California to Consider Heightened Protections for Species of Spring Chinook and Summer Steelhead

Since this story was published, the California Fish and Game Commission approved the listing of these unique fish species.

Next week, on June 16th, the California Fish and Game Commission will decide whether to list Klamath Spring Chinook salmon and Northern California Summer Steelhead under the state’s Endangered Species Act. These species, well most species of steelhead and salmon in the contiguous United States these days, are in bad shape due to loss of habitat, development, climate change, and over-harvest. The California Endangered Species Act conserves and protects “plant and animal species at risk of extinction.” This listing will aid in controlling the decline of the salmonids in question and put them on the path towards recovery.


The Native Fish Society is advocating to list these fish based on their “unique life histories.” The group has organized a form letter to show members of the California’s Fish and Game Commission that these fish need to be listed to ensure conservation action is taken to protect them.

Kirk Blaine, Native Fish Society’s Southern Oregon Regional Coordinator, had this to say, “For years these fish have been suffering from declines. There are multiple limiting factors contributing to the decline. Listing these fish will be the first step in acknowledging they need our help and we are committing to restoring them to abundance. Collectively we must work together to find a solution to restoring these fish and implementing conservation actions that will keep them around for future generations.”

For more on this decision and how to comment, click here!

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Will Poston has been with us here at Flylords since 2017 and is now our Conservation Editor. Will focuses on high-profile conservation issues, such as Pebble Mine, the Clean Water Act rollbacks, recovering the Pacific Northwest’s salmon and steelhead, and everything in-between. Will is from Washington, DC, and you can find him fishing on the tidal Potomac River in Washington, DC or chasing striped bass and Albies up and down the East Coast—and you know, anywhere else he can find a good bite!

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