by Nica Knite, Southern California Region Manager
The Southern California Steelhead Coalition (SCSC) is making a comeback! Though it was founded more than a decade ago, in recent years only remnants of the SCSC have functioned… Or at least until eighteen months ago, when a shift started taking place.
New ideas, new participants, and new life started to take root.
Under the leadership of CalTrout’s Southern California Region, the SCSC is reinventing itself with an expanded membership, a new, more-effective structure, and plans to “make steelhead waves” across the southland for years to come.
More than three dozen groups have signed up to participate in the SCSC, and 13 representatives attended our meeting this June.
“Chapters” are being formed in order to provide local forums for ALL conservation stakeholders in a watershed (or group of watersheds) to coordinate, partner, strategically plan, and support community movements for steelhead recovery.
The chapter plans are scalable for the coastwide SCSC, and members will be developing and implementing systematic, cyclical restoration and outreach activities.
The Santa Clara and South Orange/North San Diego Counties (SanDOC) Chapters are underway, the Ventura Chapter is starting up this summer, and Santa Barbara and Santa Monica Mountains Chapters will follow.
CalTrout is pleased that a cadre of fly fishing clubs and the Southwest Council of the Federation of Fly Fishers are participating in the SCSC.
The Southern California Steelhead Coalition will work to provide opportunities for all groups that share an interest in healing our watersheds and protecting our fisheries. Clearly, the engagement of our fly angling community members is greatly appreciated and we look forward to shared projects and high-quality outcomes for the benefit of steelhead.
Questions about participation in the Southern California Steelhead Coalition? Contact Nica Knite: nknite@caltrout.org or (619) 269-9207.
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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.