Wildfires and the Future of Native Western Trout

The frequency of large wildfires has increased in western North America over the last 25 years, and future climate projections suggest that the trend will continue as temperatures increase in the coming decades.  At the same time, native trout in the region are threatened by historical and contemporary land management and the spread invasive species.  Many of the remaining populations occur in small, isolated headwater drainages that are greatest risk of negative consequences associated with wildfire.  Although prediction in the biological systems is difficult, broad generalizations about fire are possible through understanding of physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of a watershed and long-term climate, and information about watershed characteristics, postfire vegetation patterns, and local weather patterns can be used to assess the probability and magnitude of change following fire.  For example, risk assessment models based on these relationships have been applied within a stream network to identify potential consequences of postfire debris flows within channels occupied by native trout.  Combining this type of information with ongoing assessments of western native trout distributions and abundance could provide a template for identify populations at risk and yield potential strategies for management to insure persistence of this valuable resource.