An award has been made to Albertson College of Idaho under the direction of Dr. Donald W. Zaroban to upgrade storage conditions and improve management of the fish collection at the college. The collection was acquired from the University of Idaho and has been curated by a largely volunteer staff since the 1980s. The collection is the primary repository of fish specimens for the state of Idaho and was used to prepare a guidebook for the fishes of Idaho. Current storage conditions are in urgent need of upgrading. The funding will help staff verify identification of specimens, provide ethyl alcohol for long term preservation of specimens, purchase new storage cabinets, upgrade label materials, and provide for entry of the 2,500 lots of fish into an electronic database. In addition to providing funds for the current curator to supervise and conduct the activities, two undergraduate students will be trained in curation and database activities. The improved storage of the collection and database will make it more accessible to students, fisheries managers, and researchers, as well as provide specimens for museum exhibits.
