Western Native Trout Initiative’s “portfolio concept” approach for advancing landscape-scale trout conservation

Native trout fisheries in the western United States are both economically and culturally important, yet many populations have seen dramatic declines due to habitat loss and fragmentation, climate change, and competition and hybridization from nonnative species. To help address these challenges, the Western Native Trout Initiative (WNTI) was established in 2005 and approved as a regional National Fish Habitat Partnership in 2008. Over the past two decades, the WNTI has served as a catalyst to help implement large-scale conservation, directing over US$11.4 million in grants—leveraged with $57 million in matching funds—toward 254 priority projects. These efforts have allowed conservation partners to successfully remove 171 fish passage barriers, reconnect over 1,400 miles of habitat, and have contributed to advancing seminal range-wide genetic studies and status assessments for many western native salmonids. One key strategy in the WNTI’s success at catalyzing conservation efforts is employing a “portfolio concept,” a landscape-scale approach that bundles high-priority, vetted projects into strategic investment packages for public and private funding sources. We present a case study from the Bear River basin to demonstrate how this model can accelerate the pace of restoration, benefiting both native salmonids and sympatric species while benefiting local communities. Using a combination of science-based prioritization, multi-agency coordination, and creative public outreach, the WNTI has been working for 20 years to revitalize native trout across the western USA.