miles of spring-fed creeks existed.”  In the Cody Enterprise.