As cold-water lakes, rivers, and streams around the world heat up, many fish will be in trouble—which means fishing will be in trouble too
The Middle Fork of the Flathead River is born in the high, rocky country of western Montana, near the roof ridge of North America. For dozens of miles it rolls through green wilderness, taking in the snowmelt from Muskrat Pass and Slippery Bill Mountain and a half dozen creeks as it grows into one of the beloved waterways of the American West.
But change has come to the Middle Fork. The glaciers and snowpack in nearby Glacier National Park, which feed cold, clear water into the river all summer long, are dwindling. The patterns of water flows are changing. Clients catch more hybrid fish than in the past. All this was evident already in 2019, when I spent time with Hutcheson—but last summer turned into one of the toughest yet on cold-water fish in the West.
To some this might seem picayune. But fishing has never been simply a pastime. Fishing is summer camp. It’s Saturday with your buddy or your daughter. For millions of people, fishing is a way to grasp the wriggling natural world in your hand. In many families, fishing is art passed down as heirloom, a tradition fashioned of wisdom and bound with 10-pound test line and a Palomar knot. “Now I know,” Ota Pavel wrote in his sad, perfect memoirPlease be respectful of copyright.
Peering into an Oregon creek, “super excited to get into the headspace of a beaver,” Northwest Youth Corps member Hannah Clifford builds a faux beaver dam near the Grande Ronde River. The Trout Unlimited program aims to slow the flow of water in the creek to attract spawning salmon and steelhead trout.In the U.S. and elsewhere, winter snow in the mountains, snow that feeds rivers and streams the rest of the year, is giving way to rain that runs off right away.
Given how many anglers are seeing their favorite fishing holes affected, you might expect more of an outcry from them about climate change. It’s happening, but for many it was slow to develop. Hutcheson had been paying attention to the issue since college. As a young guide, she grew frustrated by the changes she was seeing on the river and by politicians’ inaction. Start showing influential people these places and speaking up, her siblings told her. She listened.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has declined to designate westslope cutthroat as an endangered species, declaring that a cutthroat with up to 20 percent rainbow genes is still a cutthroat. Muhlfeld and colleagues decided to test that assumption. But climate change has tinkered with that equation. More frequent times of low water seem to be permitting introduced rainbow trout to spread farther upriver and breed more often with native fish. In one area, the amount of gene-swapping increased tenfold over the past 30 years, Muhlfeld and colleagues found. Rainbows are “ticking time bombs waiting to go off, under the right environmental conditions,” Muhlfeld said.
Joseph Metzler, a retired Coast Guard rescue swimmer, spearfishes in Oregon’s Coquille River for smallmouth bass—an introduced species that competes with native fish and recently was declared fair game. The bass thrive in warming waters.as lakes and rivers warm. The sport will suffer severely in places, though, and will look very different in others. As fish such as trout retreat, they often will be supplanted by smallmouth bass or other species that can tolerate warmer water.
There’s another reason for some hope: Models that predict a bleak future for inland fish do not account for the possibility that fish could adapt to a changing world. A 2011 study of sockeye salmon from eight populations in British Columbia migrating up to 700 miles in the Fraser River system found that even though the sockeye looked identical, the fish have developed adaptations to undertake migrations of wildly different lengths, intensities, and water temperatures.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
How the Original 'Magnum, P.I.' Changed the '80s Action ShowThe original 'Magnum, P.I.' is a pop culture phenomenon that can never be duplicated.
Read more »
BMW M3 and M4 gain limited Jahre edition models | AutocarThe BMW M3 and M4 have gained limited Jahre edition models, but neither are coming to the UK
Read more »
‘Above-normal’ hurricane season predicted for region for 7th year straight year, feds sayThe National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted an “above normal” hurricane season this year, with the potential for three to six major hurricanes and as many as 21 named storms nationally.
Read more »
Study Probes How to Change Societal Behavior for the BetterWith climate change in mind, researchers from many disciplines propose a model for implementing beneficial policy changes within a large group of different individuals and communities. Find out more by clicking the link below.
Read more »
Selena Gomez Just Made a Major Hair Change for SummerShe really changed up her look.
Read more »
Taco Bell Just Added Four New Items to the Menu — Eat This Not ThatTaco Bell is on a roll with summer menu upgrades—customers in select locations can now try new drinks and a returning favorite.
Read more »