California Trout, Inc.

Balance the needs of fish and people by reestablishing resilient wild fish populations within managed landscapes.

Over the last century and a half California’s population has ballooned to over 40 million people and the state’s rivers and landscapes have been irrevocably altered. As a result, wild fish populations have suffered, with 45% of the state’s native salmonids on a trajectory toward extinction in the next 50 years if current trends continue. For our native species to not just survive but thrive, we must incorporate a scientific understanding of natural process into our management of working landscapes. We are investing in innovative ways to balance landscapes to support both wild fish and human interests.

Give salmon and steelhead access to diverse habitat by removing barriers and getting obsolete DAMS OUT.

There are thousands of dams in California, most of which were built and are operated for water supply and flood protection benefits with little consideration for their effects on fish. As a result, native salmon and steelhead have lost large amounts of their habitat. Dams and barriers block migration upstream to high quality habitat and restrict migration of juvenile fish to the ocean. We are working to remove barriers and get obsolete dams out to give native salmon and steelhead access to the clean, cold water of their native spawning and rearing habitats once again.

Ensure water security for fish and people by protecting and restoring our vital source water areas-the greater Mt. Shasta area springs and high Sierra meadows.

Water is the lifeblood of California, fueling one of the most productive agricultural regions in the world, supplying drinking water for communities and sustaining diverse rivers and the species that depend on them. California’s prominent source water areas, the Sierra Nevada mountains and the greater Mt. Shasta area springs need restoration and protection. 40-60% of high Sierra meadows are degraded. When healthy, meadows store water like a sponge and release it gradually, over the warm dry summer months. Unhealthy meadows lack this storage capacity. Restoring meadows not only increases water storage for people, but also protects wild trout streams like Hot Creek and Owens River. The Mt. Shasta area spring rivers, some of the most iconic wild trout waters, are fed by ancient underground aquifers and offer a steady supply of cold, clean water. However, we don’t fully understand them. And you can’t protect what you don’t know.

Nurture and Restore Vital Land-Sea Interface Habitats

Estuaries and lagoons provide critical feeding and nursery habitat for juvenile fishes and are important transition zones between freshwater and the ocean. However, estuaries have become dramatically reduced in size and quality, due to development and watershed modifications, such as diking and draining. Restoring function to once-productive, but now highly altered estuary habits will greatly improve rearing conditions for juvenile salmonids, increasing the likelihood of survival at sea and adults returning to their natal tributaries And, in the face of climate change, this will also increase the ecological resilience of our coast to buffer sea level rise.