Are you an angler who likes to chase hatches?
Have you been fishing for a while and noticed any changes to the local bug community?
Now is your time to shine.
About The Salmonfly Project
The Salmonfly Project (SFP) is a nonprofit based in Missoula, Montana dedicated to conserving aquatic insects.
Co-founders, Jackson Birrell (PhD) and James Frakes (Ms), launched SFP in 2022 in response to the widespread lack of insect-focused conservation. Their efforts are moving aquatic insect conservation forward by initiating sound research, monitoring and restoration projects needed to protect aquatic insects. All SFP’s findings are publicly available and distributed to resource managers to help improve conservation strategies for aquatic insects.
In addition to research-driven accomplishments, SFP actively engages in public outreach, hosting numerous educational events to raise awareness about the critical importance of aquatic insect conservation and to hone anglers’ entomological knowledge.
How important are bugs?
Aquatic insects represent about 70 percent of our freshwater biodiversity. They are key indicators of aquatic health—the canary in the coal mine for our river systems. These insects are a critical piece of the puzzle in a large freshwater food web.
Bugs feed a wide array of animals, including trout, of course, but also spiders, bats, birds, which then go on to feed larger land mammals like otters and bears.
They also control aquatic vegetation by eating algae and breaking down rotting plants and woody debris providing key ecosystem service.
Many aquatic insects are also sensitive to environmental disturbances, and if enough aquatic invertebrates are lost, this aquatic food web will break down.
Knowledge is power
By partnering with diverse groups like anglers, birders, conservationists and others, The Salmonfly Project is working to generate information about the status, trends and conservation needs of insects across the country.
With 13 current monitoring projects across Rocky Mountain states, Birrell and Frakes hope to expand this understanding to identify conservation solutions and improve aquatic ecosystem health.
This is where you, the angler, comes in.
The Salmonfly Project developed a survey as one portion of a collaboration with a group of international researchers to perform the most comprehensive analysis of global aquatic insect numbers.
Anglers are often the first to raise concerns about our hatches, so this survey is a critical component to amplify anglers’ voices to help implement conservation projects.
The survey is open to anglers across the country to help gather anecdotal information on aquatic insect trends, including hatch timing, population numbers and more. The initial survey takes less than 5 minutes to complete, but if someone would like to provide more in-depth information, a link to a longer, more detailed survey is available at the end of the initial survey.
The information anglers provide will be used to better protect the hatches they know and love to fish across the country.
Use your knowledge of local hatches to help The Salmonfly Project save your favorite hatch by taking the survey today.
