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CalTrout Looking For Southern California Region Program Manager

April 17, 2012 2 Comments

 

WANTED: Southern California Region Program Manager

SoCal regional manager job

CalTrout's looking for a SoCal regional manager

Position Summary:

California Trout is a 41-year old conservation focused non-profit with the mission to protect and restore wild trout, steelhead, salmon and their waters throughout California. We are a “highly rated” organization according to Charity Navigator (a leading non-profit evaluation service) with a strong financial foundation.

CalTrout is headquartered in San Francisco and has five regional conservation offices around the state: Arcata, Mt Shasta, South Lake Tahoe, Mammoth Lakes, and Southern California.

This individual will be responsible for leading CalTrout’s steelhead recovery efforts along the southern California coast. A number of conservation projects are already funded and underway. The primary projects include:

  • Leading our steelhead habitat restoration efforts in key watersheds including the coastal tributaries near the border of San Diego and Orange counties and the Santa Clara watershed
  • Playing a key role in the legal and regulatory processes to improve habitat, fish passage, and flows in both the Santa Ynez and Santa Clara Rivers
  • Representing CalTrout in the effort to remove the Matilija Dam, improve fish passage, and restore habitat in the Ventura River watershed.

While these projects are well-funded today, we expect this individual to define a vision, grow the program and help ensure its financial sustainability. This individual will be tasked not only with executing and overseeing all projects, but with the financial administration and program reporting (with central finance and development support) associated with large agency, corporate, and family foundation grants. In addition, this individual should be proven at identifying and securing additional funding to support future projects and regional growth. This is a great opportunity for someone to further define the region’s long-term vision, project roadmaps and build out plans (including staffing).

This individual is expected to work closely with:

  • Other CalTrout regional program managers in order to share best practices and develop coordinated species conservation and recovery programs and policy.
  • Key university partners including UC Davis, and UC Santa Barbara to ensure that our steelhead initiatives have a strong foundation in science
  • CalTrout’s advocacy effort and lobbyist in Sacramento to help influence legislation and regulatory policy required for success
  • State and Federal agencies along with other NGOs to coordinate conservation and
    recovery planning / implementation
  • CalTrout’s Marketing, Development and Finance teams to raise funds, build donor support and meet fiscal year goals while building a long-term sustainable program

This individual will play a major role in cultivating agencies and foundations, and is comfortable engaging with our Board, major donors, and prospects in order to build support.

Education, Skills, and Experience:

  • Master’s or PhD degree in biology, fisheries, ecology, hydrology, environmental science/studies or related field preferred with ideally 10 years of related work experience.
  • Demonstrated ability to establish a vision, define and grow a broadly-scoped conservation program (not just projects)
  • Experienced in the application of the Endangered Species Act in both policy and law
  • Knowledgeable of, if not experienced in, California’s anadromous fish and their primary challenges / issues
  • Experience in complex legal proceedings and challenges
  • Experience in securing large agency, corporate and family foundation grants, managing and administering such grants, and cultivating relationships with funders
  • Outstanding team player with the interpersonal skills to build strong internal and external relationships
  • Strong leadership skills to manage and influence numerous and diverse stakeholders often with competing agendas
  • Proven experience developing, directing, and managing projects, staff and budget.
  • Availability to travel, primarily throughout California (valid CA driver’s license)
  • Experience doing field work including biological and ecological assessments (stream and snorkel surveys, habitat/stream monitoring, flow measurements, etc.

How to apply:

Please submit cover letter, resume, and writing sample by e-mail or fax to:

Jeff Thompson
Executive Director
Fax: 415 392-8895
E-mail: jthompson@caltrout.org

No phone calls please. For more information about CalTrout, visit our website at http://caltrout.org

Filed Under: CalTrout People, Southern California Tagged With:

Final Steelhead Recovery Roadmap For Southern California Steelhead Released

January 17, 2012 Leave a Comment

In an important step towards steelhead recovery in California, NOAA Fisheries has released the final Steelhead Recovery Roadmap for Southern California. This from the NOAA site:

“This final plan is a roadmap to recovery for one of the most endangered fish species in the United States,” said Penny Ruvelas, NOAA Fisheries Service Area Office Supervisor for Protected Resources in Southern California. “It will likely take decades to restore these fish to the coastal rivers and streams where they once thrived, but this plan is a very significant step in achieving that goal.”

It is estimated this Southern California distinct population segment of steelhead once numbered over 45,000 but has since declined to less than 500 and was listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 1997. The ESA requires a Recovery Plan be developed when a species is listed under the statute as either threatened or endangered.

CalTrout is heavily involved in Southern California steelhead recovery efforts (click here for a list of recent posts about Southern California).

This is only the start of the process, but we’re already seeing a lot of attention paid to steelhead recovery efforts.

Filed Under: Southern California, Steelhead & Salmon Tagged With: ,

Notching Matilija Dam

December 5, 2011 2 Comments

Everyone Wants the Now-Useless Matilija Dam Removed. So Why Hasn’t It Been Taken Out?

Matilija Dam, on the Ventura River, was constructed in 1948 and is completely ineffective today. Full of silt and sediment, it does nothing for flood control or water supply and it completely blocks Southern steelhead passage. Efforts to remove Matilija Dam started in the mid-1990′s. But, like many other environmental projects, the removal of the Matilija Dam on the Ventura River has been impacted by the world’s economic crisis.

Matilija Dam

Matilija Dam (picture by Paul Jenkin)

A full spectrum of community stakeholders and agencies came together and by 2007, they had developed a preferred preliminary design, a budget (approximately $145 million), and a schedule. At that time, Congressional approval for the project was obtained.

The project design included: the removal of the Matilija Dam structure, the disposal of the 6 million cubic yards of sediment currently sequestered behind the dam, and the complete habitat restoration of the river canyon. Since 2007, however, the U.S. budget crisis has made it impossible to appropriate funds for progress on the Matilija Project.

In the face of bleak funding prospects, project leads (County of Ventura Watershed Protection District and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) went “off the reservation” and developed a modified, potentially less expensive project design that failed to meet the ecological restoration goals of the project. Instead, their plan would permanently store as much as 2.5 million cubic yards of the fine sediment in the river canyon itself, covering the existing riparian habitat (which includes native oaks, springs, and other critical habitat values) and constraining the river into an unnaturally inhibited channel.

CalTrout worked closely with Matilija Coalition Director, Paul Jenkin, to stop this “imposter project” and remind the agencies of the original intent of these efforts: 1.) to restore the Ventura River and the Matilija Canyon area for the benefit of Southern California steelhead (and other native species and habitat) by providing fish passage and habitat, 2.) to restore the natural processes that allow the river to carry and deposit the sediments that naturally replenish our Ventura beaches.

Over the course of a year and many meetings, CalTrout and Paul Jenkin successfully persuaded with stakeholders and agencies to reaffirm the eco-restoration project goals, and to consider and refine adjustments to the original 2007 “approved project.” These changes could potentially save money, prevent additional sediment accumulation behind the dam prior to its removal, and allow some forward motion to begin, even with the meager economic outlook.

Accordingly, the Matilija Dam Removal Project appears to be “back on the rails.” Plans to begin notching the dam to current sediment levels are being developed. And adjustments to the larger project are being explored – including non-habitat impact alternative storage areas for the sediment.

Progress on this work is constrained by funding. But the liability of the Matilija Dam and the threat of increase removal costs in the future if additional sediment accumulates are motivating continued efforts by agencies and stakeholders. Ventura County is moving ahead with the design and permitting for dam notching, and CalTrout will continue to work closely with the Matilija Coalition to assure that progress continues to be made.

Filed Under: Southern California, Steelhead & Salmon Tagged With:

Emergency Stream Closures to Protect So Cal Steelhead Are Under Discussion

November 16, 2011 1 Comment

At the November 16, 2011 California Department of Fish & Game (DFG) Commission hearing held in Santa Barbara, the Commission will consider a Request for Emergency Rulemaking to close the Sisquoc River, Sespe Creek and North Fork Matilija Creek Watersheds to Fishing.

This request was filed by the Environmental Defense Center (EDC), a Santa Barbara-area environmental law firm in an attempt to protect Southern California steelhead. It has become the focus of much discussion and some controversy and has raised concerns about the long-term prospect of Endangered Species Act (ESA) protections for Southern California steelhead and how that impacts our fishing interests.

CalTrout does not support the Request for Emergency Rulemaking for stream closures primarily because Emergency Rulemaking is not warranted for any of the listed streams. While the EDC request informally states that “fishing has increased in recent years” it provides no documentation of current, imminent, or ongoing threat of “take” of endangered steelhead in the subject watershed areas.

DFG is required to enact fishing regulations that comply with the federal ESA steelhead protections. This often results in the closure of any areas of a river or stream that can be accessed by a returning ocean-run steelhead when flows allow.

Conversely, those areas of stream that are above an impassable barrier, such as a dam, are not closed under the ESA for steelhead protection. Accordingly, in the case of the above Emergency Request, it appears that DFG staff will recommend that the Fish & Game Commission deny the Request for Emergency Rulemaking and instead will take the following non-emergency actions:

  1. Sisquoc River: Because Sisquoc has no permanent impassable barriers which prevent steelhead migration access, DFG will pursue standard (non-emergency) actions to assess and proceed with closure measures.
  2. Sespe Creek: Due to a lack of detailed analysis of several possible barriers in Sespe Creek, DFG will conduct an assessment of those barriers prior to making any determination about future Sespe Creek closures. (While the potential for fish passage at Freeman Diversion Dam (which is below Sespe Creek) has been a matter of controversy for many years, there appears to be no single documented record or evidence of unaided passage by a steelhead from below Freeman through the fish ladder and into the mainstem Santa Clara River. Accordingly, CalTrout asserts that Freeman Diversion is an impassable barrier, and therefore, until new fish passage is available at Freeman, we believe Sespe Creek is not eligible for ESA closure.)
  3. North Fork Matilija: Because there is an impassable barrier on this creek, this waterway is not eligible for closure for ESA steelhead protection.

These expected DFG responses to the Emergency Request align with the Southern California steelhead ESA listing, and are therefore supported by CalTrout. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Southern California, Steelhead & Salmon Tagged With: , ,

The Southern California Steelhead Coalition Is Back!

August 26, 2011 Leave a Comment

by Nica Knite, Southern California Region Manager

The Southern California Steelhead Coalition (SCSC) is making a comeback! Though it was founded more than a decade ago, in recent years only remnants of the SCSC have functioned… Or at least until eighteen months ago, when a shift started taking place.

New ideas, new participants, and new life started to take root.

Under the leadership of CalTrout’s Southern California Region, the SCSC is reinventing itself with an expanded membership, a new, more-effective structure, and plans to “make steelhead waves” across the southland for years to come.

More than three dozen groups have signed up to participate in the SCSC, and 13 representatives attended our meeting this June.

“Chapters” are being formed in order to provide local forums for ALL conservation stakeholders in a watershed (or group of watersheds) to coordinate, partner, strategically plan, and support community movements for steelhead recovery.

The chapter plans are scalable for the coastwide SCSC, and members will be developing and implementing systematic, cyclical restoration and outreach activities.

The Santa Clara and South Orange/North San Diego Counties (SanDOC) Chapters are underway, the Ventura Chapter is starting up this summer, and Santa Barbara and Santa Monica Mountains Chapters will follow.

CalTrout is pleased that a cadre of fly fishing clubs and the Southwest Council of the Federation of Fly Fishers are participating in the SCSC.

The Southern California Steelhead Coalition will work to provide opportunities for all groups that share an interest in healing our watersheds and protecting our fisheries. Clearly, the engagement of our fly angling community members is greatly appreciated and we look forward to shared projects and high-quality outcomes for the benefit of steelhead.

Questions about participation in the Southern California Steelhead Coalition? Contact Nica Knite: nknite@caltrout.org or (619) 269-9207.

Filed Under: Southern California, Steelhead & Salmon Tagged With:

CalTrout Supporting SoCal Trout in the Classroom

July 14, 2011 Leave a Comment

CalTrout is a strong supporter of Trout in the Classroom (TIC) — a fun, innovative education program where K-12 students raise trout from eggs to fry — and then release them into a local body of water.

Not only do they witness the transformation of eggs to fish, they also learn about water quality (right in the fish tank), stream habitat restoration, water resources and the importance of healthy watersheds.

A joint fund with $1,000 in “seed money” has been established collaboratively by California Trout and the Southwest Council Federation of Fly Fishers to support & expand Trout in the Classroom to in Southern California elementary schools.

”The enthusiasm of students and teachers involved in TIC is manifest in the amazing variety and number of activities and projects,” said Nica Knite, CalTrout’s Southern California Regional Coordinator.

“Not only are teachers using TIC in the classroom, sometimes whole schools and even communities turn out for the release. Some have made release day a ‘mini-Earth Day,’ with educational booths, field projects, river clean-up and more,” said Knite.

“TIC crosses all scholastic disciplines and results in stronger understanding of math, science and social studies,” said Rich Bollinger, Southwest Council FFF volunteer coordinator.

Trout in the Classroom projects will be funded one-third by the combined Southwest Council FFF and California Trout fund, one-third by the class participating in the program and one-third by a local fly-fishing club. CalTrout is also host and facilitator of Trout in the Classroom projects in the Northern Sierra/Tahoe Region.

Filed Under: News, Southern California Tagged With:

CalTrout Supports Wild & Scenic Protections for Los Padres — If It Makes Sense…

June 28, 2011 1 Comment

Protecting Southern California Steelhead Could Mean Supporting — Or Opposing — A Los Padres Land Swap Deal…

California’s second largest national forest is found in Southern California: Los Padres National Forest (LPNF). This scenic public jewel extends nearly 220 miles across the Pacific Coast and Transverse Ranges, reaches over 8,800 feet in elevation, and provides habitat for 468 species of wildlife including our iconic Southern California steelhead.

Much of the headwaters of the Ventura River and Santa Clara River watersheds are found in Los Padres, and these precious areas need additional protections. Threats such as unauthorized off-road vehicle use and oil and gas drilling could be kept out of critical areas by applying federal Wilderness Act (1964) and Wild & Scenic River Act (1968) safeguards. Accordingly a few of our key partners in Santa Clara River work — Los Padres Forest Watch, Friends of the River, and Keep Sespe Wild — have joined in an effort to mobilize the Southern Los Padres Wild Heritage Campaign.

If the campaign is successful, a Congressional bill (Gallegly, R, Ventura Santa Barbara Counties) will be introduced and passed which applies Wild & Scenic River Act and Wilderness Act protections to more than a half dozen locations in LPNF and includes vital sections of Sespe and Piru Creeks and Matilija wilderness areas. Our partners and others have been working with Congressman Gallegly and his staff to draft the bill and garner support, but Gallegly’s support has a price tag.

For years, Gallegly has repeatedly attempted to pass a very different type of bill through congress – one that would authorize the swapping of Forest Service Lands in and around Piru Reservoir behind Santa Felicia Dam with other lands owned by United Water Conservation District (United).

On its face, the idea of giving United the lands under their water and giving the Forest Service “surface lands” might seem like a good idea. However, under the proposed swap United would also acquire 1 mile of perennial Piru Creek, and the Forest Service would largely acquire steep canyon slopes.

Even more importantly, if United eliminated the federal land ownership at Santa Felicia Dam or Piru Reservoir, they could then begin a process to eliminate the hard won protections in the National Marine Fisheries Service Biological Opinion for Santa Felicia which mandates critical Endangered Species Act protections for southern steelhead. Unless ESA protections could be assured and maintained, and a more equitable trade of lands could be arranged, the Land Swap is highly undesirable.

CalTrout and our partners have successfully stopped prior Land Swap bills, but this time there is the hint of a possible trade – Gallegly and United would support a Wild & Scenic & Wilderness bill if we would allow the Land Swap bill to proceed. We are working very carefully to examine options that would successfully eliminate any potential land swap negatives, and in turn provide maximum Wild & Scenic and Wilderness benefits.

This will, at the very least, be complicated. You may receive a Trout Clout email asking you to stop a bad bill — or support a good one.

Filed Under: Southern California, Steelhead & Salmon Tagged With: , ,

Southern California: Steelhead Coalition Meets

June 23, 2011 Leave a Comment

In 2000, after securing a federal “endangered” listing for Southern California steelhead, CalTrout helped found the Southern California Steelhead Recovery Coalition (SCSC)- a collection of more than 30 groups whose work related to and supported steelhead protection and recovery.

Informal chapters have naturally formed around local pockets of steelhead work, one of the most intense being on the Santa Clara River in Ventura and Los Angeles Counties — 13 members were present at the May 24th Santa Clara River Watershed Coalition meeting, and 21 groups have signed-up as Coalition Chapter members.

The group is crafting its priorities, but it’s already clear that CalTrout’s leadership in the protection and restoration of Southern California’s remnant steelhead populations has another friend.

Filed Under: Southern California, Steelhead & Salmon Tagged With: ,

It’s Not Too Late To Preserve Southern California Steelhead — But We Have To Stop Ignoring Them…

June 14, 2011 Leave a Comment

Southern California is home to a surprising number of steelhead streams, most of which are imperiled in one form or another. California Trout’s Southern California Region Manager Nica Knite is fighting to keep many of these heavily pressured populations alive, which often means balancing agricultural and residential uses of water from coastal streams.

In the case of Santa Clara River (which is blocked by the Freeman Diversion), she wrote a powerful editorial for the Ventura County Star about the challenges facing both agriculture and residential water users in Ventura County—which is once again overdrawing the water from its aquifer (from the Ventura County Star)

While the Freeman Diversion has been a key component in preserving the farming legacy on the Oxnard Plain up until now, other historic uses of the Santa Clara River, such as preserving the Southern California steelhead fishery, have been damaged or lost. Agriculture as well as other uses dependent upon water are facing serious threats in the near future.

We should be taking a lesson from neighboring Los Angeles and its use of eastern Sierra snow melt to support the unchecked demand of the city’s 20th century building and development boom. When the water managers initially devised plans to import water from Owens Lake, they never imagined that the demand would exceed the seemingly endless and annually replenished supply found in the lake.

In time, though, it did exceed the available resource, but failed to learn the lesson — Owens Lake was depleted and destroyed and Los Angeles started draining Mono Lake. In the 1980s, lawsuits filed by California Trout stopped the madness, requiring the replenishing of Mono Lake and leading to Los Angeles’ internationally recognized water conservation programs.

Ventura County is dominated more by farms than urban or suburban sprawl, but the formula and the result are the same. The water resources are finite and species, habitat and groundwater resources will be lost forever if we do not stop using more water than is available and can be maintained in the natural systems.

You can read the entire editorial here.

To learn more about CalTrout’s efforts to protect and restore wild trout, steelhead, salmon and their waters throughout California, visit its website, news feed, or sign up for our enewsletter.

Filed Under: Southern California, Steelhead & Salmon Tagged With: , ,

Scientists Find 12,000 Year-Old Fishing Gear In California

March 8, 2011 1 Comment

Though CalTrout is not (quite) 12 millennia old, it is comforting to know that people were fishing in California at least that long ago – at least if the 12,000 year-old fishing tackle recently found by scientists is any indication:

The astonishing discoveries, at three sites on Santa Rosa and San Miguel islands west of Santa Barbara, strongly support the theory that during an era when the first traces of humans appeared in the archaeological record in North America, a coastal culture existed that was distinct from the well-chronicled inland Clovis culture, which consisted of big-game hunters who subsisted on mastodons and other large mammals.

And you thought your fishing gear was old.

Filed Under: Fun, News, Southern California