Robert J. Behnke

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. He was popularly known as "Dr. Trout" or "The Trout Doctor".

Early life Robert J. Behnke was born in Stamford, Connecticut, on December 30, 1929. 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. where he studied under noted conservationist Starker Leopold. 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. 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.

Dr. Behnke was an advocate of native trout restoration throughout western North America, and inspired anglers conservationists to value the 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. of Montana State University Library in Bozeman, Montana. In January 2003, Fly, Rod and Reel magazine, named Dr. Behnke "Angler of the Year". In 2007, Dr. Behnke along with others endowed the "Robert J. Behnke – Rocky Mountain Flycasters Research Fellowship" to provide opportunities for Colorado State University graduate students to study fisheries related to the restoration of native greenback cutthroat trout in Colorado. In 1995, a new sub-species of cutthroat trout, the Snake River fine-spotted cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii behnkei), was named to honor Dr. Behnke's fisheries work. Behnke contributed a regular column to Trout Magazine, the journal of Trout Unlimited for over 25 years. A significant number of those columns are contained in The Best of Robert J. Behnke from Trout Magazine. He also published hundreds of scientific articles in journals related to fisheries biology and conservation.