Our Last Cast: The Future of Fly Fishing in the American West

Abstract

Anglers need to understand the future of global environmental change and its consequences for freshwater fisheries. The urgency of the impacts we face is not as accessible to guides, outfitters and anglers as it needs to be. This spring I have conducted a literature review of climate science and fisheries ecology, and I have interviewed climate scientists, fisheries ecologists, guides, and outfitters about the Yellowstone and Madison Rivers. The culmination of my project this spring - one chapter of a short book - explains the future effects of climate change on the social, economic and ecological aspects of fly fishing communities on the Yellowstone and Madison. My goal is to fill a pressing need to convey these concepts so we can prepare and react more effectively to the current environmental crisis.