Rethinking the possible: Applying long-term datasets to estimate historic salmon abundance in the Middle Fork Salmon River

Russ F. Thurow

Treesearch

Rethinking the possible: Applying long-term datasets to estimate historic salmon abundance in the Middle Fork Salmon River

Informally Refereed

Authors:

Russ F. Thurow

Year:

2020

Type:

Science Bulletins and Newsletters

Station:

Rocky Mountain Research Station

Source:

Science You Can Use (in 5 Minutes), June 2020. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 2 p.

Download (PDF 1.15 MB)

Download (PDF 1.15 MB): https://research.fs.usda.gov/download/treesearch/60563.pdf

Abstract

Looking into the past can help biologists and managers determine what is possible in the future. New research is helping understand the past and more accurately estimate future salmon recovery potential. Central Idaho’s Middle Fork Salmon River (MFSR) offers a glimpse of historical Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) spawning and rearing habitat. The MFSR flows through the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness, where natural processes remain intact and human influences are minimal. “It’s a very unique system that supports critical habitat for many native species,” says Russ Thurow, a Research Fisheries Scientist with the USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station, who has worked in this river basin since the 1980s.

Keywords

Science You Can Use, SYCU, Middle Fork Salmon River (MFSR), Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, datasets

Citation

Thurow, Russ. 2020. Rethinking the possible: Applying long-term datasets to estimate historic salmon abundance in the Middle Fork Salmon River. Science You Can Use (in 5 Minutes), June 2020. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 2 p.