Salmon need our help. California Trout is proud to support the Karuk Tribe and the Salmon River Restoration Council efforts to list Upper Klamath-Trinity Rivers spring-run Chinook on California’s Endangered Species List. ESA listing would provide these iconic fish the protections they deserve and create opportunities to fund habitat restoration.
Take Action Now. CalTrout’s roots are in protecting California’s unique fisheries and we are thrilled to support this important effort to list a salmonid on the edge of extinction. We urge our members to help in the listing process by submitting written comments.
Why this is necessary. CalTrout believes that there is a substantial scientific basis to list the Upper Klamath-Trinity River spring-run Chinook and our SOS II Report outlines the critical level of concern surrounding them. The current population is at a record low and dams and diversions limit their access to spawning habitat making them vulnerable to extinction. Recently published peer-reviewed studies reveal that the Klamtah-Trinity spring-run Chinook are genetically distinct from fall run counterparts. This means we are at risk of losing important genetic information key to the long term survival of Klamath-Trinity salmon runs forever. Further, Klamath-Trinity spring-run Chinook are fundamental to the tribal cultures in the Klamath region who have relied on this fish as a staple food for millennia.
Written comments due by 5 p.m. on January 24. You may email to fgc@fgc.ca.gov or mail to:
California Fish and Game Commission
P.O. Box 944209
Sacramento, CA 94244-2090
Tell the Commissioners in person to protect Klamath-Trinity Spring-Run Chinook at the California Fish and Game Commission hearing on February 6 at 8:30 a.m. The meeting is at:
California Natural Resources Building
First Floor Auditorium
1416 Ninth Street
Sacramento, CA 95814.
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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.