Outline of Proposal to
Edited by, Samuel Snyder, Ph.D. and Elizabeth Tobey, Ph.D.
Recently, the Society for Conservation Biology touted
recreational anglers, particularly fly fishers, as “instrumental in
successful fisheries conservation through active involvement in, or initiation
of, conservation projects to reduce both direct and external stressors
contributing to fishery declines.” The engagement of the fly fishing
community in the protection of nature or conservation of fisheries is hardly a
new phenomenon. An intense interest and concern for the well-being of streams
and watersheds stems from the nature of the sport, which has since its earliest
years inspired evolving manifestations of nature study, entomology, and
ichthyology.
Yet, one need not assume investigations into the workings of
fish and their aquatic homes are tethered explicitly to the pragmatic goals of
catching food. Throughout the storied history of fly fishing trout and salmon
have tugged at the human imagination in various and complex ways. Fly fishing
has led anglers to pen poetry and prose of devotion to the majestic Atlantic
salmon or the increasingly isolated brook trout. Artists over a span of
centuries, including Johann Stradanus, Winslow Homer, Ogden Pleissner, and
James Prosek have recorded the diversity and beauty of species of sportfish.
Fish and fishing have also inspired a number of genres and techniques, from
still lives of fish in European and American painting to the gyotaku fish
prints made by Japanese artists. What seems a sport to many, fly fishing is an
outright religion to others. The practice and experience of fly fishing carries
with it certain experiential and aesthetic qualities that draw anglers to
pursue the sport with unique passion. That passion has extended well beyond a
desire to catch fish, but to motivations to protect the spaces of fishing
– creeks, rivers, and watersheds. As Aldo Leopold wrote, love of sport is
often the catalyst for a conservation ethic.
This conservation ethic is manifest in many contexts of fly
fishing based conservation. Anglers in
Suffice to say, fly fishing has a storied, complex, and
paradoxical relationship with the waters and rivers of fishing. This book will
explore that history. Drawing upon the work of historians, social scientists,
and leaders in the field of conservation biology, this work seeks to bring
together a diverse collection of essays engaging the relationship between the
sport of fly fishing and the histories of trout conservation, river management,
and the emergence of ecological restoration.
As anglers and conservationists move forward through the
21st century, the protection and management of trout, salmon, and their
habitats face continuing challenges from the impacts of climate change on
native trout habitat, to mineral and resource extraction in wild salmon waters,
to the impacts of invasive species on pristine waters. Assessing future
challenges demands understanding the history and trajectories of trout
management around the globe. Throughout this history anglers have been
motivated by aesthetic dimensions of fly fishing, advances in ecological
understandings, and community collaboration amongst grassroots groups.
Assessing the successes and failures of these stories is imperative for
navigating future trout waters.
The inspiration for this study evolved from a public symposium
hosted by the National Sporting Library and Museum in November of 2009, titled
"A River Never Sleeps: Conservation, History, and the Fly Fishing
River," evoking the title of Roderick Haig-Brown’s important book of
the same title. Three of the speakers from this symposium – Samuel
Snyder, Bryon Borgelt, and James Prosek- will contribute chapters to this
volume, as well as symposium coordinator, Elizabeth Tobey. As a result of that
symposium and conversations around the publication of an edited volume on the
subject, we have approached Cambridge Scholars Press, who has expressed
interest in our project.
Therefore, we are seeking contributors to this volume from a
wide range of academic disciplines in the humanities, social sciences, and
biological sciences. Beyond academic perspectives we understand and appreciate
that practitioners of the sport of fly fishing often develop deep and nuanced
experience and knowledge of the traditions of their sport. Therefore, in an
effort to encourage dialogue and exchange among academics, sportsmen, artists,
and writers, the editors also wish to include some perspectives of individuals
outside academia. These individuals are also actively engaged, either directly
or indirectly through the subject matter of their work or environmental
activism, in documenting fly fishing’s rich history and protecting rivers
and streams.
For more information about participation in this project,
please email project editors Samuel Snyder, PhD (
Elizabeth Tobey, Ph.D., Director of Research &
Publications
National Sporting Library & Museum
540-687-6542 x 11
http://www.nsl.org/
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