Thank you to all our members and outdoor and angling industry supporters who signed our letters to Congress and urged them to protect our public lands. Despite our efforts, the Public Lands Act did not pass. We remain hopeful that with a new administration, we can pass Public Lands Act protections in the new year.
In February 2020, the House version of the Public Lands Act was incorporated and passed into the Protecting America’s Wilderness Act (PAWA; H.R. 2546) and later amended into the William M. Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (NDAA; H.R. 6395) by H. Amdt. 837.
In 2020, the House was an easier chamber to pass through environmental protections, and CalTrout now had to focus on getting the Public Lands Act protections through a difficult Senate.
In an attempt to move forward with the bill on the Senate side, CalTrout and our partners pushed to include operative language in the Senate National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
“For 59 straight years, the NDAA has passed because Members of Congress and Presidents of both parties have set aside their own policy objectives and partisan preferences and put the needs of our military personnel and America’s security first,” said House Armed Services Chair Adam Smith and ranking Republican Mac Thornberry.
Unfortunately, the Senate bill introduced by Senator Harris and Senator Feinstein was stalled. Below is the final letter we sent to Senator Dianne Feinstein, Senator Kamala Harris, The US. Senate Armed Services Committee and the US House Armed Services Committee.
Special thanks to the outdoor and angling industry leaders that supported our efforts to pass the Public Lands Act and to our CalTrout supporters who helped fuel our voices in Congress.
PLA Support Letter Angling Industry (Sen. Harris & Feinstein) signed
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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.