Great Smoky Mountains Association has published a new field guide dedicated to some of the aquatic residents of the Smokies. Intuitively organized and small enough to fit in a pocket, “Fishes of the Smokies” includes detailed photography and key details for each species featured.
Written by debut author Grant Fisher, “Fishes of the Smokies” takes readers on a deep dive into the park’s 2,900 miles of rivers and streams. Fisher applied years of research and working experience as an employee of the National Park Service to write the most comprehensive field guide available to date dedicated to the park’s waters.
“Through working in the Smokies, I always observed that one of the topics visitors seemed to know the least about, but be quite interested in, was fish,” said Fisher. “I think that most readers will be surprised to learn that the Smokies are home to so many different fish. A casual stroll or drive in the park reveals many small streams, but I believe very few people actually expect them to hold such diversity.”
Every featured species in “Fishes of the Smokies” is profiled on a separate page and described with key details including habitat, diet, and ecological and cultural history. Edited by GSMA Publications Associate Aaron Searcy, and with an introduction by NPS Supervisory Fishery Biologist Matt Kulp, the book features watercolor illustrations and textures from vintage maps and notebooks as a nod to the park’s first naturalists.
“Great Smoky Mountains Association may be a small, regional publisher, but it’s one with a special superpower thanks to its unique position as an established partner to a national park,” said Searcy. “From its well-researched species profiles to its detailed accounts of park history, ‘Fishes of the Smokies’ carries on a long tradition of accessible, practical field guides to the flora and fauna of the park—created or vetted by those with the most intimate knowledge of the landscape.”
“Fishes of the Smokies” is the newest addition to a popular line of pocket-size field guides published by Great Smoky Mountains Association. The “Of the Smokies” series includes comprehensive guides on birds, wildflowers, reptiles and amphibians, ferns, trees, mammals, and butterflies and moths.
The 4.5-by-6-inch paperback is available for $14.95 in the park’s visitor center bookstores and at GSMA’s online store at smokiesinformation.org.
Great Smoky Mountains Association is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting the scientific, historical, and interpretive activities of Great Smoky Mountains National Park by providing educational products and services to park visitors. GSMA depends on the generous support of its members to fulfill its mission, preserving the Smokies for generations to come. Membership-driven funding also supports the preservation of more than 90 historic structures throughout the park, as well as the backcountry rangers who protect more than 800 miles of trails to spectacular mountain vistas, rushing streams, waterfalls and quiet groves of old-growth forest. For more information about GSMA, visit smokiesinformation.org.