For the Love of Rivers: A Scientist's Journey

On February 27th, Dr. Kurt Fausch, Professor Emeritus in the Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology at CSU told of his 35-year journey as a teacher and fisheries ecologist. He stressed the importance of the length of rivers without barriers to their natural inhabitants. He talked about his studies of rivers including the Poudre and other rivers on the High Plains, and in Oregon and Japan.  He noted the importance of rivers to people.  “We need water to drink, support fish and grow food.” He pointed out that the sound of flowing water is healing and gives us peace.  He ended with “We need their sounds and their views, and their sound advice.  And, in the end I believe we will need to understand how and why we love rivers if we hope to conserve them.”