June Mountain

A word from CalTrout’s ED, Curtis Knight

The end of August means back-to-school and returning from vacations. It represents a return to normalcy and a time to lean into the work at hand. For CalTrout, late August coincides with our annual staff retreat when we set aside three days to gather together and reflect on the past year and the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. Every year we choose a location that helps connect us to our heritage as an organization and provides a chance to see some of our projects first-hand.

This year, we trekked to Mammoth Lakes from all corners of the state to have a look at the great work being done out of our Eastern Sierra office. The Mono basin has special meaning for CalTrout as an organization. It’s the site of one of our greatest victories – CalTrout v Los Angeles Dept. of Water and Power – the landmark case that further established the legal principle of water as a “public trust” (including the fish that swim in that water), and that led to the rewatering of the Rush Creek watershed. Because of CalTrout’s efforts, Rush Creek is flowing at a healthy clip again, carving out new channels lined with young willow shoots and bringing fresh water into Mono Lake – which had been on the brink of ecological collapse.

As we stood in the middle of the high desert landscape and saw the cold, clean water flowing out of the mountains into the Rush Creek return ditch, it reminded us how important our efforts have been in advocating for more equitable water use that supports healthy ecosystems and living landscapes. We also had a chance to check out the June Mountain project site, where our partnership with June Mountain Ski Area and the Forest Service has resulted in an innovative forest fuels reduction project that will result in lowered fire risk, defensible space for the town of June Lake, and protect the local community’s water supply.

Being a CalTrout family reunion of sorts, we also had a chance to fish. If you haven’t had a chance to experience Eastern Sierra waters like Hot Creek, the Upper Owens, and the East Walker, do yourself a favor. And when you’re casting tiny mayflies to pods of rising fish, or throwing a hopper up against a cut bank, look around and take in the majesty of the snow-capped mountains and remember that these landscapes and experiences are not guaranteed for future generations but depend on our collective efforts to protect and reclaim them.