Joshua Royte
Senior Conservation Scientist, Maine
Maine
Areas of Expertise
Conservation planning; landscape, forest and river ecology; river restoration planning
Biography
Joshua Royte is a landscape ecologist bringing the science of large forested landscapes and river networks to planning our strategies, monitoring impacts and identifying priorities for conservation and restoration. His work includes facilitating a diversity of partnerships involved with planning and implementing conservation actions at scales ranging from broad ecoregions to specific sites.
Joshua has led the work to restore Maine river connectivity, opening some of the region's best habitat to native fish and other wildlife. His expertise also helps guide and promote river restoration globally as an advisor to TNC Europe’s Freshwater program and the European Union AMBER and MERLIN projects.
He co-authored the book From Sea to Source 2.0, describing why fish migrate, the impact of stream barriers, examples and techniques on how to fix them and how to build greater awareness in society.
A large portion of Joshua’s time is dedicated to helping TNC’s Europe Program to develop their efforts to protect and restore rivers, with an emphasis on the western Balkans in southeast Europe.
“What we’ve developed in Maine around such amazing natural resources has relevance all around the planet. To ensure healthy ecosystems persist through all the current and future planetary changes, we need to be smarter about how we treat the planet and where to focus limited resources to the best effect.”
Joshua has been focused on a healthier natural environment for the past three decades. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Bard College and a master's from Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. Joshua previously directed the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s Fox Island Environmental Education Center, was a planner for the National Capital Parks and Planning Commission and conducted resource inventories for Woodlot Alternatives, Inc.
Reflections on a Smoky Maine Bike Ride
August 3, 2023
On a recent bicycle ride to work, I hit unmistakable waves of smoke from the fires in the Canadian Northwest. The slight sulfur campfire smell, the dark salmon color of the rising sun in the sky over the Freeport marshes and hills, and an acrid taste in the back of my throat marked the experience of my 20-mile ride.
I had been hearing news stories all week explaining where the smoke is coming from, and discussing the health effects on people in the U.S. But I’d read little about what these fires mean for ecosystems: for the forests, wildflowers, insects, birds, mammals, and local people that inhabit the 391 places in British Columbia, 125 in Alberta, and 107 in Quebec that are on fire. Altogether in the last few months, Canadian wildfires have scorched 26.9 million acres—an area larger than the state of Maine. The disconnect between the ecological, social, and economic disaster unfolding across Canada and the coverage of our symptoms struck me hard.
Most of us don’t actually see or experience the hundreds of rare species, ancient forests, and the complex, interconnected human and ecological systems devastated by these wildfires. I’m lucky, in a way, as a conservation scientist at The Nature Conservancy (TNC), my job has given me the opportunity to inventory and assess our diverse ecosystems, map natural communities, and identify rare plant and animal species firsthand. In Maine alone, there are 352 species of plants listed as rare, threatened, or of special concern out of an estimated total of 1,500 in the state! Understanding the importance of biodiversity is a key part of my job and TNC’s mission to conserve the lands and waters on which all life depends.
These experiences have informed how I think about the recent wildfires. In addition to affecting our sunsets, our air quality, and our health, they are causing unimaginable damage to an immense swath of the boreal forest and its inhabitants. The fires are impacting hundreds of local communities that depend on the forest, rivers, and lakes for their livelihoods and wellbeing. This is particularly true for the dozens of Indigenous communities that have stewarded these ecosystems since the melting of the glaciers.
More broadly, the fires are also an unmistakable red flag, warning of our impact on the planet’s delicate cosmic insulation, air chemistry, and capacity to comfortably support the natural systems that have evolved over millennia. Our past and current actions have exacerbated not only these burning forests, but also the flooding of our roads, the warming and acidification of our oceans, and the massive downturn in global biodiversity.
The good news is that we can absolutely slow these negative effects on our planet. If we develop our science, create thoughtful and equitable strategies, build support by communicating effectively and inspiringly, and then allocate the necessary human and financial resources, we can better restore and protect the natural world. At stake is the ability for our atmosphere, our lands, and our oceans to support the diversity of life on Earth—including all of us.
As I ride my bike through Maine’s wonderful communities, I know we can change the path forward, and I have great hope that we will.
May 12, 2023
It Takes a Village
A historic community inspires and celebrates river restoration.
On this year’s Earth Day weekend, I was invited to speak at an event in Plymouth, Massachusetts, about a topic that is dear to my heart and central to my work at The Nature Conservancy: returning natural processes to rivers and streams all over the world.
The occasion was a Friday-evening program at the Plymouth Center for the Arts that included three other speakers. When it was my turn to step to the podium, I looked out at an impressive crowd of over 130 people, all extremely attentive to and excited by all the speakers’ presentations. They enjoyed learning about the recent restoration of a local waterway and upcoming projects, incredible images from a professional underwater photographer and seeing how tagging and tracking fish before and after restoration projects helps to measure the results. My talk was last, tying this community’s incredible inspiring stream restoration success to the work being done in over a hundred countries around the world.
Why such a great turnout here? Because these people really love their fish and river restoration! This was the kick-off to the annual Plymouth Herring Run Festival, a celebration of the restoration of Town Brook and the subsequent return of hundreds of thousands of river herring that can now migrate upstream to spawn. There are also tens of thousands of juvenile American eels (elvers) that now ascend the river after being spawned in the Sargasso Sea. There were activities all day on Saturday, including a fish ladder obstacle course for kids, an environmental scavenger hunt, crafts, Wampanoag stories and activities, informational booths, a Town Brook restoration walking tour, and food and live music. What a party!
It all started over 20 years ago when the community decided to restore the river. It’s been over 400 years since the Mayflower landed near here in Mashpee Wampanoag territory, and in the ensuing centuries at least six dams were built in the 1.5-mile Town Brook between Plymouth Bay and the alewife spawning pond called the Billington Sea. This effectively cut off passage for migrating fish that had coursed these waters for the previous 12,000 years, extinguishing what had been a springtime lifeblood for Wampanoag people and a critical resource for the early colonists.
Starting in the early 2000’s, a coalition came together to restore the river. This group included the Town of Plymouth, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Wampanoag Tribe, the local soil and water district, The Nature Conservancy, and many others. The goal was to remove four dams and improve fish passage at two other sites. And it’s worked! With a few more improvements scheduled to be completed this year, the annual run is estimated to potentially reach half a million fish. (Fun tip: you can join a cool crowd-sourced online fish counting effort for the Town Brook restoration here: plymouthriverherring.org/start-counting)
When I think back to my presentation that Friday evening, it strikes me that these communities’ connections to their river and its revival is what so much of our work is all about. My job during that talk at the Art Center was to celebrate their inspiring work, cooperative talent and financial commitment to a remarkable restoration success. I was also there to show how their work connects globally through World Fish Migration Day, a movement that now galvanizes millions of people in a global celebration that builds awareness about the importance of migratory fish and free-flowing rivers. These events have connected and inspired thousands of people in over 100 countries to work to restore and protect rivers and fish.
Plymouth is a great example of a celebration of nature, and I am heartened by similar events in communities in Maine. Events now recognize the return of migrating fish to the Penobscot, Kennebec, Bagaduce and Damariscotta Rivers. Recent restorations have also taken place in Outlet Stream and the Sheepscot River. Hopefully someday soon the Wolastoq (St. John) and Skutik (St. Croix) Rivers will join the list as we work with local communities to restore those fish runs, too.
All these stories share a common theme: a coalition of caring people coming together in partnership to restore a river, for the fish, for the creatures that depend on those fish for life-sustaining nutrients and for health and joy of the community of people that live and work there. It is an inspiration to us all—and well worth celebrating!
April 25, 2022
Join a Global Celebration of Healthy Rivers this May!
Have you heard about World Fish Migration Day? It happens every two years, and it’s a chance to celebrate migratory fish—and the connected, healthy rivers they depend on. Migratory fish make up a crucial link in the food chain, and they help keep our rivers healthy and productive. Free-flowing rivers and their fish also sustain the people, economies, and cultures of communities around the world. More than 100 million people get their primary source of protein from freshwater fisheries.
Today, most migratory fish species are severely threatened. Man-made obstacles like dams, weirs, sluices and culverts are some of the primary threats. Barriers disrupt the natural timing and flow of rivers and prevent or delay fish from reaching critical spawning habitat, accessing food sources, avoiding floods or droughts and finding cool waters during increasingly frequent warming events. In 2020, the Living Planet Index Report showed that globally there has been a 75 percent decline in migratory fish populations just since the 1970s. Developed places like Europe have experienced more than a 90 percent decline.
A decade ago, I met Herman Wanningen, a scientist in the Netherlands who was looking to connect scientists and practitioners working to improve the world’s free-flowing rivers. He had an idea for a global day of action that celebrates river restoration. He called it “World Fish Migration Day,” and he imagined it as an opportunity to highlight rivers, fish and the communities that depend on them on a grand scale, but through local perspectives. We started talking, and The Nature Conservancy agreed to provide some seed funding to launch this effort.
Since those humble beginnings, World Fish Migration Day has grown leaps and bounds, becoming a beloved biennial event featuring local river restoration celebrations around the world. The first World Fish Migration Day in 2014 involved 273 events in 53 countries. By 2018, there were 570 events in 63 countries engaging over 200,000 people!
By building our shared appreciation and understanding of the importance of migratory fish to our ecosystems, our economies and our communities, we can create momentum to restore and protect our vital waterways, here in Maine and around the world. Together, we can influence decision-makers, leaders, and communities to create healthier rivers full of fish. Here's to a happy World Fish Migration Day!
Twardek, W.M., Wanningen, H., Fernández Garrido, P., Brink, K., Royte, J., Berkhuysen, A., Geenen, B., and Cooke, S.J. In press, 2020. World Fish Migration Day connects fish, rivers, and people – from a one day event to a broader social movement. Fisheries Magazine 00: 000-000
Brink, K. P. Gough, J. Royte, P. P. Schollema and H. Wanningen 2018. From Sea to Source 2.0. Protection and restoration of fish migration in rivers worldwide. World Fish Migration Foundation.
Opperman, J. J., J. Royte, J. Banks, L. Rose Day and C. Apse. 2011. The Penobscot River, Maine, USA: a Basin-Scale Approach to Balancing Power Generation and Ecosystem Restoration. Ecology and Society 16 (3): 7. [online]
Cogbill, C. and J. L. Royte 2001. Determining Spatial Landscape Patterns and Disturbance Regimes from Historical Records, The Nature Conservancy’s Upper St. John River Lands, Northwest Maine, USA. Proceedings of the Forest Ecology Information Exchange: Forestry Stucture, a Multi-layer Conversation. October 25, 2001. Orono, Maine.
Royte, J.L. and J.P. Lortie. 2000. New occurrences of Scirpus ancistrochaetus in New Hampshire. Rhodora, v.102 (910): 210-213.
Royte, J. L., D. D. Sperduto, and J. P. Lortie. 1996. Botanical reconnaissance of Nancy Brook Research Natural Area. Gen. Tech. Rep. NE-216. Radnor, PA: U. S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northeastern Forest Experiment Station. 23 p. 4Mb
Hill, J. M., J. L. Royte, and J. M. Swearingen. 1990. A Permanent plot system for natural resources management decisions in a rapidly urbanizing county. State-of-the-Art Methodology of Forest Inventory. USDA Forest Service, General Technical Report PNW-GTR-263.
Berlyn, G. P., J. L. Royte and A. O. Anoruo. 1990. Cytophotometric separation of high elevation spruces: Physiological and ecological implications. Stain Technology Vol.65(1-13).
Berlyn, G. P., J. L. Royte and A. O. Anoruo. 1989. Genetic characterization of high elevation spruce of the northeastern United States. In Adams, M.B. and C. Eager (eds.) Air and Winter Injury of Red Spruce.
Royte, J. R., L. Brako, and R. C. Harris 1985. Two crustose lichen new to North America. Evansia. Vol.2 (1).