Upper S. Fork Smith Heritage Trout Designation (ARCHIVED ACTION)

Upper South Fork Smith Heritage Trout Designation

Comments Due: October 18, 2016 (Please scroll down to sign)

The California Department of Fish and Game Commission will consider Heritage Trout designation at its October 2016 meeting, for the Upper South Fork of the Smith above Black Hawk Bar, including tributaries. The nominated reach provides anglers with the unparalleled opportunity to see or catch one of California’s most prized trout – the Coastal Cutthroat Trout in a Wilderness setting filled with solitude, tremendous beauty, and extraordinary biodiversity.

Most of the proposed area considered for designation is located inside the Siskiyou Wilderness, created in 1984. The Wilderness Area spans three national forests for a total of 182,802 acres. It includes one the richest temperate coniferous forests in the world and the record for annual rainfall (240”) was recorded nearby in the watershed. The amazing biodiversity here is due in part to the fact that the region escaped extensive glaciation during the last ice age.

Heritage Trout Waters recognize the beauty, diversity, historical significance and special values of California’s native trout across the state. Statewide there are eleven designated streams which include the Clavey River, a tributary of the Tuolumne River, the Golden Trout Creek, including tributaries, from its confluence with the Kern River upstream to the headwaters, and the Upper Kern River, above the Forks of the Kern. All of these rivers are wild and alive with unique native fish, all an important part of our California history.

Without question, the Smith should join this esteemed group of rivers. The Heritage Trout designation requires a candidate for designation be home to a native trout within their historic range. For the Smith that fish is the Coastal Cutthroat Trout, Oncorhynchus clarki clarki. Coastal cutthroat trout are anadromous (though not always) and are found in the coastal watersheds of northern California.

The Upper South Fork Smith is absolutely a deserving nomination at this time.