“Doom scrolling” wasn’t even a thing until 2018, and now Merriam-Webster has selected “gaslighting” as the 2022 word of the year. But good news, many times, is hiding just beneath the surface, in the same way that final swing on an exhausting steelie trip can bring you the best fish of the day. So, what better time to read some environmental success stories from folks who love to fish and know a healthy environment is key. Good news is the best antidote to the bottomless bummer.

See you on the river, Jim Burns

William Preston Bowling, President, South Coast Chapter of Trout Unlimited

Chapter board members Karen Barnett and Bob Blankenship partnered with the City of Paramount to design a fish passage in the Lower Los Angeles River. The river goes through several different municipalities, like Compton, Long Beach, Linwood and the City of Paramount has created an exemplary storm drain system from the neighborhood storm water run off through a bioswale in Dills Park. Barnett and Blankenship thought this would be a great place to focus and create an in-channel native plant area with rocks and sandy areas for the fish to relax. The focus area is right below another “River City”… South Gate. This is where Frank Gehry plans to make some sort of riverside park with a ferris wheel. We imagine this to be steel and concrete as a nod to his past creations and just south of it at Dills Park is just the opposite. Taking the concrete sections back to nature with public access to enjoy these areas in hope that one day all the River Cities can do the same, so the elusive Steelhead Trout will return to this urban river as it once did, prior to the 1940s. Check out Bob and Karen’s great work.

Kesley Gallagher

16-time IGFA record holder, 2018 Ladies Tarpon Fly Champion

CalTrout made significant headway this year on the Rindge Dam Project (Malibu Creek); it will be moving into the Engineering and Design phase in 2023. Public Outreach by CalTrout in the LA area has been a focus to increase awareness of the Rindge Dam project and other initiatives this year; also, in 2023, CalTrout will be heading up a West Fork clean-up day in partnership with the Volunteer Fisheries Restoration Crew, Pasadena Casting Club and Patagonia Pasadena; details will be forthcoming.

Ben Jailler

Author of Fish Camp Fail

Mention the LA River and I think “Them,” “Point Blank,” “Terminator 2” and “Grease.” With the UK’s privatized water companies discharging 2.7 million hours of untreated sewage into our waterways last year, mention any river in England and I think “Richard III.”

More in hope than expectation, two of my fishing mates, Pete and Jon, set-out to explore the Bristol Avon’s urban tributaries in search of wild brown trout and recording a podcast about their adventures. The result was the Fishtolian and it was incredibly inspiring  listening to their enthusiasm for all things wild and showing that, like in LA, life still thrives among the Asdal trolleys, White Lightning cans and floaters.

Glenn Ueda

Unquestionably, Southern California’s own Yvon Chouinard’s decision to shift  Patagonia’s ownership to Mother Earth, to combat our climate crisis, is undoubtedly the most significant. I value my affiliation with global leader Orvis, as their significant 5% pre-tax donations continue to fund outdoor-improving projects throughout the globe.

From our local watersheds to the most remote South Pacific atolls, we are one world, and need to endeavor to do our part to make a difference. What will you do today to make our world a better place for our grandchildren?

Bernard Yin

Par Avion, and several decades of chasing SoCal trout

– The recent progress on the Klamath River to bring down several dams is truly exciting, refreshing and encouraging. For years we have heard this conversation through the ether and I am sure like many, it’s been hard to think that there was any hope. It looks like the only hurdles remaining are logistics. In other words, the paperwork and the bureaucracy has achieved certain hurdles that were never thought possible. If this can be done on a river as large as the Klamath, when would like to think steps can be taken on smaller drainages; especially when derelict dams are concerned. 

– On a more “local” level, I wish to call attention CalTrout and their efforts, in general terms, to improve the passage between the ocean and the upper reaches of a given watershed. In Southern California, steps continue to be taken on the Ventura drainage, the Malibu Creek drainage, and the Trabuco creek drainage. When I say steps, this can be defined in a variety of ways so it might be best to visit their website to get into the nitty-gritty details but they are serious. Serious in a good way. and making progress.

– I would like to share a more personal anecdote but something that I think would serve as a word of encouragement to anyone who sees anything that is not going well for fish or a water system. A few years ago I noticed that a freshly implemented fish ladder was falling a little short of its intended purpose, because as trout tried to navigate a certain elbow in the ladder (180 degree bend) they would actually miss the ladder and strand themselves on dry ground. Vultures and other birds would hang about during the migratory seasons to take advantage of this. Upon observing this, my wife, Rebecca, and I did our best to document it and reported it to the necessary agencies. Fast forward about a year and some change, baffles were implemented to prevent the fish from jumping out. According to the Department of Fish and Wildlife representative with whom we’ve had good communication, our feedback was considered very helpful bordering on instrumental in creating this fix. We’re not trying to take all the credit for it and we kind of don’t care … . As long as we save a few fish from turning into vulture food! The takeaway is that we all need to speak up. We all need to provide feedback. We need to inform each other and various agencies; alert the world around us to issues that, who knows, might be fixable!

Derek Berlin

Public Engagement Specialist, CalTrout

Two conservation wins that stand out for me, among many others, in 2022 include the progress on Klamath Dam removals, and the international agreement to protect 30% of earths lands and waters in order to preserve the planets biodiversity.

The Klamath dams removal project overcame its last major hurdle in November of this year, with work anticipated to begin in early 2023. The project stands as an incredible example of stakeholders and communities coming together to achieve a difficult common goal. Removing four dams on the Klamath is a critical step toward repairing historic degradations and reestablishing an essential salmon run that once numbered in the millions.

The global agreement to set aside lands and waters to preserve earth’s biodiversity represents perhaps the most ambitious effort ever to curb the unprecedented decline in global biodiversity we are seeing today as a result of human activities. Recognizing the important role of preserving and restoring connected habitat and wild spaces, the agreement formally united about 190 countries in pursuing the target of protecting 30% of earths land and waters by 2030 (30×30) and lays out what the negotiators declare will be concrete benchmarks by which to evaluate progress, as well as funding mechanism pathways. While it’s far from a guarantee that lands and waters will be protected or biodiversity loss curtailed, it is a necessary if not sufficient step forward on a global scale. Both the President Biden and Gov. Newsom administrations have set out similar targets and outcomes in the United States and California, respectively, with their own 30×30 Executive Orders.

Debbie Sharpton

Conservation Director, Southwest Council FFF

— Getting 1,200 acres, the largest parcel left in the Santa Monica Mountains with two miles of ocean frontage, under contract and destined for National Park Service. What a win!

— Seeing the monarch butterfly habitat restoration and collaborations blossom with an increase in the population!

— Seeing the Rindge Dam on Malibu Creek planning and permitting going forward!

– -Seeing endangered species return to historic habitat!–

— Seeing many agencies and NGOs working together to make a difference. 

It’s all very heartwarming.

Al Q

Author, “The Corbina Diaries”

I think the best conservation win is what’s going on in my backyard at Ballona Creek outflow by Marina del Rey.

The intercepter007 is an amazing piece of technology that is sitting in the creek with floating booms, that has been collecting and eating all the garbage and plastic floating out to Santa Monica Bay!

Luis Rincon

Community Engagement Coordinator, California State Parks

Rio de Los Angeles is a good example of how restoration works. This newish park sits in the middle of an industrial zone and residential area in Glassell Park, close to the eastern banks of the Los Angeles River. For 60-plus years, the site was known as Taylor Yard, one of the region’s largest railroad switching yards. When it closed in 1985, community groups pushed to turn the land into a park instead of more industrial space. Partnerships were formed between state and city, and Rio de Los Angeles State Park opened in 2007 with city-supervised playgrounds and athletic fields and state-managed hiking trails with native trees and shrubs. 

When the drought dried up irrigation water on the trails, volunteers used buckets and wheelbarrows to keep new plants alive until they were established enough to go without regular water. This lead to more birds and creatures who find shelter and food in the natural areas, including the endangered least Bell’s vireo, a small river dwelling bird in decline. 

Restoration work is more than rebuilding the land and creating habitat. You’re also restoring a piece of nature for people, to step out of their urban environment, just by crossing the street. This park is a gateway. We want them to be inspired by what they see here, so they go further to see places like Sequoia or Yosemite.