By Art Holden, Daily Record Outdoor Editor

May 24, 2010—Jon Cuomo had an interest, and Trout Unlimited provided the opportunity.

The Westlake High School Environmental Studies teacher grew up in Virginia, where he developed an appreciation for water and stream conservation. As a teacher at Westlake High School, he thought his students would have similar interests if only they were exposed to it.

"By chance, I looked up local Trout Unlimited chapters, and sent an e-mail to them to get the ball started," said Cuomo.

That ball rolled all the way to Wooster this past week when 20 students from Cuomo's class visited Grosjean Park to release trout they had raised from eggs into Apple Creek.

"The kids were thrilled. It's the best field trip we've been on in a long time," said Cuomo.

It was a long road to Wooster, though, as Cuomo and Trout Unlimited worked with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and the City of Wooster Parks Department to make the entire project come to fruition.

Jim Augustyn, from Westlake, and president of the Emerald Necklace chapter of TU, was the contact person, and got Cuomo and his students started in the organization's Trout in the Classroom program.

The Emerald Necklace chapter was the first to ante up money for Cuomo and the Westlake science department to purchase the equipment needed to raise the trout. Eventually, the local Clear Fork TU chapter, and the Mad River chapter, pitched in to help get the project off the ground.

"Trout in the Classroom has been in place in over 200 classrooms throughout the United States, but this is the first time the program has been conducted in Ohio," said Skip Nault, past president of the Clear Fork chapter, and one of the movers and shakers who helped turn the local waterway into a viable trout stream. "The goal of the Ohio TU state Council is to encourage and support other Ohio schools, including those in Wayne County and nearby school districts, to participate in the program."

Aquariums, filters and a cooler were purchased, and 66 "eyed," or fertilized, trout eggs arrived in early December.

"The students were responsible for the husbandry of the fish, rearing the fish," said Cuomo. "Changing the filters, feeding, changing the water. Trout like water with high oxygen content, and we had a big tank (75 gallons) and a powerful filter that moved a lot of water (which provided oxygen)."

Of the 66 eggs the students started with, 57 survived and were released Tuesday into the local stream.

"I think the students were excited, but I think Skip and his group were even more excited to see the fish the students raised for six months and to be able to release them into Apple Creek," said Cuomo.

"It was a win-win situation for my students, and for TU," he continued. "At the beginning of the year, maybe one of the 120 students even knew about TU, now all 120 know the organization's mission statement, what a riparian area is and they all have an understanding of stream ecology and conservation."

"They may not all go on to be trout fishermen, but (the program) brought awareness and knowledge to the students."

Because Westlake is located in the Cleveland area, Cuomo was hoping to release the fish closer to the school, but the state felt Wooster was the best site.

And when the day was over, Cuomo agreed, especially when he saw the effort that Nault and the local chapter put in to help make the day special for all involved.

"The students were flabbergasted, mainly because of the guys from TU," said Cuomo. "Skip did a nice talk profiling Apple Creek and water conservation and stream habitat. Then we went up to Schellin Park and got some lessons in fly fishing .... We hope we can do it again next year, only on a grander scale."

Trout Unlimited is a conservation organization, founded in 1959 whose mission is "To conserve, protect and restore North American trout and salmon fisheries and their watersheds." TU has 500 chapters nationwide with over 140,000 members.

The Clear Fork Chapter, one of five chapters in Ohio, is based in Wooster, and has more than 400 members. For the past six years, the Parks Department of Wooster and the TU chapter have raised funds to stock Apple Creek with rainbow and brown trout. Fly fishing or spin fishing with artificial lures with a single hook is encouraged and the sustainable practice of releasing trout back into the stream is requested. TU asks fishermen and women not to use bait when fishing Apple Creek.

NOTE: The Ohio Trout Unlimited Emerald Necklace and Clear Fork Chapters wish to extend special thanks and appreciation to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, the City of Wooster Parks, Westlake High School, the Cleveland Museum of Natural History Trout Club, and all other participants, who with their generous contributions and sponsorship, helped to make this project a success.

Jim Augustyn, President TU Emerald Necklace Chapter
Lowell R Nault, President TU Clear Fork Chapter