Hat Creek
The Hat Creek Restoration Project goes beyond fly-fishing and ecosystem restoration.
This project engages tribal youth in the stewardship of their ancestral lands and provides
paying jobs in the process.
PROJECT UPDATES
The Hat Creek Restoration Project originated to restore a legacy of spring-creek fly fishing in Northern California: and this we will do. But as we proudly break ground restoring native trout habitat we would like to highlight a different part of the project: reconnecting native tribal youth to their ancestral lands and providing jobs for young people.
At CalTrout we often talk about how our projects affect people. On a basic level, fish indicate how clean our water is and how well our environment functions. Reliable sources of clean water dramatically improve our quality of life. The Hat Creek Restoration Project, however, goes beyond fly-fishing and ecosystem restoration. This project engages tribal youth in the stewardship of their ancestral lands and provides paying jobs in the process. In the Burney inter-mountain region, more than half of the population under the age of 18 lives below the poverty line. Despite living in a region of California known for exceptional natural resources – timber, hydropower, outdoor recreation, etc. – young people caught in poverty rarely benefit from these resources in the form of jobs, health, or cultural heritage.
Andrew has a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the Monterey Institute of International Studies (MIIS) and has worked with CalTrout since 2007.
By ANDREW BRAUGH
Shasta/Klamath Director