“Running Silver: Restoring Atlantic Rivers and Their Great Fish Migrations” Published by John Waldman

A note from John Waldman:

“After six years of research and writing (and a lifetime of experiences and involvement with diadromous fishes!), I am happy to announce publication of Running Silver: Restoring Atlantic Rivers and Their Great Fish Migrations. The book is my attempt to re-inspire efforts to reverse a badly shifted baseline and what I view as a (largely) squandered legacy.  Some of the coverage includes the evolution and characteristics of diadromy; the nature of rivers; an intro to all of the Atlantic species; Native American and Colonial fisheries; my favorite early quotations by awed colonists; dams, power plants, and the post-industrial river; fish passage; climate change; alien species; the role of hatcheries; the oceanic ‘black box’; a comparison between a shad’s life cycle in the years 1600 and 2013; management practices; whether ‘river giants’ of these species will ever be seen again; new concepts in conservation biology; some important examples of good stewardship; and ten ideas for the future.  Thoreau’s prescient and under-appreciated observations from A Week on the Concord & Merrimack Rivers are used as guideposts throughout.”

(Running Silver is available now online from Amazon, B&N, and should soon be in book shops.)