The Fate of the Cutthroat Trout

Expert Toner Mitchell will chronicle the downfall of the Rio Grande subspecies of cutthroat trout since the arrival of Europeans, but mainly since the onset of heavily extractive land management around the turn of the 20th century. Coincidentally, this was just around the time of the introduction of non-native trout species like the brown trout (from Eurasia), rainbow trout (from the Pacific Coast) and the brook trout (from northeast U.S.). Toner will wrap it up by presenting a road to a future, in which our state fish is kept in the public eye, honored as a natural/cultural icon of this place, and preserved in spite of threats like climate change.

Toner Mitchell has a Bachelors degree in biology and a Masters of fine arts in fiction writing. He has been an environmental consultant, a staffer in the U.S. Senate, a fishing guide for over 20 years in several states, and he is now the New Mexico Public Lands Coordinator for Trout Unlimited. His current work involves protecting critical cold water habitat and working with New Mexico communities to improve the state of their public lands and the economic opportunity they sustain.

No advance registration is required for this program.