Keeper Trout

Keeper Trout (born October 1957), also known as Keeper of the Trout, is an American independent scholar in the area of psychedelics and psychedelic plants, especially cacti. He is variously described as an author, photographer, ethnobotanist, archivist, and conservationist.

Trout first became interested in the psychedelic experience in 1972 when he was 14 years old. He studied chemistry and microbiology at university in Texas. Trout worked as a lapidarist but eventually was unable to continue doing this work due having come down with encephalitis which had led to unilateral blindness and loss of his depth perception. In 1991, he pivoted direction and started working more publicly in the area of psychedelics. In 1993, he met Alexander and Ann Shulgin and others at a psychedelic conference and they encouraged him to start writing. He has since written numerous books and other publications on psychedelic plants and alkaloids, including his notable Trout's Notes series. His books are published by Mydriatic Productions, a division of Better Days Publishing.

Trout was formerly a technical editor of the Entheogen Review. He is a co-founder and board member of the Cactus Conservation Institute and a board member of the Chihuahuan Desert Preserve Association. He does work for Erowid and Transform Press, is a board member of the Shulgin Farm, and works at the Shulgin Archive digitizing the materials of Alexander Shulgin.