Relationship-building Produces Results
Hat Creek's wild trout water languished through the 90s and into the early years of the new century. Visitors fished in the Powerhouse Riffle, largely unchanged by the sediment passage. A few expert anglers prowled the flatwater in the evenings, looking for one of the remaining large rainbows or browns quietly feeding in a protected lie. Meanwhile, the popularity of the Pit continued to grow. Spring creek enthusiasts wishing to match the hatch among selective trout, migrated east to the Fall River Valley.
In 2001, in response to the overwhelming evidence of the decline of this once great fishery, the Hat Creek Resource Advisory Committee was formed. It consisted of the key people and agencies concerned with the health of Hat: PG&E, the landowner; the Department of Fish and Wildlife, the agency responsible for managing the fishery; the Pit River Tribe, whose ancestral lands Hat Creek flows through; scientists from UC Davis and Spring Rivers Consulting, who collected and quantified the data from before, during, and after the sediment intrusion; and California Trout, representing anglers and other interested users.
It would be another 10 years before the chemistry of the Resource Advisory Committee would combine to create a commitment to do
something substantial for the fishery. CalTrout took the lead in developing relationships and building a consensus among the partners. The Hat Creek Restoration Plan, developed under guidelines created by Spring Rivers Consulting and based on studies funded by PG&E over the previous decade, provided the basic structure. That plan was refined into a grant proposal written by CalTrout's Drew Braugh.
The first grant, for nearly $700,000, was announced in the fall of 2012. Work began in earnest the following spring. As of the summer of 2015, native plants have been propagated and planted by Pit River tribal youth crews. The existing network of angler trails has been widened and graded. Fences have been removed and trees pruned. This fall, the first of the in-stream structures - groups of 100 foot logs - will be placed in Carbon Flats, to direct the creek's flow to create depth and cover for trout. By next season, a footbridge will be in place at the head of the Carbon Flats, giving anglers and hikers access to all of the Wild Trout area. The parking area at the water's edge at Carbon will have been relocated to the high ground above Carbon and that dusty road will have been converted to a trail.
Watch this video about the history of CalTrout and Hat Creek