Item talk:Q160135

Impact of Climate Driven Changes to Water Levels on Recreational Fisheries in the Northern Glaciated Plains

The Northern Glaciated Plains in the upper Midwest United States is a region where fishing generates millions of dollars a year for local and state economies. Maintaining these revenues requires the management of fish populations that are popular and accessible (e.g. boat ramps, public land access) to anglers. Fisheries throughout the world are currently undergoing unprecedented changes to water levels and habitat quality resulting from climate change. The consequences of climate change to Northern Glaciated Plains fisheries are unknown but pose an immediate challenge for resource managers as angler access and opportunities can be jeopardized when: a) boat ramps become inaccessible due to changing water levels, and b) altered water quality negatively affects desired fish species. This project aims to provide fisheries managers with information about how climate change may alter the hydrology of Northern Glaciated Plains lakes and the impact those changes may have on fish communities, angler access, angler behavior, and angler expenditures. A hydrologic model will be used to predict changes in lake size and water quality based on weather conditions under a changing climate. This information will then be used to 1) predict changes in fish communities, 2) identify current angler access locations that are at risk of becoming inaccessible, 3) determine whether anglers will change the amount of time they spend fishing, and 4) discern how these changes ultimately affect the amount of money anglers spend in this region. By understanding which lakes will experience change and how, fisheries managers will be able to make decisions at state or regional levels about infrastructure development (number and location of new boat ramps) and ecosystem management (species and locations of fish stocking) that will maintain angler satisfaction and the economic benefits of recreational fisheries.