Search
Donate

Conservation is not possible without policy.

For 50+ years, CalTrout has been at the forefront of advocacy in California — and in 2025, we expanded advocacy efforts to Washington, D.C.

 Our policy priorities
Donate

Why advocacy?

The hands-on work of conservation only lasts when the law backs it up.

On-the-ground restoration and scientific research are often seen as the hands-on work of conservation. But they only happen, and only last, when the right laws, funding, and protections are in place.

For more than 50 years, CalTrout has been at the forefront of advocacy in California to safeguard wild fish and ensure clean water for all Californians. In 2025, we expanded our advocacy efforts to the nation’s capital in Washington, D.C., where we are building strong relationships with legislators and state and federal agencies to safeguard rivers, habitats, and public access.

POLICY MATTERS

Policy is not separate from conservation. It is conservation — written down, funded, and enforced.

WATCH · Advocacy in action

CalTrout has deep roots in using advocacy to create change.

With over 50 years of success behind us, we know we can accomplish great things.

50+

Years CalTrout has led conservation policy in California

59

Designated Heritage and Wild Trout Waters in California, policy spearheaded by CalTrout founders

2,000

River miles designated as Wild and Scenic Rivers, which CalTrout campaigned to become policy in the 1970s

1

Species, Southern Steelhead, listed under California’s Endangered Species Act after successful petition by CalTrout

Learn why our Director of Policy does this work

How WE work

Science, law, and community — at the state and national level.

Meaningful policy change relies on collaboration. Our advocacy work brings together policy expertise, hands-on conservation experience, legal action, scientific research, and community engagement that deliver tangible results for the diverse communities and wildlife of California.

At the state level, our Sacramento legislative office puts us in direct contact with legislators and agencies year-round — not just during key votes, but in the ongoing relationships where real policy is shaped. We meet with every representative, are respected by every agency, and tirelessly advocate for our science-based approach to protecting fish, water, and people. Federally, we engage policymakers in Washington, D.C., partner on national conservation initiatives so California’s freshwater priorities are represented, and educate national conservation leaders on CalTrout’s model of conservation.  

Our legal capacity mirrors that range. CalTrout maintains a strong internal legal team, supported by internal legal capacity, a network of external and pro-bono attorneys, and outside counsel. This infrastructure lets us move quickly — drafting and supporting legislation, challenging harmful actions in court, and participating in the regulatory processes where so much of conservation actually happens. 

Our consistent advocacy presence is how our science gets translated into funding, how our restoration projects get permitted and supported, and how the ecosystems we work to protect get the durable legal safeguards they need to sustain through changing administrations.

Where we focus

Five fronts. One throughline. Wild fish, clean water, public access.

Species protections & endangered species law

Water law & streamflow

Watershed designations

Outstanding National Resource Waters, Wild & Scenic rivers, etc.

Public lands protections

State budget & funding priorities

Advocacy

Protect Our Public Lands

Today, nearly half of California’s land and freshwater is protected as public land.

At CalTrout, we’re working to ensure that number only grows—because these landscapes are essential to the health of our rivers, our fish, and our communities.

learn more
Artwork by Paul Waters

Case study · When advocacy isn’t enough

Standing up in court for Southern California Steelhead.

Although collaboration grounds everything we do, not every conservation battle can be won through legislation. Sometimes the most important thing CalTrout can do is stand up in court — to defend a species listing, challenge a regulatory decision, or establish legal precedent that strengthens protections for years to come.

CalTrout led the effort to list Southern California Steelhead as endangered under the California Endangered Species Act (CESA). By successfully defending this listing in the California Superior Court in Los Angeles, this iconic species was granted important protections under the law — a critical step for species recovery.

2

legal victories over challenges to the listing

< 500

estimated Southern steelhead remaining in the wild

A Legacy Rooted in Advocacy

For more than 50 years, CalTrout has helped shape the future of California’s rivers through landmark policy victories, legal action, and science-based advocacy.

In 1971, CalTrout helped establish the California Wild Trout Program, making the protection of wild trout and their habitats official state policy. Just one year later, we secured our first legislative victory with passage of the California Wild & Scenic Rivers Act, permanently protecting thousands of miles of free-flowing rivers from future dams. During this same era, CalTrout also successfully advocated for California’s first-ever catch-and-release fishing regulations on the East Walker River, establishing bag limits, size restrictions, and artificial-lure-only requirements that helped redefine wild trout management across the state and the modern day angling ethic.

Our advocacy has also transformed California water law. Through the landmark Mono Lake cases, CalTrout helped uphold the Public Trust Doctrine, establishing that the health of rivers, lakes, fisheries, and wildlife must be considered alongside competing water demands. The precedent set by these decisions reshaped California water law and has influenced decades of environmental protections, guiding landmark cases and water management decisions across the state. We also played a key role in the 1997 federal listing of Southern California Steelhead as an endangered species, launching long-term recovery efforts for one of the state’s most imperiled native fish. In 2009, CalTrout helped stop a proposal to bottle water from the iconic McCloud River, protecting one of California’s most celebrated trout streams from large-scale water extraction.

Explore Caltrout’s History

In their words

“[The Mono Lake cases] CalTrout I and CalTrout II are, from a conservation perspective and especially in streams, a couple of the most important legal decisions that have been made in California.”

– Peter Moyle, UC Davis Watershed Center Co-Founder

Our work in action

Advocacy efforts, happening right now.

Different watersheds, different species, different questions. We pick the method that gets the cleanest answer for the place. Explore our portfolio of scientific work across the state.

Featured stories

Stories from the Field.

Latest science updates and insights from our team across California.

Support Science

Conservation policy is shaped year-round, not just
in headlines.

Subscribe to our newsletter to hear more from our policy team, follow active legislation, and join coalitions working to protect California’s rivers and native fish.

SUPPORT CALTROUT
subscribe

Search CalTrout

Start typing to search species, projects, stories, events, pages, people.