High in the Walker Basin, where the Eastern Sierra spills across the California–Nevada border, an imperiled native trout is hanging on. Lahontan cutthroat trout (LCT) once thrived throughout the region’s high-elevation streams and lakes. Today, roughly 95% of their historic California habitat has been lost. Non-native trout introductions and decades of land use change pushed this ancient fish to the edge. Now, protecting the handful of isolated, fragile populations, is critical. CalTrout and our partners are working stream by stream to change that trajectory. Alongside the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, Trout Unlimited, and the Walker Basin Conservancy, and with funding from the Keefe Family Foundation, we’re reclaiming waters where LCT can build durable, self-sustaining populations. 

Other fish restoration news:

• California WaterBlog (UC Davis): A summer of opportunity at CWS