Page 23 - 2015 Annual Project Review

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA REGIONAL GOAL
Leverage CalTrout’s sustained presence in SoCal to increase awareness of state water issues amongst Southern California legislators, establish legal precedent on important statewide fish and water issues, establish CalTrout as a leader on state/local fish and water issues, and empower local groups to restore Southern steelhead habitat.
KEYSTONE INITIATIVE
Legislative Relations
Raising Awareness Among Key Influencers.
Two-thirds of the legislators in Sacramento are from Southern California. Their knowledge of fish and water issues is limited and this directly impacts CalTrout’s ability to promote and establish progressive statewide fish and water policies. CalTrout is an established leader on water issues in Sacramento and has a long-history of working in Southern California. Our Southern California staff and the Executive Director will work closely with our Sacramento based consultants (EEC and CNRG) to build relationships with Southern California legislative leaders in Sacramento to raise
awareness about fish and water issues and underscore why these issues are important to people in Southern California. CalTrout works to implement legislative outreach: attending relevant legislative hearings, identifying their environmental priorities and targets, educating staff on CalTrout’s proof-of-concept work.
KEYSTONE INITIATIVE
Legal Precedent
Safeguarding Environmental Compliance.
Southern California streams are heavily impacted and harbor federally and state Endangered Species Act listed Southern steelhead in low numbers. This combination tests the boundaries of legal protection for fish-water issues statewide. CalTrout has a history of legal involvement in Southern California (Mono Settlement, Casitas case, Vern Freeman Diversion) and will continue to identify and pursue legal cases that resolve key issues and establish statewide legal precedent especially for enforcement of ESA and Fish and Game Code 5937.
Santa Ynez River/Hilton Creek Litigation
LONG-TERM GOAL
Ensure adequate flows are sustained in Hilton Creek in order to protect steelhead habitat and promote Southern steelhead recovery in the Santa Ynez River watershed.
RECENT ACCOMPLISHMENTS
California Trout, represented by the Environmental Defense Center (EDC), filed a lawsuit on October 6th against the United States Bureau of Reclamation (BOR), alleging that the Bureau violated the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) by causing the deaths of hundreds of endangered Southern California steelhead trout at Hilton Creek, below the Bradbury Dam and Cachuma Reservoir in Santa Barbara County. Between March 2013 and June 2014, the Bureau’s water pumps continually failed, causing Hilton Creek to run dry, and contributed to the death of at least 390 steelhead. California Trout filed its lawsuit to force the Bureau to make the repairs and to conduct a consultation with the National Marine Fisheries Service, which has jurisdiction over the species. The suit follows a “Notice Letter” that was sent in May 2014 demanding that the Bureau make the necessary repairs to the pumps and back-up systems.
On March 26, 2015, CalTrout, represented by EDC, filed an opposition to the BOR’s motion to dismiss.
WHAT WE WILL ACHIEVE IN 2015-16
• Ensure implementation of the consent decree/settlement agreement, yet to be determined by current ESA Hilton Creek litigation against the BOR.
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