Fly Fishing in Danger

It’s the same trend, but just a different consequence. As warmer temperatures emerge, bad things start to happen. In this case, trout is in danger. According to the USDA Forest Service (FS), 53 to 97% of natural trout populations in the Southern Appalachians could disappear due to the warmer temperatures predicted under two different global climate circulation models. The three species of trout that live in the Southern Appalachians are the native brook, the rainbow trout, and the brown trout. The mountainous higher elevations provide the cool waters that the trout need. The increase in the air temperature leads to an increase in the water temperature. Scientist are not only worried about the warmer temperatures, but that the distressed forest cover and the resulting loss of shaded areas will also negatively affect the habitat in which the trout have thrived."Trout species in the Southern Appalachians are already at the southern limits of their ranges," says biologist Patricia Flebbe from FS Southern Research Station unit in Blacksburg, Virginia. Flebbe and her team were able to combine to map elevation and latitude factors adding the temperature rise over the next 100 years to get information about how much trout habitat will be left. Predictions showed that about 53 percent of trout habitat would be lost over the next century. "As the remaining habitat for trout becomes more fragmented, only small refuges in headwater streams at the highest levels will remain," says Flebbe. As a result, fly fishing in the southern Appalachians may become a rare activity in the near future. 

http://news.softpedia.com/news/Global-Warming-Wipes-Out-Trout-Popolations-in-Southern-Appalachians-37329.shtml