Global warming could spell disaster for brook trout — the prized native trout of Southern Appalachian streams.

A new report by Trout Unlimited called “Healing Troubled Waters” predicts that rising stream temperatures from global warming will make many creeks too hot for brook trout. Up to 90 percent of wild brook trout could be lost due to climate change, the report warns.

Brook trout are already relegated to the coolest of high-elevation mountain streams. The loss of shade cover along streams due to development causes the water to warm, edging out trout populations from previously held habitat.

The Trout Unlimited Report offers ideas to help fish and rivers withstand the changes of global warming. The theory is to reduce all other stress factors on the trout — making their habitat as whole and healthy as possible — allowing the trout to put all their energy toward surviving in warmer waters. Locally, that means preserving the cool water habitat that is left, keeping forested buffers along streams intact, and combating sediment.