The Western Division of the American Fisheries Society is pleased to present its Award of Merit to Bruce May for his conservation work on cutthroat trout in Idaho, Montana and Utah. Bruce has been the consistent force in helping and pushing all agencies to get conservation plans in place for Yellowstone, Bonneville, and westslope cutthroat trout. As a Forest Service biologist, he has provided consistent leadership and assistance through planning, coordinating and facilitation of meetings and technical sessions that helped the states develop consistent management of the cutthroat trout spread across the intermountain west landscape. The results of these efforts are the establishment of written 1) genetic guidelines used for management classification of cutthroat by many of the interior states and the adoption of these guides by the land management agencies 2) conservation management plans adopted by the states and USFWS.

Without Bruce's leadership and use of the network of fisheries scientists he has established during his professional career, this would not have happened in a timely fashion. Bruce was able to bring together large groups of agencies and scientists dealing with cutthroat conservation, genetics and management. He has tirelessly worked behind the scene to assist these planning processes. He has seldom taken credit for the actions he initiated, but instead has given credit to the agencies and professionals he helped bring together for the advancement of scientific fact based cutthroat management in the West.

Bruce has also been co-chair of the Cutthroat Trout Conservation Documentary Committee during the past 2 years. He has been instrumental in fund raising for the project. He has also been directly involved with coordinating documentary text for the various inland cutthroat subspecies. For his invaluable service to cutthroat trout conservation in the West, Bruce May is presented the WDAFS Award of Merit.

Presented by Eric Knudsen
WDAFS Past-President & Awards Committee Chair
April 16, 2003