The relationships between habitat characteristics and reproductive status of Adirondack brook trout populations were examined utilizing the Adirondack Lake Survey Corporation data base, which includes physical, chemical, and biological data for 1469 lakes. The only variables strongly related to brook trout natural reproduction were indices of groundwater influence on surface water chemistry, specifically silica and sodium concentrations. This finding supports the hypothesis that lake spawning populations of brook trout are strongly dependent on groundwater seepage for successful reproduction. Spawning habitat in small headwater lakes impounded by beaver activity may be degraded as a result of siltation of nearshore zones and diminished groundwater seepage. Adirondack lakes situated in thick-till basins receive proportionally greater groundwater input than thin-till lake types and thick-till lakes also had the highest proportion of self-sustaining brook trout populations. Acidification is most pronounced in thin-till basins, which also exhibited a low frequency of self-sustaining brook trout populations. Although brook trout fisheries may be maintained in acidic lakes by liming and stocking, the establishment of self-sustaining brook trout populations is not a likely outcome of these management practices. Additionally, there appears to be limited potential for restoration of lake spawning brook trout populations in currently acidic, fishless lakes should acidic inputs decline as a result of reductions in acid-forming emissions. ¿ American Geophysical Union 1993