Salmonfly Project Recruiting “Citizen Scientists”

The Salmonfly Project, a nonprofit based in Missoula, Montana, is launching a study in 2025 to document trends in aquatic insect hatches over time to help guide management and restoration efforts.

They are asking for help from “citizen scientists” who know how to identify insects and who have regularly observed aquatic insect hatches on their home waters for 10-plus years. The Salmonfly Project is asking these types of experienced fly fishers to complete a five-minute Angler Hatch Survey at salmonflyproject.org/survey that will query fly fishers about the waters they fish, the aquatic insects they encounter, and how they monitor their environment. All responses are anonymous, and the data will be used to better understand and protect aquatic insect hatches for years to come. The mission of The Salmonfly Project is to conserve aquatic insects for future generations through research, monitoring, education, and sound management and restoration practices. The nonprofit was founded in 2022 by two aquatic entomology graduate students at the University of Montana: Jackson Birrell (PhD) and James Frakes (MS). Motivated by the lack of insect-focused conservation among governmental and nonprofit organizations, they founded the first organization in the U.S. dedicated to conservation of aquatic insects.

Birrell and Frakes are now using their scientific skills to generate information about the status, trends, and the conservation needs of aquatic insects. All of the findings are publicly available to resource managers to help improve conservation strategies.

The Salmonfly Project works in partnership with state and federal agencies, other nonprofits, universities, and corporate sponsors such as Patagonia. They have established successful monitoring, research, and conservation projects across Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Oregon, Utah, and Colorado. Cumulatively, these projects investigate the status and trends of aquatic insects and measure the sensitivity of important species to environmental stressors.

You can take the survey at https://salmonflyproject.org/survey/.

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