Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Southern Alberta trout streams threatened despite recovery plan, says survey

A new survey of trout streams in southwest Alberta suggests that virtually all of them are threatened by industrial development or overuse. Bull trout like the one pictured here have lost more than 70 per cent of their historic waters. Photo, courtesy Kevin Turner / The Canadian Press

Southern Alberta trout streams threatened despite recovery plan, says survey

by Bob Weber, Calgary Herald/The Canadian Press, July 12, 2015

EDMONTON — Virtually all southern Alberta streams that spawn native trout are threatened by industrial development or overuse, says a survey from a respected fisheries biologist.

That’s even though both bull and rainbow trout are protected under federal law and are supposed to be benefiting from a recovery plan, says Lorne Fitch.

“I have watched habitat and fish populations crater,” says Fitch, an adjunct professor at the University of Calgary, who spent 35 years as a leading provincial biologist. “All of our systems are under extreme pressure.”

Fitch studied 54 small rivers and streams that flow into the Oldman River and hold bull and cutthroat trout. He found nearly every one of the waterways face multiple pressures: from logging roads to energy development to off-highway vehicle trails.

Read more here: http://bit.ly/1CCVbU6

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