Beyond Seasons' End

Two years ago, staff from Trout Unlimited, Ducks Unlimited, Pheasants Forever, the Izaak Walton League of America and other sportsmen's groups described the impacts of climate change to coldwater fisheries, big game, upland birds, and waterfowl in the book Seasons’ End [1] (7.5MB pdf). Now, a new book, Beyond Seasons’ End [2] (5MB pdf), tells us what we can do to protect our sporting traditions and fish and wildlife populations in today's changing climate conditions. In the chapter on coldwater fisheries, TU staffers Jack Williams, Amy Haak and Nat Gillespie discuss how to protect and conserve trout and salmon and the coldwater ecosystems in which they thrive in the face of a changing climate.

The book profiles several ongoing TU projects that are helping trout and salmon populations today and will better prepare them for future climate impacts. Our work on the Green River in Wyoming is reconnecting historic cutthroat trout habitat by removing stream barriers or building fish passageways and protecting important headwater habitats, improving conditions for cutthroat trout now and better preparing them to tolerate future climate change. In the upper reaches of the Potomac River in West Virginia, TU is working with private landowners to improve riparian areas, remove in-stream barriers, and protect and restore springs, creating better conditions for brook trout and improving water quality all the way to Chesapeake Bay. In addition to discussing practical and ongoing ways to protect and conserve fish and wildlife and our sporting traditions in the face of climate change, Beyond Seasons’ End features striking color photography of hunting and fishing scenes by renowned artist Dusan Smetana.

Executive Summary of Beyond Season's End [3] (1.5MB pdf)

Full Book [2] in electronic format (5MB pdf)

To order a paper copy, visit the Seasons' End [4] website.