Governor Jerry Brown recently appointed Chuck Bonham to to head the Department of Fish & Game, and at CalTrout, we couldn’t be more pleased.
Our close working relationship with the California Chapter of Trout Unlimited and Chuck Bonham made it very easy to support Mr. Bonham’s appointment, and in fact, we worked tirelessly behind the scenes to bring this to fruition.
We believe California’s Department of Fish & Game couldn’t be in better hands.
The State’s Press Release
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August 26, 2011
Today the Governor announced his appointment of Chuck Bonham to the position of Director of the Department of Fish and Game (DFG). Mr. Bonham has served in multiple positions at Trout Unlimited (TU) since 2000, including California Director and Senior Attorney.
As state director, Bonham was responsible for developing, implementing, and managing all of TU’s programs in California. These programs include TU’s California Water Project, Sportsmen’s Conservation Project, and restoration and watershed projects in both northern and southern California.
Bonham also serves on the board of directors of the Delta Conservancy.
Mr. Bonham has been a leader in many of the most ambitious water, land, and fish restoration efforts in California in the last decade, including: the development of the Yuba Accord (winner of the 2009 Governor’s Environmental and Economic Leadership Award); the Klamath River restoration initiative to secure the nation’s largest dam removal and river restoration project while ensuring sustainable local communities; and, the formation of the Pacific Forest and Watershed Lands Stewardship Council during the energy crisis in the early 2000s to permanently protect 140,000 remarkable acres of watershed lands and invest in outdoor programs that serve California’s young people.
He received his J.D. and Environmental and Natural Resources Law Certificate from the Northwestern School of Law of Lewis and Clark College, in Portland, Oregon. He served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Senegal, West Africa.
Mr. Bonham’s appointment requires Senate confirmation.
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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.