Conservation

Just as the fish we seek are the bellwether of clean water and thriving ecosystems,

we fly fishers are the sentries for these treasured environments.

Join with us in our conservation and advocacy work to sustain our sport.

PCC Conservation Mission Statement

The Pasadena Casting Club seeks to protect, restore, and preserve the fish and habitats of the California fisheries important to the sport of fly fishing through conservation activities, including habitat restoration, environmental advocacy and education, and support of conservation organizations.

   Since its founding in 1947, one of the principal values of the Pasadena Casting Club has been conservation of the natural resources critical to our sport. Over the years the Club has initiated or participated in many conservation projects, with a special focus on the West Fork of the San Gabriel River. We have always had a special relationship with the West Fork, as it is a unique local wild trout stream.

   In the years following a disastrous silt release from Cogswell Dam in 1981 which destroyed the fishery, PCC worked with the Department of Fish and Wildlife and USFS to distribute 105 tons of gravel to create spawning areas, and to replant riparian vegetation and install signage. (See photos here.) As a result the West Fork recovered and was reopened in 1985. After many months of further collaboration, the West Fork Long-Term Management Plan was developed and adopted by the relevant agencies in 1989. It provides for the management of the West Fork as a wild trout, catch-and-release stream, and contains agreements about stream flows from Cogswell Dam and appropriate silt management. At that time, Jim Edmondson was our Conservation Chair and also a representative of CalTrout. He was a key member of the group which achieved this result, and his signature is on the West Fork Long-Term Management Plan.

   It is in the spirit of such effort and accomplishment that the Pasadena Casting Club continues its pursuit of conservation goals.

To fulfill the Conservation Mission, PCC will strive to engage in the following activities:

• Volunteer habitat work;
• Conservation education for members and the public;
• Advocacy for legislative and regulatory protections for the fish and habitats of our local, regional, and state sport fisheries, including advocacy of public access to fishing opportunities; and
• Cooperation and collaboration with conservation-focused organizations, such as California Trout, Trout Unlimited and Backcountry Hunters and Anglers.

Conservation Committee:

Ed Wallace - Chair

Jim Sadd

Steve Kuchenski

Bruce Langedyke

Scott Boller

Becky Rakisits

28 Mar 2024

To: California Fish and Game Commission

Via Email: fgc@fgc.ca.gov

From: Pasadena Casting Club

Subject: CESA listing for Southern Steelhead

Dear President Murray and Commissioners:

Pasadena Casting Club is a group of fly fishing enthusiasts dedicated to the art of angling

and casting, conservation, and education. The club was founded in 1947 and has over 350

members. We participate in conservation activities to maintain healthy streams and

fisheries, run programs to introduce veterans, women, and young people to fly fishing, and

serve our community by raising awareness of California’s fisheries and the habitat that

supports them. I am writing on behalf of our Board of Directors and our club to support

designating Southern California steelhead as endangered under California’s Endangered

Species Act.

We appreciate the extensive research performed by California Trout and the work

completed to submit the petition for listing in 2021. And we applaud the unanimous

decision that the California Fish and Game Commission made in April 2022 that stated

listing under CESA “may be warranted”. Now that the species status review has been

completed by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and supports the findings of

the petition, we request that the Commission act quickly to save this amazing fish.

Southern steelhead are an iconic native species in our region, and our members have

witnessed first-hand the loss of habitat and decline of the species in Southern California.

These fish are not just valued for their beauty and incredible toughness, but as an indicator

of the state of our watersheds. Although remarkably resilient, continued impacts on our

stream systems could result in the complete loss of this species unless they are protected.

We believe that protection for the fish will also provide water quality, watershed health,

recreation, and other benefits to all Californians.

For these reasons, Pasadena Casting Club supports California Trout’s recommendation that

Southern steelhead be listed as endangered in all waterways within their historic range

below natural or man-made barriers. California Trout chose this delineation thoughtfully,

so that fishing and continued management for rainbow trout, the freshwater form of this

species, will still be possible above these barriers.

Please act now to make protection of these amazing fish a conservation priority by listing

them as endangered under the state’s Endangered Species Act.

Sincerely,

Pasadena Casting Club

Edward E. Wallace

Conservation Chair

Cc: PCC Board of Directors

San Gabriel Canyon Sediment Management Plan 1997

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