"As Climate Warms American West, Iconic Trout In Jeopardy"

"In the mountain streams of the American West, the trout rules. People don't just catch this fish; they honor it. And spend lots of money pursuing it. But some western trout may be in trouble. Rivers and streams are getting warmer and there's often less water in them. Scientists suspect a changing climate is threatening this iconic fish."


Here, wildlife is part of daily conversation. "I shot an elk maybe like three miles up that drainage," says Clint Muhlfeld as he negotiates a narrow dirt road. He and fellow fish scientist Robert Al Chokhachy trade hunting stories to pass the time as we climb higher toward a trout stream they're studying. Today it's not elk they're looking for, but native cutthroat trout."

Christopher Joyce reports for NPR's Morning Edition November 14, 2013.

Source: NPR, 11/14/2013