One of CalTrout’s major accomplishments has been achieving protection for the Golden Trout, the California state fish, through constant vigilance.
After six years of litigation led by CalTrout and a coalition of conservation organizations, Anheuser-Busch agreed to discontinue destructive grazing practices in the Golden Trout Wilderness. Ending these practices, which had destroyed the in-stream and riparian corridors of the South Fork of the Kern River and threatened the very existence of the California Golden Trout, was a major win for conservationists.
In its continued efforts to protect the state fish, CalTrout-led genetic sampling of Golden Trout beginning in 2004, and set the tone for a new era in conservation that provides innovative, science-based solutions. Genetic sampling enables researchers to estimate the level of hybridization with non-native trout and the amount of genetic diversity in a particular population. Hybridization can corrupt California Golden Trout’s native genes, which are highly evolved to the environmental conditions of the southern Sierra Nevada. Genetic diversity is important in native fish because it enables them to adapt to changing environmental conditions.
In 2007, as a result of the tandem restoration and scientific efforts embodied by the Golden Trout Program, CalTrout was awarded the Take Pride in America Award by the U.S. Department of the Interior. CalTrout and its partners in the project were honored in Washington, D.C. for “outstanding commitment to the stewardship of America’s public lands and natural and cultural resources.”
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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.