WESTMINSTER, Vt. (AP) – Vermont’s only native stream-dwelling trout may be endangered by the state’s warming climate, and has been labeled by some who revere the fish as a “canary in a coal mine” on climate change.

Wild brook trout thrive in clear, running water between 50 and 65 degrees, but the amount of stream habitat that provides those attributes is decreasing, experts say.

The Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture, a study group formed of five federal agencies, 17 state fish and wildlife departments, conservation groups and schools, estimates that just 14 percent of Vermont’s watershed provides good brook trout conditions.

River temperatures are rising in part because people building near rivers tend to cut down trees along the bank, allowing more sunlight to hit the water. But longer term climate change is believed a factor as well.

The state’s average temperature increased 0.4 degrees during the last century and is projected to rise anywhere from 2 to 10 degrees during this one. A U.S. Environmental Protection Agency report says a 5-degree rise in average temperature could devastate trout and salmon populations nationwide and eliminate brook trout entirely in Vermont.

Rep. David Deen, D-Westminster, chairs the House Fish and Wildlife Committee during the legislative session and spends his time away from Montpelier as a fishing guide and river steward for the Connecticut River Watershed Council.

He said he worries about the brook trout’s future not only for the sport he loves, but also for what it can signal about the larger environment.

“If you’re not a fisherman, the fact that brook trout are retreating may not mean much, but brook trout are a canary in a coal mine,” Deen said. “They’re an indicator species in terms of the health and consistency of the habitat. If brook trout disappear, other things are going to start happening.”