Virtually all inland trout benefit from meadow restoration. Degraded meadows from grazing, drought, fires, logging, and climate change, to name a few, have taken their toll on California's native trout. Of the eleven remaining kinds of trout in California, five species saw an increase in Level of Concern since 2008.
Two species that are of critical concern, the Kern River Rainbow Trout and the California Golden Trout will certainly benefit from the meadow restoration being implemented in the Eastern Sierras by CalTrout and partners through the Sierra Meadows Program. The Little Kern Golden Trout (High Concern) will also directly benefit from meadows work, which restores the ability of meadows to hold cold snowmelt – like a living sponge – and slowly release it downstream over the hot summer months. In addition, meadow restoration can help stabilize streams and re-establish riparian vegetation, which provides shade and food for trout. downstream.
MEADOWS
RETURN TO RESILIENCE
How are they threatened?
The majority of California’s inland trout, including the Kern River rainbow, California golden, and Little Kern golden trout are all critically vulnerable to climate change impacts that will alter the snowmelt-fed streams they depend upon. While the highest portions of the southern Sierra Nevada may continue to retain a great deal of snow as temperatures warm throughout the rest of the state, snowpack may not persist as long into summers in the extensive meadows of the Kern Plateau. As a result, meadows are likely to become drier by the end of summer, which will reduce streamflows and available habitat for trout and increase temperatures of water that remains in streams.
Critical threats also exist from hybridization with other trout species, such as rainbow trout that were historically stocked throughout the Kern River drainage. Hybridization between Coastal rainbow trout and native trout species is a major threat to maintaining the genetic diversity of California’s trout in their native range. While less severe recently, the long history of grazing livestock (mostly sheep) in the High Sierra has degraded meadow, riparian, and stream habitat. Some stream sections have been severely damaged, reducing the water storage capacity of meadows and total streamflows over time. By carefully managing this grazing and restoring degraded habitats, we can greatly improve the suitable habitat for California’s native trout.
Which fish species benefit?