Fish populations and communities are inextricably linked to habitat. Trout Unlimited’s conservation success depends on understanding these linkages, and then applying that understanding to guide habitat restoration to sustain healthy trout and salmon populations into the future. We work with various partners to develop and apply sophisticated modeling approaches and use cutting-edge fisheries techniques to reveal these linkages at a local scale and across broad landscapes.
Habitat Diversity
Trout Unlimited has carried out an array of field studies to improve our understanding of how habitat complexity and condition affect trout and other sensitive species. This research is informing restoration activities for coldwater fish and an imperiled minnow in the Goose Creek basin, Idaho.
Riparian Vegetation – Aerial Imagery
Trout Unlimited uses high resolution aerial imagery to characterize vegetation along streams. By linking these maps with trout population characteristics such as abundance, we can facilitate the rapid assessment of large landscapes and help identify critical riparian restoration actions.
Food Webs
Research on food webs shines a light on the function of aquatic ecosystems, tracking productivity from algae at the bottom of the food web up through microinvertebrates to trout and salmon. TU and partners have applied food web research to the Upper Shasta River to help evaluate the benefits of flow augmentation.