Welcome to the U.S. Geological Survey’s Western Fisheries Research Center (WFRC). The Center is one of 18 USGS science centers nationwide engaged in biological research on critical natural resource issues facing the nation. Since the 1930s, WFRC has provided reliable science needed by managers of fish and aquatic resources in the Western Lower 48 states, to support management of these important public trust resources (take a look at our history). We work from six laboratory locations in four western states. Our research includes work in rivers, streams, lakes and estuaries. We help in recovery of threatened and endangered species ranging from salmon to tiny fish living in desert springs. We are concerned with fish diseases, and with the stresses imposed by human activities such as water and land development, grazing, mining, and harvest. We research aquatic invasive species—that can take over habitats and harm native species populations. We invent better ways to manage hatcheries and care for wild fish populations, using state of the art approaches ranging from molecular genetics to decision support computer models. Our work involves many international collaborations, and our scientist are well known in the professional community—take a look at their profiles. In fact, our activities are far more diverse than I can describe here. But this web page contains, in total, a pretty good description of who we are and what we do. So I hope this site provides you with the information you seek, or stimulates your interest in the species or environments we work with. Now completely reorganized, we’ve greatly improved both the clarity and content of this site. We welcome suggestions to further improve it. Lyman K. Thorsteinson |
