The first Wild Trout Symposium (1974) was sponsored by Trout Unlimited and the United States Department of the Interior. The second Symposium (1979) added the Federation of Fly Fisherman as a sponsor. Five years later (1984) the U.S. Department of Agriculture - Forest Service joined. In 1989 , the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the American Fisheries Society joined. These symposia began with a concentration on management, then recognized that more than 'management' was required in ongoing efforts to enhance wild salmonid fisheries. Subsequent symposia began to examine a broader range of environmental and social factors influencing wild salmonids. The originators hoped that each symposium would be a building block upon which the succeeding symposium could provide insights and research which future sessions could revisit. Along with the broadening of sponsorship, we have grown , we have gained recognition, and we look forward to expanding our contribution to the cause of wild salmonids. We hope these Proceedings will stimulate readers thinking and efforts on behalf of our wild salmonid resources , and plan to participate with us in Wild Trout V.

Anders Halverson provides an exhaustively researched and grippingly rendered account of the rainbow trout and why it has become the most commonly stocked and controversial freshwater fish in the United States. Discovered in the remote waters of northern California, rainbow trout have been artificially propagated and distributed for more than 130 years by government officials eager to present Americans with an opportunity to get back to nature by going fishing. Proudly dubbed an entirely synthetic fish by fisheries managers, the rainbow trout has been introduced into every state and province in the United States and Canada and to every continent except Antarctica, often with devastating effects on the native fauna. Halverson examines the paradoxes and reveals a range of characters, from nineteenth-century boosters who believed rainbows could be the saviors of democracy to twenty-first-century biologists who now seek to eradicate them from waters around the globe. Ultimately, the story of the rainbow trout is the story of our relationship with the natural world--how it has changed and how it startlingly has not.

Brown Trout: Biology, Ecology and Management A comprehensive guide to the most current research, history, genetics and ecology of the brown trout including challenging environmental problems The brown trout is an iconic species across its natural European distribution and has been introduced throughout the World. Brown Trout offers a comprehensive review of the scientific information and current research on this major fish species. While the brown trout is the most sought species by anglers, its introduction to various waters around the world is causing serious environmental problems. At the same time, introduction of exogenous brown trout lineages threats conservation of native gene pools of populations in many regions. The authors summarize the important aspects of the brown trout’s life history and ecology and focus on the impact caused by the species. The text explores potential management strategies in order to maintain numerous damaged populations within its natural distributional range and to ameliorate its impacts in exotic environments. The authors include information on a wide-range of topics such as recent updates in population genetics, evolutionary history, reproductive traits and early ontogeny, life history plasticity in anadromous brown trout and life history of the adfluvial brown trout and much more. This vital resource: Contains the latest research on the biology and ecology of brown trout Includes information on phylogeography, genetics, population dynamics and stock management Spotlights the brown trout’s introduction to regions around the world and the serious environmental impacts Offers a comprehensive review of conservation and management techniques Written for salmonid scientists and researchers, fishery and environmental managers, and students of population genetics, ecology and population dynamics, Brown Trout explores the most recent findings on the history, ecology and sustainability of this much-researched species.

This comprehensive new book replaces and substantially expands upon the landmark Fishes of Arizona, which has been the authoritative source since it was first published in 1973. Inland Fishes of the Greater Southwest is a one-volume guide to native and non-native fishes of the lower Colorado River basin, downstream from the Grand Canyon, and of the northern tributaries of the Sea of Cortez in the United States and Mexico. In all, there are in-depth accounts of more than 165 species representing 30 families. The book is not limited to the fish. It provides insights into their aquatic world with information on topography, drainage relations, climate, geology, vegetational history, aquatic habitats, human-made water systems, and conservation. A section of the book is devoted to fish identification, with keys to native and non-native families as well as family keys to species. The book is illustrated with more than 120 black-and-white illustrations, 47 full-color plates of native fishes, and nearly 40 maps and figures. Many native fish species are unique to the Southwest. They possess interesting and unusual adaptations to the challenges of the region, able to survive silt-laden floods as well as extreme water temperatures and highly fluctuating water flows ranging from very low levels to flash floods. However, in spite of being well-adapted, many of the fish described here are threatened or endangered, often due to the acts of humans who have altered the natural habitat. For that reason, Inland Fishes of the Greater Southwest presents a vast amount of information about the ecological relationships between the fishes it describes and their environments, paying particular attention to the ways in which human interactions have modified aquatic ecosystemsÑand to how humans might work to ensure the survival of rapidly disappearing native species.