Save the Southern California Steelhead
California Fish and Game Commission
California Trout is leading the effort to have Southern California steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) listed as endangered under the California Endangered Species Act.
CalTrout used the best-science available to support our petition. Listing this species as endangered will be the first step that California state agencies use to inform future management decisions. It will allow agencies to prioritize funding for restoration and ensure any projects in the fish’s range avoid adverse impacts to the population. Moreover, the listing provides acknowledgement of the species’ fundamental importance and their dire situation. We drew upon the drive and immense work of our partners in conservation and the innate desire of this state’s citizens to protect the amazing natural diversity of the landscapes we inhabit as the impetus to take this step. We need your help. The Fish and Game Commission needs to hear that allowing this species to disappear is not acceptable.
Sponsored by
To:
California Fish and Game Commission
From:
[Your Name]
Dear President Silva and Commissioners:
As a California resident, I write in support of designating the Southern California steelhead as endangered under California’s Endangered Species Act.
Southern California steelhead are an iconic native species. These fish are one of the best indicators of the greater health of the whole watershed. Southern California watersheds provide countless societal and economic benefit for our entire state, and we prosper when rivers and waterways in key locations are thriving.
However, Southern California steelhead populations are in danger of extinction within the next 25-50 years due to anthropogenic and environmental impacts threatening their recovery. Since its listing as an endangered species in 1997, Southern California steelhead abundance has continued to decline to precariously low levels. Allowing this species to disappear is not acceptable.
California Trout is recommending that Southern California steelhead be listed as endangered in all waterways within historic range below natural or man-made barriers. CalTrout chose this delineation specifically so that fishing for rainbow trout, the freshwater form of this amazing species, would still be possible above these barriers.
It’s not too late to save the Southern California steelhead from becoming extinct. Please make protection of these amazing fish a conservation priority by listing them as Endangered under the state’s Endangered Species Act.
Sincerely,
California Resident