Robert J. Behnke
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Robert J. Behnke | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | December 30, 1929 |
| Died | September 13, 2013 (aged 83)[1] |
| Other names | Dr. Trout, The Trout Doctor |
| Alma mater | University of Connecticut, University of California, Berkeley |
| Spouse | Sally Martin |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Fisheries Biologist, Conservationist |
| Institutions | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Colorado State University |
| Doctoral advisor | A. Starker Leopold[2] |
| Other academic advisors | Paul R. Needham |
Dr. Robert J. Behnke (December 30, 1929 – September 13, 2013) was an American fisheries biologist and conservationist who was recognized as a world authority on the classification of salmonid fishes.[3] He was popularly known as "Dr. Trout" or "The Trout Doctor".[4] His seminal work, Trout and Salmon of North America, was published in 2002. He wrote a regular column for Trout Magazine, the quarterly publication of Trout Unlimited. He was a fisheries biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the Colorado Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit and a professor at Colorado State University in the 1970s. He became a Professor Emeritus at the Department of Fishery and Wildlife Biology at Colorado State University.[5]
Robert J. Behnke was born in Stamford, Connecticut, on December 30, 1929.[1] He lived in Connecticut until 1952 when he was drafted into the U.S. Army, serving in the Korean War in both Korea and Japan.[6] Upon leaving the military in 1954, Behnke attended the University of Connecticut and earned a Bachelor's degree in zoology, graduating with honors in 1957.[6] He earned Master’s and Doctorate degrees in ichthyology from the University of California Berkeley,[7] where he studied under noted conservationist Starker Leopold.[8] He married Sally Martin in 1963 and moved to Fort Collins, Colorado, in 1966 to work for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the Colorado Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit.[7]
Major contributions
Behnke was considered a classic taxonomist but also an avid angler, fisheries historian and conservationist.[9] During his career he authored more than 100 articles and papers regarding fish and fisheries. He is credited with helping re-discover two native trout subspecies previously believed extinct—the Pyramid Lake strain of the Lahontan cutthroat trout and the Greenback cutthroat trout, the state fish of Colorado.[10]
Dr. Behnke was an avid promoter of native trout restoration throughout western North America and inspired anglers and conservationists to value the beauty and uniqueness of native trout through his columns for Trout Unlimited. In 2002, Colorado Trout Unlimited recognized him with its 2002 Trout Communications Award for years of work in translating the intricacies of fisheries science for a mass audience.[10]
Dr. Behnke is also widely credited with influencing generations of fish biologists and conservationists while serving on faculty at Colorado State University.[11]
