Adopt-A-Trout

 

Welcome to Wyoming's Adopt-A-Trout program website!

Slimy, slippery, and scaly are not the typical words most kids use to describe their favorite creature -- but they might be soon if the Adopt-A-Trout program has anything to do with it!

In a recent national survey, it was noted that participation in angling has dramatically declined in the past decade.  Additionally, it was uncovered that a kid is far less likely to engage in hunting and fishing as an adult if he or she doesn't learn it as a child.  Ultimately, the future of hunting, fishing, and many of our wild landscapes depend upon the commitment of future generations to learn, know and love these resources and traditional forms of recreation.


In response to this frightening decline in children getting a first hand experience with our Wyoming's abundant natural resources, Trout Unlimited, and partners like Wyoming Game and Fish, are developing an Adopt-A-Trout program, that:

  • Sparks children's curiosity and interest in fish, fishing, and aquatic habitats.
  • Engages children in the  skills and knowledge needed to have fun fishing.
  • Teaches students about the under water world of our lakes and streams.
  • Involves students in a real world research study where they have the opportunity to work with biologists and contribute to local science data.
  • Gives students opportunities to get to know trout up-close and personal!

There are several different components of the Adopt-A-Trout Program, all of which are critically entwined and dependent on multiple stakeholder involvement.  Here is what the program is about:

The Adopt A Trout Program is an educational and inspirational experience for elementary school students that uses radio telemetry equipment to track trout in a local aquatic system and learn about their underwater life.  This is completed in through a multi-faceted learning approach that engages multiple learning styles and gets kids out on the land and in our rivers and streams having fun!

 

1. Field Education Component. Students, with the help of biologists and volunteers, tag and track trout in their home watershed through 2-4 field trips throughout the school year.  They learn about the trout life cycle, movements, native vs. non-native species, watershed health, and habitat requirements.  Students "adopt" a trout that they help tag and track, developing a relationship with that fish.

2. Field/Classroom Recreation Component. Students will learn basic fishing skills so they can explore and enjoy the underwater world of fish with their families and friends outside of school.  They will also  get to see and track fish in their real habitat - giving students a hands-on approach to science!

3. Classroom Component.  Students participate in lessons that compliment the field education component of the program with potential for cross-curricular integration in science, language arts, math, art and social studies.  A curriculum guide and activity book is being developed, and will be correlated to Wyoming Education Standards.

4.  Website Component.  This summer we plan to build an interactive website that will allow students to track fish using web-based maps and other interactive tools.

5. Data collection.  The information learned during the telemetry study will be used by fish biologists to record and monitor fish movements.

Through the program students learn about geography, biology, and even develop math and language arts skills.  Several students, after participating in a tagging surgery, and getting up-close and personal with several live trout, declared that they had "...never been this close to a trout before!"  The look of amazement and excitement verified their teacher’s comments - that her classroom absolutely loved this project.

The Gros Ventre Adopt-A-Trout program is just the beginning!  This year we are also partnersing with the Dubois Elementary school to begin collecting data on the East Fork of the Wind River and engage students in real life science.  All of these efforts will be tied to Trout Unlimited's programmatic activities geared toward developing community-based and collaborative fishery restoration projects in the future. 

For more information please email or call Nelli Williams at 307.332.7700 or nwilliams@tu.org.