Fisheries and limnology
Born in Fort Collins, Colorado, in 1931, Cushing received degrees in fisheries management and zoology from Colorado State University in 1952 and 1956. After working for the Montana Fish and Game Department, he completed a biology doctorate in limnology at the University of Saskatchewan in 1961.
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The Columbia River and radioactive elements
Cushing spent 35 years at Battelle Pacific Northwest Laboratories at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. His early research examined relationships between Columbia River organisms and radioactive elements released by reactors. Following reactor closures, his work broadened to stream processes and theoretical studies across North America.
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Collaboration across institutions
Working with university and laboratory colleagues, Cushing contributed to the 1980 River Continuum Concept and subsequent studies. These collaborations connected local stream observations with physical and biological changes along river systems and became a major strand of his research career.
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Books and public communication
With Arthur Benke, Cushing edited Rivers of North America and a related field guide; he also wrote about stream ecology with J. David Allan. He continued teaching and communicating with nonspecialist audiences. He served as president of the North American Benthological Society in 1994–1995 and died on 9 September 2019.
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