CalTrout is an active supporter of Proposition 68, the California Clean Water & Safe Parks Act, as it heads toward the vote this June. As our Executive Director Curtis Knight explains, “we need this important funding to support our state’s water needs and struggling fish. This is a valuable investment in our water security.” Californians have a responsibility to act, especially since our state can no longer rely on the federal government to protect our resources.
If passed, $4 billion will be invested in protecting our own unique natural resources, fighting climate change, and ensuring every Californian has access to clean drinking water and safe, accessible parks. Of that, $1.6 billion will go towards ensuring clean drinking water, increasing local water supplies, and protecting our state from future droughts. Through critical and cost-efficient investments in water supplies and water quality, Prop 68 addresses water at its sources—rivers, lakes, streams, natural areas, and groundwater—and provides funds to make localities more self-reliant by increasing water capture and recycling.
Prop 68 will allow our organization to keep moving forward on projects that support habitat resiliency, resource enhancement, and climate preparedness, such as:
* Our work in Southern California planning for the removal of Matilija Dam to restore the Ventura River Watershed;
* Innovative efforts in the Central Valley helping to restore endangered salmon and improve agricultural practices;
* A South Coast Steelhead Coalition project CalTrout is involved in replacing a bridge on the Santa Margarita River that blocks the migration of Southern steelhead and puts the public at risk due to flooding after storms.
In this cycle we’re in of drought and extreme weather, now is a critical time to support this legislation to protect our communities from ecological degradation and flooding. Vote Yes on Prop 68 to provide a better California for future generations. We can give them the same chance to experience the natural wonders of California as we and our ancestors before us did.
