Fishies and Climate

by Virginia Parker

The Encampment River provided background music as Jeff Streeter presented "Climate Change and Its Impact on Fisheries" to a group of fourteen graduate students from the Haub School of Environmental and Natural Resources. Accompanied by Dr. Corrie Knapp, they sat on the bank of the river, taking notes and absorbing all the information Streeter was providing.

Streeter has been a fly fisherman most of his life and has worked in the industry for many years.

Streeter stressed the importance of maintaining a hospitable habitat for fish.

In reference to the damage that all of these factors can create to fish habitats, he asked the group, "with growing population, increasing energy demands worldwide and a raise in temperature, who will pay?"

Water temperature, snowpack, beetle kill and their habitat play a huge role in the survival of fish.

Changes in water flow regimes, the flash, like a flood, and the slow down or trickle of water can also cause major stress on spawning and food sources.