CalTrout News
CalTrout’s 2026 Policy Priorities: Advancing Solutions for California’s Native Species and Wild Places
At CalTrout, restoration happens both on the ground and in the halls of government. Alongside our on-the-ground habitat and watershed recovery work across California, our Policy Team is actively supporting legislation that helps remove barriers to restoration and strengthen protections for our state’s native fish and wild places.
Redgie Collins, CalTrout's Vice President of Legal & Government Affairs, and Analise Rivero, CalTrout’s Associate Director of Policy, are showing up in the halls of Sacramento and Washington D.C., building strong relationships with legislatures and explaining to key decision-makers why thriving communities rely on thriving ecosystems.
Here are two bills in particular that we’re sponsoring in the 2026 legislative session that have the potential to create meaningful, long-term benefits for California’s freshwater ecosystems:
AB 2260 addresses a longstanding challenge in California water management: even when water is available during wetter winter months, small restoration projects often face years-long delays in securing the water rights needed to store and use that water for habitat enhancement. This delayed time frame has slowed efforts to implement proven restoration strategies like storage-and-forbearance projects, which help landowners and water users capture water in the wet season so they can reduce or eliminate diversions during the dry summer months, when species are especially vulnerable to low flows.
AB 2260 would create a new type of registration specifically for projects to restore fish and wildlife habitat, making it faster and easier to launch these efforts. The result is a win for fish and people alike: healthier streamflows for salmon and steelhead, more reliable seasonal water storage for landowners, and stronger resilience for communities that depend on functioning watersheds.
SB 1393 supports the continuation of California’s Steelhead Report and Restoration Card program, which plays a critical role in fisheries management. Data collected through steelhead report cards helps the California Department of Fish and Wildlife track angling trends over time and make informed regulatory and management decisions for steelhead rivers statewide. Because anglers’ submitted data directly influences how fisheries are managed, maintaining this program is essential to science-based stewardship. Revenue from card sales is also reinvested into steelhead fishery management and administration of the program itself, helping ensure continued support for monitoring and conservation efforts.
Together, these bills represent the kind of practical, science-based policy solutions CalTrout champions. In 2026, we will continue to forge strong relationships with decision-makers in California in and the halls of D.C. to advocate for policies to protect California and its inhabitants – fish and people alike.
Stay tuned for a more comprehensive list of all of the bills we’re supporting in the 2026 legislative session!
