2025 Western Division and Colorado/Wyoming AFS Annual Meeting
Dates: May 11-15, 2025
Location: Westin Westminster in Westminster, Colorado
2025 Western Division and Colorado-Wyoming AFS Annual Meeting Symposia
Aquatic Connectivity, A Multidimensional Opportunity
Organizers: Sharmila Jepsen ([email protected]), Bureau of Land Management, & Warren Colyer ([email protected]), Trout Unlimited
Aquatic connectivity includes multidimensional aspects of longitudinal (linear, upstream/downstream), lateral (floodplain and riparian), and vertical (hyporheic and ground water) connectivity. The interactive and complex processes that move organisms, energy and matter through watersheds are still being understood; It is important to gain a more in-depth perception of these complex connections to make us more aware of the dynamic ways in which aquatic systems operate through space and time. Many agencies, private contractors and research entities are working towards restoring and improving processes that benefit longitudinal, lateral, and vertical connectivity. As we collectively move towards improving our ability to restore processes surrounding the multidimensional and intertwined concept of aquatic connectivity, it is beneficial to bring our ideas and results together and share outcomes. A segregation of information among the various implementing entities would exacerbate the challenging aspect of making the best decisions for managing connected aquatic resources. Advancing the best available scientific information is an important goal; it promotes the need for a community of practice that underscores the sharing of best practices, available tools, challenges, and benefits for the betterment of our collaborative efforts. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act have played a major role in connecting, improving, and restoring many miles and acres of habitat for fish and other aquatic species. The goal of this session is to bring together presenters who will share their expertise in learning about the challenges of multidimensional connectivity to contribute towards fostering long term stewardship of watersheds.
Best of the West: The Future of Research in the Western Division AFS
Organizers: Tim Copeland ([email protected]) & Meredith Journey ([email protected]), Western Division AFS
The Western Division of the American Fisheries Society contains ten chapters (Arizona/New Mexico, Alaska, California/Nevada, Colorado/Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Pacific Islands, Utah, and Washington/British Columbia), each having a diverse range of students conducting a wide variety of research topics. This symposium will highlight the work currently being conducted by the future leaders of our profession from the Chapters throughout the Western Division as we build resilience and move towards the future of the fisheries profession. The Western Division invites you to come support our students, who will present their work in oral and poster formats. Learn something new about the unique fisheries work being conducted throughout the Western Division! Presentations accepted by invitation only.
Building Resilience: Investments in Habitat Restoration and Protection to Improve the Status of Fish Populations
Organizers: Julie Carter ([email protected]), Arizona Game & Fish Dept.; Stev Vigil ([email protected]), Colorado Parks & Wildlife; Tim Copeland ([email protected]), Idaho Dept of Fish & Game; Steve Gale ([email protected]), Wyoming Game & Fish Dept.
Through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act, the Inflation Reduction Act, and various other funding initiatives, substantial resources are being directed toward improving, protecting, and enhancing fish habitats across the western U.S. and Canada. These efforts are focused on ensuring the long-term sustainability and health of aquatic ecosystems, which will increase the resilience of fish populations. Restoring and protecting stream habitats plays a central role in rebuilding ecological integrity and supporting the persistence and conservation of fish populations. This symposium builds upon the meeting’s plenary session, which emphasizes the importance of collaborative efforts and innovative approaches to fish habitat restoration and management. We invite abstract submissions related to habitat restoration, habitat protection, and the resilience of fish populations.
Bull Trout 2025: Status Updates and Emerging Research
Organizers: Luke Schultz ([email protected]) & Tim D’Amico ([email protected]), Western Native Fishes Committee; Stephanie Gunckel ([email protected]) & Jeff Ziller, ([email protected]), Oregon Dept. of Fish and Wildlife
Bull Trout are often thought of as the charismatic megafauna of the underwater, occupying pristine cold headwater river systems and making wide ranging migrations to many of the Pacific Northwest’s large iconic rivers and the Pacific Ocean. Unfortunately, populations across their range are imperiled due to degradation of habitat, nonnative species, and barriers to migration. However, some research and conservation efforts implemented in the two and half decades since listing have resulted in quantifiable progress in ameliorating some of the significant threats to bull trout in key habitats. Yet there are still many challenges and hurdles to overcome to reach recovery. In this symposium we hope to foster a community for information exchange where researchers, managers and practitioners can share successes and struggles from their experience working with this iconic fish and its habitats.
Fish Passage & Screening – Challenges, Responsibilities, Opportunities and Examples
Organizers: Laura Burckhardt ([email protected]) & Nick Scribner ([email protected]), Wyoming Game & Fish Department
Restoring fish passage and preventing the loss of fish to irrigation diversions is a ubiquitous challenge in fisheries management. Fisheries professionals, water users, and organizations responsible for fisheries management need to work collectively to ensure it is addressed holistically and ecologically. Socially, we also need to address the challenge to prove that the cost/benefit ratio is worth the investment for fish, people, and communities. Lastly, solutions that increase efficiencies and reduce maintenance for water users are crucial for long-term support and landscape scale conservation efforts. This symposium will share examples of projects and programs focusing on fish passage restoration or improvement at irrigation diversions and challenges facing fisheries professionals in this arena.
History of Aquatic Habitat Restoration in Western U.S. Streams
Organizers: Paul Dey ([email protected]), Wyoming Game & Fish Department, & Matt Kondratieff ([email protected]), Colorado Parks & Wildlife
The number, scale, and cost of aquatic habitat restoration projects have greatly increased in streams across western landscapes since their inception with Civilian Conservation Corp projects completed between 1938 and 1943. Today’s broad range of restoration activities can trace their roots in work from this time, through the ensuing decades, to present day. This symposium will explore the evolution of aquatic habitat work by government agencies and nongovernmental organization (NGO) practitioners by comparing and contrasting historic approaches and examples with present day activities. Multiple state, federal, and NGO practitioners will provide a range of historical perspectives that have evolved into current stream restoration practices. State as well as federal wildlife agencies have different histories of attributing resources and developing programs based on species-specific life histories, regulations, philosophical approaches, and other unique factors that shape how aquatic habitat restoration has become what it is today. Finally, NGOs such as Trout Unlimited formed in the latter part of the 20th century play a major role in implementing aquatic restoration projects. We envision drawing lessons from history that are applicable in today’s environment and contribute to our understanding of the diversity of techniques currently being practiced to restore stream aquatic habitats across the West. Presentations will detail past experiences that speak to contemporary needs. Ultimately, participants will gain an appreciation for the historical sweep of aquatic restoration work and how that work has formed the basis for todays bustling and constantly evolving field of stream restoration.
Hook, Line, and Thinker: Innovative Approaches to Non-native Fish Removal for Native Species Conservation
Organizer: Gabriel Singer ([email protected]), California Dept of Fish & Wildlife
Many natural resource managers would agree that the slate of options for eradicating non-native fishes to clear the way for native fish recovery is extremely limited. Traditional approaches usually consist of either mechanical (i.e., electrofishing) or chemical (i.e., Rotenone/Antimycin) removal methods. While universally accepted as a viable method for projects with objectives related to population suppression, the efficacy of using mechanical removal methods alone for eradication is notoriously low, especially in complex habitat and higher order streams. Chemical treatments tend to be much more effective for eradication but have become increasingly difficult, and costly, to permit and implement in many western states. There is a glaring need to develop and operationalize new and/or innovative approaches to for addressing this persistent problem. This symposium is an opportunity for researchers and natural resource managers to exchange ideas, share success stories, and highlight innovation in the field with the hopes of western native fish species being the ultimate winners.
Restoring riverscape health and fish populations: programs, tools, and science to support and prioritize restoration
Organizers: Robert, Al-Chokhachy ([email protected]) & Hayley Glassic ([email protected]), U.S. Geological Survey; Dan Dauwalter ([email protected]), Emma Lundberg ([email protected]), Trout Unlimited
At the interface of terrestrial and aquatic habitats, riverscapes have outsized importance in provisioning ecosystem benefits to fish, wildlife, and humans. However, many riverscapes across the globe have alarmingly poor health, limiting the benefits provided and threatening the biodiversity of fishes. Restoring degraded riverscapes through process-based restoration approaches has garnered extensive interest, particularly to increase the resilience of habitats and fish populations. However, considerable uncertainty remains in the benefits of process-based restoration for restoring lost ecosystem services and fish populations. Addressing this uncertainty is a critical step in prioritizing cost-effective restoration, particularly given the extent and magnitude of degradation and the range of topographic settings needing restoration actions. Restoring riverscapes and their ecosystem services requires coordination at multiple levels, including clear articulation of restoration targets, aligned programmatic efforts by government and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), tools to help direct and quantify restoration, and support from the science community in identifying and addressing science gaps and demonstrating the benefits of healthy riverscapes. This symposium considers different approaches and tools to prioritize process-based restoration, the range of riverscape health benefits gained from restoration, how restored riverscape health benefits affect targeted fish populations, and what science-gaps remain to be filled. This symposium focuses on addressing each of these levels of restoration of riverscape health with an overarching goal of increasing collaboration and restoration effectiveness by including presentations about work to support decisions and planning across a diverse array of managers, agencies and NGOs, and researchers.
Transformational federal fish passage and restoration efforts under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)
Organizers: Larissa Lee ([email protected]), Laurel Jennings [email protected]), Garret Engleke ([email protected]), Chemine Jackels ([email protected]), NOAA
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) present a historic opportunity for federal agencies and partners to invest in fish passage and restoration. Three years have passed since BIL was signed, and we now have the opportunity to learn more about the many agencies that have received funds and how they are using them and coordinating to advance conservation, habitat restoration, and resilience efforts that benefit threatened and endangered fish species and tribal, recreational, and commercial fisheries. This symposium will highlight programs that received BIL and/or IRA funding across federal agencies. We will learn more about the programs holistically, and the cumulative impact they are making across the Western U.S. to improve conditions that support fish populations, and we will hear from partners who received funding and assistance through these programs. Speakers will discuss agency programs and accomplishments under BIL/IRA, exemplary projects, lessons learned, and next steps for continued investments in restoration. Throughout the presentations, we will learn about the transformational impact of these funds, with a broad array of federal presenters from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (BOR), the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and their non-profit, tribal, state, and local partners who are implementing projects on-the-ground.
The New Wave of Hatchery Modernization- Innovations and Challenges
Organizers: Cody Tyler ([email protected]) & Greg Lehr ([email protected]) CO/WY AFS Aquaculture Committee
Many states, tribes, private enterprises, and federal agencies in the western U.S. use hatcheries to help meet the fishery demands of our public and private fisheries. Because of facility age, continuous use, pressure to meet increasing demands, growing complications in water availability, a need for better biosecurity, and the demands of serving a wide range of aquatic species propagation, many hatcheries are looking to restructure how they operate. Investments in new infrastructure as well as innovations in operations have allowed many hatcheries to meet the increased demands and challenges. With each individual facility facing unique challenges, innovation has led to great strides in improved aquaculture system management. Today, we see our hatcheries operating more efficiently and effectively, propagating healthier and more robust wildlife, and raising more diverse species including those of greatest conservation need. Overall, modern fish hatcheries play a vital role in helping aquatic managers to create more resilient fisheries that meet today’s challenging and dynamic management objectives. The goal for this symposium is to present state of the art innovations in hatchery facilities and culture operations that prepare fish hatchery managers and biologists for the future of modern fish production.
Western Native Fishes
Organizers: Timothy D’Amico ([email protected]) & Luke Schultz ([email protected]), Western Native Fishes Committee
Native fishes are some of the most imperiled taxa worldwide, and often their species persistence and resilience are predicated upon habitat restoration, fish passage, hatchery modernization and other management strategies. Our goal for the tenth-annual native fishes symposium hosted by the Western Native Fishes Committee is to provide an opportunity for those interested in native fishes to discuss opportunities and techniques to increase resilience of native fishes. We encourage presentations focusing on native non-game fishes’ life history, ecology, habitat restoration, fish passage, hatchery techniques, and other topics. In keeping with the mission of the Western Native Fishes Committee to provide a network for people with an interest and/or expertise in native fishes, this symposium will allow presenters to offer insights into diverse management approaches, concepts and constraints to native fish conservation across regions of North America.