U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Declares Protection for California State Fish Unnecessary
Posted in Listing

On October 7, 2011, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ("Service") announced that the California state fish, the California golden trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss aguabonita), did not warrant listing under the federal Endangered Species Act because "conservation measures throughout the trout's historic range have done much to protect the species."   

In 2000, Trout Unlimited petitioned the Service to list the California golden trout citing habitat degradation from grazing, hybridization and introgression threats from introduced rainbow trout, predation and competition from brown trout, inadequate regulatory protections, and Whirling disease.  (See California Golden Trout Protection Not Warranted Questions and Answers (pdf).)  Two years later, the Service found (pdf) that the petition presented substantial scientific or commercial information to indicate that listing may be warranted. 

In the recent 12-month finding (pdf) declining listing, the Service noted a number of conservation measures that have taken place since the 2002 determination, including the completion of a revised Conservation Assessment and Strategy for the California Golden Trout (pdf), an agreement between the California Department of Fish and Game and the Forest Service to implement the Conservation Assessment and Strategy, and a number of coordinated activities undertaken pursuant to the agreement intended to benefit the species.  In light of these activities and their impact on the species, the Service determined that the California golden trout does not warrant listing at this time.

Twitter Facebook LinkedIn
Tags: Listing
  • Benjamin Z. Rubin
    Partner

    Ben Rubin is chair of Nossaman’s Environment & Land Use Group. Ben assists developers, public agencies, landowners and corporate clients on a variety of complex land use and environmental matters. He counsels clients on matters ...

Nossaman’s Endangered Species Law & Policy blog focuses on news, events, and policies affecting endangered species issues in California and throughout the United States. Topics include listing and critical habitat decisions, conservation and recovery planning, inter-agency consultation, and related developments in law, policy, and science. We also inform readers about regulatory and legislative developments, as well as key court decisions.

Stay Connected

RSS RSS Feed

Categories

Archives

View All Nossaman Blogs
Jump to Page

We use cookies on this website to improve functionality, enhance performance, analyze website traffic and to enable social media features. To learn more, please see our Privacy Policy and our Terms & Conditions for additional detail.