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Scott Bonar, PhD

Unit Leader - Arizona CRU. Scott's areas of expertise are desert fish management and biology, fisheries sampling methods, communications in natural resources, invasive species, habitat use and instream flow requirements for fishes. Scott served as President of the American Fisheries Society in 2019-2020; and is Past-President of the Western Division of the American Fisheries Society.  

Research and Teaching Interests

  • Desert fish management and biology
  • Fisheries sampling methods
  • Communication in natural resources
  • Management of introduced species
  • Fisheries Biology and Management
  • Communication in Natural Resources

Scott is the lead editor and author on three books, one a North American standard fish sampling program for freshwater fishes involving hundreds of authors, data providers and sponsors from across North America and another that is the 2nd edition. Scott also authored a book on skills for working with people for natural resources professionals that the journal Ecology called a "must read." Scott presented and authored numerous presentations and publications. In 2022, he won the Award of Excellence from the Fish Management Section of the American Fisheries Society. Scott enjoys working with fish managers and administrators on practical problems in fisheries management or human dimensions.

Scott is originally from Mt. Vernon Indiana, attended University of Evansville in Indiana and University of Washington in Seattle. Scott managed the inland fish research program at Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife for almost 10 years before coming to the USGS Arizona CRU.