Martis Creek Reservoir (Martis Lake) was selected as the first designated Wild Trout lake by the CA Department of Fish and Game in 1974, after CalTrout proposed that DFG embark on an expansion of the three-year-old statewide Wild Trout Program to include lakes for the first time.
Just as Hat Creek served as a model for the Wild Trout rivers, Martis Lake was a pilot for future lake management. Special regulations were imposed during a three-year study period, and in those three years, wild trout populations thrived and the fishing was deemed sensational. More lakes were added soon after, joining the fifteen streams which formed the backbone of the nationally acclaimed Wild Trout Program.
In 1978, DFG launched a progressive and dramatic new plan to manage Martis Lake for Lahontan cutthroat trout, which were listed as “threatened” by state and federal agencies and only existed in nearby Independence Lake. The project was billed as a smashing success with the angling returning as “nothing short of sensational ever since.”
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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.