The Lackawanna River was historically a "vibrant" brook trout fishery. Shad may have also occurred in the river until the 1820s, when dam construction on the Susquehanna River closed off access by anadromous fish. There is anecdotal evidence that the river was able to function as a trout fishery in the early 1900s, though the habitat had experienced significant degradation by then. Recovery began in the once the coal mining industry had ended in the 1960s and 1970s, and continued into the 1980s and 1990s due to the efforts of local groups and fishing clubs.