California Trout

California Trout
AbbreviationCalTrout
Formation1971 (1971)[1]
FounderRichard May[2]
Type501(c)(3) non-profit[1]
Legal statusNonprofit organization
HeadquartersSan Francisco, California
Region served
California[3]
MethodsHabitat restoration, advocacy
Executive director
Curtis Knight[1]
Staff60[1] (2023)
Volunteers75[1] (2023)
Websitecaltrout.org

California Trout (CalTrout) is a 501(c)(3) conservation nonprofit focused on protecting and restoring wild fisheries across California through habitat restoration, watershed restoration, and policy advocacy. Its projects have included dam removal, fish-passage restoration, meadow and estuary restoration, and conservation efforts for native trout, salmon, and steelhead.

History

In 1968, the Hat Creek Demonstration Project helped establish the concept of wild trout management in California and contributed to the eventual formation of California Trout.[4]

California Trout was established in 1971 by angler and conservationist Richard May after splitting from Trout Unlimited to form an independent organization focused on California's fisheries.[5][2]

In 2024, four hydroelectric dams were removed from the Klamath River, reopening more than 300 miles of habitat for native salmon and steelhead. CalTrout collaborated with numerous organizations on the effort.[6]

Programs

Work is organized around regional programs and statewide initiatives. The regions are North Coast, Central Valley, Sierra Headwaters, Bay Area, Mount Shasta–Klamath, South Coast, and Mount Lassen.[3]

Key initiatives include Protect the Best, Reconnect Habitat, Integrate Fish and Working Lands, Steward Source Water Areas, and Restore Estuaries.[7] Selected projects include:

Protect the Best

Alameda Creek (Bay Area): CalTrout participated in a decades-long effort to restore fish passage along Alameda Creek. Historically this creek produced the most steelhead and Chinook salmon in the San Francisco Bay watershed. In 2025, the final major fish barrier was removed, reopening access to upstream spawning habitat.[8]

Reconnect Habitat

Klamath River (North Coast): CalTrout was a partner in the removal of dams on the Klamath River, completed in 2024 in what has been described as the largest dam removal project in U.S. history. The multi-year effort also involved tribal nations, federal agencies, and conservation groups such as American Rivers.[6]

Santa Margarita River (South Coast): In San Diego County, CalTrout has led the Sandia Creek Drive Bridge Replacement Project on the Santa Margarita River, located within the Santa Margarita River Trail Preserve, which is owned and managed by The Wildlands Conservancy. The project, undertaken with partners including NOAA Fisheries and San Diego County, is designed to remove a long-standing barrier and reopen 12 miles of upstream habitat for endangered southern steelhead.[9][10][11]

Steward Source Water Areas

Sierra Meadows Strategy (Sierra Headwaters): CalTrout participated in the Sierra Meadows Partnership, a collaborative initiative supporting restoration and protection of Sierra Nevada meadows that store water, improve watershed health, and support native ecosystems.[12][13]

Restore Estuaries

Eel River Estuary (North Coast): CalTrout is a partner in the Cannibal Island Restoration Project in Humboldt County, a 795-acre effort to reconnect tidal wetlands in the Eel River estuary. The project, approved in 2025 with support from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the California Coastal Conservancy, is designed to restore habitat for salmon, steelhead, and other native species while improving flood resilience.[14][15][16]

Advocacy

In addition to restoration projects, CalTrout has been active in policy advocacy. In 2018, it joined Restore Hetch Hetchy in proposing limited public boating access on the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir for the first time, arguing that San Francisco had long benefitted from the water system but the American public had not.[17]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 2023 Form 990 Public Disclosure Copy (PDF) (Report). California Trout. May 1, 2025. Retrieved May 23, 2026.
  2. 1 2 "Fly Fisherman's 2022 Conservationist of the Year: Richard May". Fly Fisherman. February 3, 2022. Retrieved May 23, 2026.
  3. 1 2 "Our Regions". California Trout. Retrieved May 23, 2026.
  4. ↑ "CalTrout Gets its Feet Wet". California Trout. Retrieved May 23, 2026.
  5. ↑ Heaney, James (June 7, 1989). "Trout Group's Split Reflects Wider Division". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 23, 2026.
  6. 1 2 "After the Klamath River dams came down, salmon came back". High Country News. July 1, 2024. Retrieved May 23, 2026.
  7. ↑ "Key Initiatives". California Trout. Retrieved May 23, 2026.
  8. ↑ "Decades of Effort Restore Steelhead and Salmon Passage on California's Alameda Creek". NOAA Fisheries. May 21, 2026. Retrieved May 23, 2026.
  9. ↑ "The $18M Project to Protect Endangered Trout". San Diego Magazine. September 6, 2023. Retrieved May 23, 2026.
  10. ↑ "New Bridge on Santa Margarita River Will Enhance Important Steelhead Migration Corridor". California Trout. January 31, 2024. Retrieved May 23, 2026.
  11. ↑ "Over $13 Million Recommended for Funding CalTrout-Led Fish Passage Projects". California Trout / NOAA Fisheries. December 16, 2022. Retrieved May 23, 2026.
  12. ↑ "Sierra Meadows Strategy". California Trout. Retrieved May 23, 2026.
  13. ↑ "Meadow restoration in the Sierra-Cascade—keeping the momentum flowing". Sierra Nevada Conservancy. November 28, 2023. Retrieved May 23, 2026.
  14. ↑ "County approves permit for Cannibal Island Restoration Project". Redheaded Blackbelt. April 14, 2025. Retrieved May 23, 2026.
  15. ↑ "795-acre Cannibal Island restoration project moves forward". KRCR. April 15, 2025. Retrieved May 23, 2026.
  16. ↑ "Cannibal Island Restoration Project CEQA Documents". California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Retrieved May 23, 2026.
  17. ↑ "A historic bid for limited boating at Hetch Hetchy Reservoir". San Francisco Chronicle. September 28, 2019. Retrieved May 23, 2026.

Further reading

  • Tight Lines – A History of California Trout. California Trout, 2016. Online version
  • California Trout 50th Anniversary Timeline. California Trout, 2021. Online version
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