Quote Originally Posted by Bear742
Expecting me to know that is a Catch-22. Investigating the history and current condition of streams in the Illinois Driftless Area would be a nice project for TU of Illinois. But that can't be done because all of them are busy up in Wisconsin. So we do not know because there is no one (resources being limited) to look into it. Catch 22!
Actually it's very easy to know, and I would expect your DNR fisheries people do know. If the springs are cold; and archeological escavations of pre-European settlements yield trout bones, or early settlers recorded catching "specled" trout in the streams, then there were trout. If the springs are still cold, then trout can be re-introduced. But if there are no cold springs, or never were, then trout will never live there.