California Trout

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

California Trout is a San Francisco-based 501(c)(3) conservation group dedicated to “protecting and restoring wild trout and steelhead waters throughout California”.

Initially organized as a local unit of Trout Unlimited, the founders formed CalTrout during Christmas week of 1970 and filed papers of incorporation the following January. Among its officers and board members was a doctor, an insurance broker, a public relations executive, a tackle shop owner and a real estate agent.

Today the organization boast over 7000 dues-paying members, four regional offices and a full-time presence in Sacramento.

Organizational highlights include:

1972 - Led the charge for the creation of the California Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.

1979 - Sponsored the Trout and Steelhead Conservation and Management Act. Signed by Governor Jerry Brown, the law made wild trout management state policy.

1990-91 - Won two lawsuits to return water to four tributaries of Mono Lake. This water had been diverted to Los Angeles for decades, depleting several blue-ribbon trout fisheries and dropping water levels for Mono Lake. In legal circles, these precedent-setting rulings are known as CalTrout I and CalTrout II.

2001 - Helped craft the Heritage Trout Program within the California Department of Fish and Game. The program protects California's eleven native trout species.