GSF Conservation
What Flows Around, Comes Around
A Guide to GSF and TU-San Diego Conservation Efforts
The addition of the Trout Unlimited Chapter to Golden State Flycasters in 2004 sparked our involvement in conservation issues around the county. Our two groups are stronger together in conservation. Whether you’re in to water quality testing in North County, building wildlife fences in the Sierras, tagging white seabass destined for release into the ocean, doing genetic sampling on Golden Trout populations in the wilderness, or teaching kids how to fly-fish, we need your help! The projects are diverse, but share the element of conservation--whether it’s improving local watershed dynamics or education.
Steelhead Recovery Efforts in San Diego County
The Trout Unlimited (TU) San Diego Chapter 920 has received a grant of $20,000 from California Department of Fish and Game to perform water quality monitoring and steelhead habitat assessment in the San Luis Rey River in northern San Diego County. GSF and TU volunteers in collaboration with San Diego Coastkeepr monitor water chemistry at nine sites every other month, including water temp, pH, dissolved oxygen, conductivity, phosphate, nitrate, total dissolved solids and bacterial populations. We will do macroinvertebrate collection at four locations in the San Luis Rey River starting in November 2008 to learn about long-term water quality health and what food sources are available for fish. Our studies link with ongoing water quality improvement programs in the San Luis Rey and extend recent field surveys by DFG that tracked seasonal water flow, identified physical barriers to fish passage and characterized candidate spawning areas. Thanks to our funding partners, and the many volunteers who have donated their time to these studies!
For more information have a look at our Steelhead Blog or contact Frank Kawasaki at frank_kawasaki@yahoo.com
Water Quality Monitoring
GSF and TU-San Diego volunteers are working with The Escondido Creek 
Conservancy and San Diego Coastkeeper to do water quality monitoring in Escondido Creek. This data contributes to a baseline record of water and habitat characteristics. Monitoring includes chemical analysis such as water temp, pH, dissolved oxygen, phosphate and nitrogen concentrations plus physical habitat assessment (what the river bottom and banks look like) with macroinvertebrate sampling in collaboration with San Diego Stream Team. Water chemistry is basically a snapshot of water quality, while the macro populations reflect long term health of the stream. We need more volunteers to do sampling! It's simple to get trained, and a fun day wading the creek and collecting data with friends. Contact Frank Kawasaki frank_kawasaki@yahoo.com for more information.
First Cast Program
GSF and TU-San Diego volunteers also teach youth flyfishing classes in the 
beautiful surroundings of Lake Cuyamaca near Julian. This class is essentially Flyfishing 101 for kids, and the students catch on to the basics in no time. In six hours, the students learn fly-fishing equipment, how to cast, tie a clinch knot, tie a wolly bugger, present a fly, and identify insects that trout love to eat. Then they got to fish in the lake at the end. More classes are on tap for 2007, contact Rod Hendrickson for more information and to join the cast of instructors.
Golden Trout Project
Our members have participated in summer weekend work parties with the Golden Trout Project in the southern Sierras. TU and CalTrout are assisting Cal Dept Fish and Game and the Forest Service in protecting and restoring the California Golden Trout. It’s a great way to head up to the hills, work, and fish some too. All of the activities involve active, outdoor activity, and some involve rigorous backpacking and/or hiking in the high country.
Volunteers
GSF and TU-San Diego members with an adventurous streak have trained in genetic sampling techniques by Cal Dept of Fish and Game. Volunteers learned to collect samples, record data, handle fish, and navigate through remote areas by GPS. Once trained, volunteers were assigned a monitoring area, and hiked in groups of 2-4 to remote areas to catch golden trout and collect genetic samples by taking small fin clips.
Water and Wine Program pdf download
Trout Unlimited California
In 2004, Governor Schwarzenegger signed “A.B. 2121,” which directs the State Board to adopt a policy for maintaining stream flows in North Coast streams by the beginning of 2008. Two thirds of the pending water right applications in the entire state are within the geographic scope which runs from San Francisco Bay to the Mattole River in Humboldt County. The policy will affect about 5,900 stream miles in 3.1 million watershed acres – an area the size of Connecticut, Delaware, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and Rhode Island. Trout Unlimited has been working with representatives from the wine industry and other stakeholders to propose common sense solutions for the A.B. 2121 policy. But the A.B. 2121 policy is only the first step. For more information on "A.B. 2121" please login to: www.waterrights.ca.gov/HTML/instreamflow_nccs.html
The "Water & Wine Program" grew out of TU’s discussions with representatives for the wine industry, and it will move beyond the confines of the traditional water right system. By working collaboratively with water users, TU hopes to achieve a new water future for California with the value of streams, tributaries and fish habitat as important as the vineyards that grace this land.
Conservation Report Update Sep. 2009
We just completed our third to the last water analysis trip to the San Luis Rey River for the Department of Fish and Game Steelhead Recovery Program. We were fortunate to have 11 GSF/TU Members volunteering their valuable time to collect water samples and record data. The volunteers included Jerry Wilson, Jay Hood, Bruce Jenkinson, Frank Grant and his son Brandon Grant, Dale Dalrymple, Malcolm McCollum and the 4 Team Leaders: Skip Price, Jack Marshall, Sandi Jacobson and Frank Kawasaki. All nine sites on the San Luis Rey River and tributaries Pauma Creek and Gomez Creek were visited and samples collected. We enjoyed an informal tailgate lunch of sandwiches, potato salad, chips and Sandi's favorite "BrownieBites".
Jack Marshall tutored an informal seminar on the art of fly casting, de-spite the welcome or unwelcome breeze, at the Park N Ride lot. We had plenty of time to socialize and discuss the experiences of the morning. Three of the Volunteers were first timers, but they picked up the routine readily. "Thank you Volunteers".
Our next two outings are scheduled for October 17 and December 12. Please put these dates on your calendar. I attended the California DFG sponsored Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Hearing in Carlsbad. The Hearing was to obtain input on creating fishery sanctuaries or protection zones for consideration by the DFG Commission at a future date. The DFG was in the process of developing an ap-proximate 11 square mile zone from Torrey Pines State Beach northward prohibiting surf fishing and off shore fishing along the Del Mar coastline. I watched one room of attendees move the southerly boundary of the no fish-ing zone northward until it started at an area close to Swami's Beach. I don't know what occurred in the other two rooms. I learned very quickly that in order to participate in these hearings effectively, you had to be there as an advocate very early in the begin-ning of the series. It was certainly an eye and ear opening experience for me to watch and hear the proceedings. I have to admit that many of the acronyms utilized during the course of the Hearing went over my head. It also became difficult to know whether I should represent the Golden State Flycasters as an advocate to develop some "no fishing" zones to protect the ecosystem food chain as a Conservationist, or speak as an advocate for recreational sport fishers. I even went through the process of contacting our Trout Unlimited National Office in Arlington, Virginia to verify if they had a National Policy that I could refer to in case I wanted to speak up on specific issues. TU National had no nat policy in regards to fish sanctuaries, but they did say that they are considering a need to develop one for the Northwest coast for the salmonids population that includes steelhead trout.
Lastly, I hope you saw the article on the front page of the San Diego Union related to the water needed for the steelhead in the San Luis Rey River at a time when we are experi-encing drought conditions. Steelhead have been listed as an "Endangered Species" in Southern California and it may have a priority in the decision making process by the Federal Government. Some or all of us may be af-fected by this controversy and we all need to be kept informed.