CalTrout is launching a new regional conservation program focused on efforts in the San Francisco Bay Area, headed by Program Manager, Patrick Samuel. Patrick has recently completed an eight-month fact-finding mission – meeting with stakeholders and conducting site visits throughout the greater Bay Area – to assess fisheries conservation, restoration, and educational outreach opportunities from Marin to Santa Cruz counties. The addition of the Bay Area program brings the number of CalTrout’s regions to six along with North Coast, Mt. Shasta/Klamath, Central Valley, Sierra, and South Coast.
The Bay Area program will implement a mix of restoration projects in highly productive estuaries and heavily altered urban/rural watersheds both on the coast and in San Francisco Bay itself, and develop targeted outreach and education on how the salmon and steelhead in our backyards are indicators of healthy watersheds that we all depend upon.
This region is critical to addressing the recovery of critically endangered Central California Coast (CCC) coho salmon and Central California Coast steelhead. Marin County is the southernmost extent for wild CCC coho salmon. According to the 2017 State of the Salmonids report by CalTrout and UC Davis, their populations have declined in excess of 95% in the last half-century due to habitat degradation, dewatering, and impacts from climate change − increased stream temperatures, streamflow variability, and changing ocean conditions – that dictate salmon growth and survival. Nearly all the remaining CCC streams with coho have populations of fewer than 100 spawning adults, unless enhanced through hatcheries. The Bay Area program will prioritize watersheds for restoration that have the most promising potential to support salmon recovery and are in most need of attention. These areas will include estuaries, critical land-sea interface habitat for salmon rearing and growth; working agricultural and ranching landscapes surrounding coho streams; and waterways that have been blocked by infrastructure, prohibiting volitional fish passage.
Stay tuned to find out where CalTrout is considering conservation efforts in coastal and San Francisco Bay watersheds. We’ll be announcing more information in the Spring 2018 issue of The Current, CalTrout’s quarterly e-magazine.
We’d like to hear from you! What aspect of CalTrout’s Bay Area Conservation Program is most important to you? Please take our survey.
Check out Patrick’s photos from his site visits:
Complete the form below to be added to our volunteer database, with options to choose your interest areas and availability. You’ll be added to our volunteer mailing list and notified when there are opportunities in your region. Commitment levels vary, with some opportunities requiring more in depth training, while others you only need to show up.
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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.