The adage of “give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime” is a metaphor for the health of our native fish which is deeply connected to the health of our ecosystems, communities and economies across the state. Protecting California’s trout, salmon and steelhead is essential for a healthy and thriving California for all. (Photo: the Klamath River.)
This topic was easy for me to jump into since I have been a fly fisherman my entire life. John Gierach beloved fly - fishing author had a wonderful quote “the purpose of fly fishing isn’t to catch fish, it’s to go places where fish are caught”. The irony of this quote is that without a healthy environment there are no fish.
This topic came about after we had a Meet & Greet Sierra Club meeting with a wonderful array of speakers including Charlie Schneider Connectivity Program Manager from CalTrout, FISH-WATER-PEOPLE.
Charlie spoke on a plethora of exciting and generationally changing subjects, impacting river restoration projects in a very positive way for California. For more detailed information regarding these innovations check out CalTrout’s amazing educational website caltrout.org. Two areas I want to touch upon Is the Klamath River and the Eel River Restoration Project. (Photo: the Eel River.)
This past October marked the first anniversary since the removal of the four lower Klamath dams, and scientists, advocates and Tribes are celebrating dramatic ecological improvements for the Klamath River from improved water quality, colder water temperatures and a rapid return of native salmon populations to previously blocked habitats. The first salmon in more than a century is believed to have pushed up the Klamath River into waters formerly blocked by dams. Damon Goodman, Shasta-Klamath Director for California Trout said, “what we witnessed was extraordinary, the river came back to life almost instantly, and fish returned in greater numbers than anyone imagined”. The combination of cooler, cleaner, and healthier water is creating a resilient, thriving future for both fish and people. Mother nature has an amazing propensity to heal herself quickly when its natural habit has been restored.
Charlie from CalTrout also mentioned the importance of supporting the Eel River Watershed restoration and conservation program. The Eel River epitomizes everything good about salmon in California. Lying at the heart of California’s North Coast Region, the Eel spans five northern counties and 3,684 square miles making it California’s third largest watershed. The Eel River basin once possessed significant populations of at least five distinct kinds of anadromous salmonids. The Eel River Restoration project is under review by FERC staff (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) for the dam removal process. Public comments supporting this project ends November 30th, 2025. (Photo: Rich Richardson catches - and then releases - a trout fish.)
After doing the research for this article I cannot wait to get back in the water, I can almost hear the rivers and streams running and the smell of the trees and the freshness of moving cold water and fish jumping for joy in the distance at being home again. “Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it, - Norman Maclean”.
I want to close with a quote from one of my all-time favorite writers and legendary conservationist Aldo Leopold, this quote is from his book a Sand County Almanac. I read this book when I was attending the College of the Redwoods in Eureka, CA.
Like winds and sunsets, wild things were taken for granted until progress began to do away with them. Now we face the question whether a still higher ‘standard of living’ is worth its cost in things natural, wild and free”. For us of the minority, the opportunity to see geese is more important than television, and the chance to find a Pasque-flower is a right as inalienable as free speech.
I hope to see you on the water or on a hike!
Rich