This September, California Trout’s Central Valley Program was part of a diverse coalition of water, farming and environmental partners that traveled to Washington, D.C. to promote the benefits of floodplain reactivation and discuss federal support for scaling up floodplain efforts. The coalition included CalTrout’s own Dr. Jacob Katz and leaders from Northern California Water Association, Reclamation District 108, Ducks Unlimited, Audubon California, River Garden Farms and several Sacramento Valley landowners. The group’s whirlwind D.C. visit included meetings with members of Congress, federal agency decisionmakers and culminated in a packed Congressional Briefing on Floodplain Reconciliation in the House Natural Resources Committee room.
The group educated national leaders on the floodplain reactivation concept outlined how the federal government could help expand floodplain reactivation and showcased an unprecedented partnership of water, farming and conservation organizations. Over the last year, the coalition has seen significant progress at the state level to support floodplain reactivation as a water and ecosystem resiliency tool, this invitation to brief Congress and federal agencies have laid the foundation for similar support and enthusiasm at the national level.
“While in D.C. we met with decisionmakers from across the political spectrum – one minute we’re meeting the Assistant Secretary of the Department of Interior and the next we’re having a glass of wine with Senator Feinstein!” said Dr. Katz. “Thanks to win-win benefits, floodplain reactivation has garnered bi-partisan and truly diverse support in an age of heightened political division. This federal outreach effort brought us closer together as partners and exemplifies the power and broadening support for floodplain reactivation in the Sacramento Valley.”
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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.