Earlier this month, we called on you to help put an end to a sneaky bill provision that would fast forward the Shasta Dam expansion project and slip it past California’s laws, specifically violating the State Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. The response from our followers was incredible. Hundreds of you sent an email through our Action Alert to your representatives in Congress urging them to oppose the attached rider. If enacted, the rider would have pushed the project through more quickly, without demanding full up-front funding and despite objections from the state of California.
However, the battle to stop the expansion of Shasta Dam by 18.5 feet is not over. There is still $20 million in federal grant money that can be accessed for the project. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation will have to decide if it can be spent for initial work on the dam without violating federal cost-sharing rules. The project will still have to move through major legal and budget challenges that will likely cause delays, and hopefully end it altogether. You can fully expect CalTrout to remain committed and push back until it’s off the table and a California river is protected, at least for one more day.
Our rivers and fish are never saved; they’re always being saved (to paraphrase a quote by Peter Douglas, 30-year Executive Director of the Coastal Commission and champion defender of California’s coastal environment). Our work has it’s pay offs, but it is never finished.
Sincerely,
Thank you for your interest in the Eel River Forum! We looking forward to sharing meeting updates and other info from the Eel River watershed with you as they develop.
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Thank you for your interest in Big Chico Creek and the Iron Canyon Fish Passage Project! We looking forward to sharing project updates, news, and stories with you from the Big Chico Creek watershed as they develop.
Thank you for your interest in Big Chico Creek and the Iron Canyon Fish Passage Project! One of our staff members will do their best to get back to you as soon as possible. However, please note that due to limited capacity we may not be able to respond to all questions or fulfill all requests.
Let us know if you are interested in volunteering and we will get in contact with you as soon as we can.
Thank you for your interest in the Elk River! One of our North Coast Region staff members will do their best to get back to you as soon as possible. However, please note that due to limited capacity we may not be able to respond to all questions or fulfill all requests.
Peter Moyle is the Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the Department of Wildlife, Fish and Conservation Biology and Associate Director of the Center for Watershed Sciences, at UC Davis. He is author or co-author of more than 240 publications, including the definitive Inland Fishes of California (2002). He is co-author of the 2017 book, Floodplains: Processes and Management for Ecosystem Services. His research interests include conservation of aquatic species, habitats, and ecosystems, including salmon; ecology of fishes of the San Francisco Estuary; ecology of California stream fishes; impact of introduced aquatic organisms; and use of floodplains by fish.
Robert Lusardi is the California Trout/UC Davis Wild and Coldwater Fish Researcher focused on establishing the basis for long-term science specific to California Trout’s wild and coldwater fish initiatives. His work bridges the widening gap between academic science and applied conservation policy, ensuring that rapidly developing science informs conservation projects throughout California. Dr. Lusardi resides at the UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences and works closely with Dr. Peter Moyle on numerous projects to help inform California Trout conservation policy. His recent research interests include Coho salmon on the Shasta River, the ecology of volcanic spring-fed rivers, inland trout conservation and management, and policy implications of trap and haul programs for anadromous fishes in California.
Patrick Samuel is the Conservation Program Coordinator for California Trout, a position he has held for almost two years, where he coordinates special research projects for California Trout, including the State of the Salmonids report. Prior to joining CalTrout, he worked with the Fisheries Leadership & Sustainability Forum, a non-profit that supports the eight federal regional fishery management councils around the country. Patrick got his start in fisheries as an undergraduate intern with NOAA Fisheries Protected Resources Division in Sacramento, and in his first field job as a crew member of the California Department of Fish & Wildlife’s Wild and Heritage Trout Program.