Save the Hatch
Research, monitoring & conservation
of aquatic insects
Have you noticed a favorite aquatic insect hatch disappear or decline? We have too. We started The Salmonfly Project after finding widespread salmonfly declines across the Western US. But it's not just salmonflies - many of our favorite mayfly, stonefly, and caddisfly hatches have weakened or been lost.
We are here to solve that problem.
Aquatic insects represent 70% of freshwater biodiversity.
When we protect aquatic insects, we protect the fish, birds, and entire ecosystems they support.
Problem and approach
Aquatic insects are declining from more prized fisheries in the western US. How do we save them?
What we do:
Research the impacts that cause aquatic insects to live or die in different rivers
Monitor populations to understand where aquatic insects healthy, where they’re declining, and why
Educate the community about the importance of aquatic insects and the fisheries they sustain
Prevent future declines and restore impacted populations by working with stakeholders, conservationists, and managers
Projects
Monitoring
We monitor aquatic insects in the field to better understand where populations are healthy and where they’re declining.
Citizen Science
The community is our greatest asset. We work with anglers, birders, and conservationists to make observations of stoneflies, mayflies, and caddisflies across the West. Join us.
Research
We do research in the field and laboratory to better understand why aquatic insects live where they do and what they need to stay healthy.
Get involved
Help track aquatic insect populations by making observations in the field
Featured News
Interviewed by The New York Times
The New York Times interviewed us for a recent article highlighting trout die-offs in Montana - are aquatic insect declines to blame? We don’t think so.
Featured in Patagonia mini-film
Patagonia included an interview with us in their recent mini-film No Fly Zones highlighting the ‘bug apocalypse’ and why we should care. We’re excited to be getting attention from the angling community. Thanks, Patagonia!
Recent Publication
Co-Director, James Frakes, and colleagues published a new paper in the Journal of Insect Physiology showing how heavy metals make salmonflies more sensitive to heat and hypoxia. Nice work!