Owens River Protection

Mammoth Creek and the upper Owens River sit at the center of a decades-old tension familiar throughout the Eastern Sierra: the same water that sustains wild trout fisheries here is also claimed downstream by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, which has drawn on Owens Valley water since the early 20th century, and by the growing community of Mammoth Lakes itself.

In 2013, CalTrout played an instrumental role in brokering a settlement agreement between the Mammoth Community Water District, LADWP, and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife that was meant to resolve competing claims on Mammoth Creek's flows once and for all. But a settlement on paper only protects fish if it's actually carried out, and CalTrout's work here has shifted from negotiation to oversight: pressing for the Fisheries Enhancement Fund to be active and properly administered, for instream flow requirements to actually be met on the ground, and for Mammoth Creek's water rights to receive a formal "fully appropriated" determination that would help shield it from future over-allocation.

The stakes extend beyond any one species — Coastal Rainbow Trout and Lahontan Cutthroat Trout both depend on healthy flows here, in a landscape where residential development and urbanization continue to put pressure on the same limited water supply. Because Mammoth Creek and the Owens River drain into a closed basin with no natural connection to the growing communities that rely on them for both recreation and drinking water, holding the line on these settlement terms is really about keeping a fragile balance intact: one where Eastern Sierra communities get the water they need to grow, and the trout fisheries that draw anglers from across the state, and support local guiding and tourism economies, don't get sacrificed to make that possible.