Fishes of Montana

ROLE: Editor and Co-designer

TIMEFRAME: 2019, 2024

DELIVERABLES: Mobile device app for iOS and Android

In 1971, long before Montana State University became known as “Trout U”, the university published “Fishes of Montana” by C.J.D. Brown, and the field guide has since remained a vital resource for identifying species in the field. It included 80 varieties of fish in the state, with histories, distribution maps and characteristics, but in nearly half a century, the book has never been updated.

For years, Professor Tom McMahon and ecology department colleagues Alexander Zale and Christopher Guy, leader and assistant leader of the U.S. Geological Survey Montana Cooperative Fishery Research Unit, had bandied the idea of a new edition of the book. However, a different opportunity presented itself when Guy met Whitney Tilt, a Bozeman conservationist whose previous collaborations with Matt Lavin, a professor in the Department of Plant Sciences and Plant Pathology in MSU’s College of Agriculture, led to two field identification smartphone apps, Montana Grasses and Flora of the Yellowstone Region.

Rather than revise and reprint “Fishes of Montana,” the book has been given a 21st century update with the release of its namesake Fishes of Montana app. The app, available for Android and iOS devices, includes information on 91 native and introduced species. The app is free to download, funded by a $10,000 grant from retailer Patagonia that was awarded to the Department of Ecology to promote the restoration of native fish populations as part of the Trout and Cold Water Fisheries Initiative.

The app was fully updated and revised in 2024.