Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs (SACPA)

In the business of conservation we are often so intent on staring into the fog called tomorrow, we rarely turn around and look back at the pathway called yesterday stretching behind us. This presentation will use archival images and information to paint a picture of the slippery hordes of native fish in Alberta’s past. The current status of fish populations in the Eastern Slopes cannot be appreciated until we acknowledge where we were, by reviewing historical abundance and distribution. Only then, will we be ready to see where we need to be. By reviewing what was, perhaps we can see what can be. Fish populations were reduced and lost because our understanding and comprehension of aquatic systems was so rudimentary. We rarely measured, we didn’t monitor and we didn’t pay attention. If a view of the past has taught us anything, it is if we don’t pay attention, things go missing. We do not feel the need to mourn that which we do not understand enough to miss. A fundamentally important task is to provide pers