The following provides a summary of California Trout's Long Range Goals as identified in our 2004-2006 Strategic Plan.

Goal 1: Protect and Restore Priority "Pockets" (or Regions) of Wild Trout and Steelhead.

Goal 2: Protect and Restore Water Flows for Wild Trout and Steelhead.

Goal 3: Ensure Effective State Wild Trout and Steelhead Management.

Goal 1: Protect and Restore Priority "Pockets"
Less than one hundred years ago, California's diverse landscape was connected by healthy ribbons of water - rivers that flowed naturally from the high Sierra through the arid Central Valley to the Pacific Ocean. These rivers supported an abundance and variety of wild trout and steelhead. In fact, California is home to more native species of trout than any other state in the nation.

Today, after a century of development, massive population growth, and manipulation of the state's waterways, California's wild trout and steelhead habitats are fragmented and degraded. All that remain are discrete, vulnerable habitat areas or "pockets," such as the Eastern Sierra, the Mount Shasta Area, the North Coast, and the Central Valley. Within these remnants are the last vestiges of wild trout and steelhead habitats. Without protection and restoration, these habitats will further deteriorate rendering them unfit to support the remaining fish populations.

In 2004, CalTrout embarked on a long-term plan to systematically secure protection for priority watersheds in the remaining pocket areas, including:

• The Eastern Sierra, which hosts the Upper Owens River, Mono Lake and its tributaries, Crowley Lake, and Hot Creek (one of the most heavily fly-fished stretch of water in the state).



• The Mount Shasta Area, which includes Hat Creek, the first state-designated Wild Trout Creek in California and the famed McCloud, Upper Sacramento, Pit, and Fall Rivers.



• The North Coast, which hosts some of the most renowned Pacific steelhead waters in the country, including the Smith, Trinity, Garcia, Gualala, and Eel Rivers. These watersheds also serve as a vital habitat for the coastal cutthroat trout.



• The South Coast, which contains the last remaining habitat of the endangered Southern California steelhead, the strain of Pacific steelhead from which all others evolved.



• The Golden Trout Wilderness, the remaining habitat of California's unique state fish, the California golden trout -- a fish that brings anglers from all over the world to California.

CalTrout plans to add more pockets (including the Tahoe/Truckee area, the Central Valley, and the Central Coast) in the future and, ultimately, reconnect these habitats, so that the state's wild trout and steelhead can, once again, swim from the Sierra to the sea.

Defining Pocket Boundaries
California is a vast state with varying areas of distinct biodiversity. Dividing the state into manageable pockets that have common habitat elements allows CalTrout's regional staff to efficiently establish and execute successful conservation projects. It also enables the regional staff to collaborate with the overall organization through a strategic process which includes: assessing protection and restoration needs; prioritizing projects to be completed; assembling resources to conduct projects; and executing and monitoring. Finally, it will enable regional staff to build ties to the community in a pocket area to support project work and to enable CalTrout to build awareness, enhance its reputation, secure funding, educate the public, and expand membership.

The concept of "pockets" of wild trout can be equated to the concept of refugia in conservation theory. Refugia are areas of last remaining biological integrity.

Goal 2: Protect and Restore Water Flows for Wild Trout and Steelhead.
California's water situation is among the worst in the world. It is one of the largest economies on earth, but its climate is primarily arid or semi-arid. It is only through a massive manipulation of the state's rivers and streams that this transformation was made possible. With over 1,200 reservoirs across the state, California has forged an unprecedented plumbing system to deliver water to the largest agricultural producers in the U.S. and to some of the largest cities in the world.

CalTrout cannot possibly address the entire water situation in California. However, we can build effective partnerships and innovative strategies to provide healthy water flow for fish by: 1) reforming hydropower and 2) returning water to rivers and streams.

Objective 1: Reforming Hydropower
CalTrout has been involved in hydropower reform since before the release of its 1998-2002 Strategic Plan, and it will continue to remain one of CalTrout's highest priorities.

Hydropower dams affect every major river in California and have substantial impact on the State's wild trout and steelhead populations. Dams submerge rivers and streams, block fish migrations, and reduce or eliminate downstream water flows that are essential for trout and steelhead survival. In the Sierra Nevada alone, dams have flooded and blocked over 90% of the rivers that drain this majestic mountain range.

Many of California's dams were built to generate hydropower, particularly along the western slope of the Sierra Nevada. Most hydroelectric facilities on our nation's rivers operate under licenses issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Under the authority of the Federal Power Act (FPA), FERC issues hydropower licenses for terms of up to 50 years. Over the past century FERC has issued licenses to develop hydropower in virtually every major California watershed. Most of these licenses were issued with little thought to the impact on the health of trout and steelhead river ecosystems.

Between 2004 and 2010 dozens of FERC licenses, representing over 100 dams, will be up for renewal. This renewal cycle offers an unprecedented opportunity for CalTrout (and others) to compel FERC to use the best science available in determining fishery needs and in establishing ecologically-based in stream flow requirements for decades to come. This is a high priority. Currently, we are involved in FERC re-licensing efforts on the Pit, Klamath, Feather, Eel, and Santa Ana Rivers and Hat Creek. For trout, potential benefits include more water, cooler temperatures, more food and better habitat. For anglers, the benefit will be more abundant, healthier fish.

Campaigns for Objective 1: Reforming Hydropower
CalTrout will continue in its role as a Steering Committee member of the California Hydropower Reform Coalition (CHRC), negotiating with licensees and FERC for healthy water flows below dams. CalTrout will also utilize the FERC negotiating process to secure mitigation projects that benefit wild trout and steelhead. CalTrout will primarily focus on, but not limit itself to, licenses within its pocket areas. Upcoming FERC licensing renewals in which CalTrout will participate are as follows:

Objective 2: Returning Water to Rivers and Streams
A variety of users reap the benefits of California's developed water system, including industry, municipalities, and residential users. Agriculture, however, utilizes more than 80% of the human developed water in California. This 80% supports an industry which produces 50% of America's fruits and vegetables and nine of the top ten farm products in the nation. Agriculture is clearly important to California's economy. However, water conservation is critical to healthy fisheries. CalTrout will develop a long-term program to collaborate with irrigators, farmers, agriculture trade organizations and others to identify mutually beneficial solutions to reducing water use, while also reintroducing water into rivers and streams to support wild trout and steelhead fisheries.

In 2004, CalTrout researched opportunities and program needs (including staff and expertise) for an instream flows program. CalTrout will establish the program in year 2 (2005). A key component of the research will focus on the development of an advocacy campaign aimed at ensuring adequate water flows for wild trout and steelhead.

CalTrout will announce in future issues of the Streamkeepers Log its research findings and plans for this objective.

Goal 3: Ensure Effective State Wild Trout and Steelhead Management.
The state agency most directly responsible for protecting and restoring wild trout and steelhead in the state is the California Department of Fish and Game (DFG). Unfortunately, DFG is more sorely under-funded and under-staffed than ever before. Already the DFG has lost nearly half of its professional wild trout staff and over thirty enforcement positions. Further cuts to the DFG budget may reach beyond 50% of its general fund once the state makes its final 2004 budget decisions. Given these dramatic cuts it is unlikely that DFG will maintain adequate staff to effectively comment on important environmental-related procedures, such as FERC re-licensing, timber harvest plans, gravel mining operations, and water diversion proposals. It is also likely there will be little or no money to implement either the Coho or Steelhead Recovery Program recommendations (a process in which CalTrout has spent considerable time, energy, and finances to protect steelhead), to implement any components of the Heritage Trout Program, or to implement management plans under the Wild Trout Program. Without concerted action on the part of CalTrout, its partners and supporters, and others to reinstate financing of key DFG programs, the Department's effectiveness could slip even further.

Effective collaboration with DFG is possible, however, even in such tight budgetary times. CalTrout (along with TU and FFF) began collaboration with DFG in 2003 on the Department's Strategic Trout Plan (which was approved by the Acting Director in January). CalTrout will now focus on further collaboration, pursuing the ultimate aim of having a Wild Trout Program, Heritage Trout Program, and Steelhead Recovery Program that are efficient and effective.

CalTrout will mobilize its staff, members, volunteers, and the public to successfully advocate for a more balanced approach (between hatchery and wild trout and steelhead) of DFG management, with the specific aim of ensuring that the Wild Trout Program, the Heritage Trout Program, and the Steelhead Recovery Program are, not only established, but are also adequately funded, managed, implemented, and monitored.

CalTrout's State Management program will be divided into two campaigns:

Campaign 1: Overarching Re-prioritization of Department of Fish and Game programs, appropriations, policies, and oversight (referred to as DFG WILD TROUT AND STEELHEAD PRIORITIZATION CAMPAIGN below).

Campaign 2: Collaboration with DFG personnel at the administrative level to develop and implement its Trout Strategic Plan, Wild Trout Program, Heritage Trout Program, and Steelhead Recovery Program (referred to as DFG COLLABORATION CAMPAIGN below).