The California Advisory Committee on Salmon and Steelhead Trout (CAC) was re-established by the Legislature in 1983 in response to public concern about declining populations of salmon and steelhead.

The re-establishment was pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 19, Chapter 141 of the Statues of 1983. Chapter 1686 of the Statutes of 1984 later codified the Committee. The predecessor committee was a five member Citizen’s Advisory Committee on Salmon and Steelhead Trout established in 1970 pursuant to Assembly Concurrent Resolution 64, Chapter 124, Statutes of 1970. The original five members were: William F. Grader, Joseph Paul, Vernon J. Smith, John Pelnar and Edmund Kohlhauf.

The role of the public committee is to advise the Director of Fish and Wildlife and the Legislature, via the Joint Committee on Fisheries and Aquaculture (JCFA,) on salmon and steelhead issues within California that are of concern to the public.

The CAC consists of eleven (11) members and their alternates. CAC members are appointed by the JCFA.

 

Meeting agendas

2018: 2018-8-2 Agenda, 2018-10-25 Agenda

2019: 2019-3-20 Agenda, 2019-7-25 Agenda and Minutes, 2019-10-24 Agenda

2020: 2020-1-9 Agenda 2020-3-11 Agenda, 2020-7-27 Agenda - DAM REMOVAL UPDATE: Klamath Dams, Matilija Dam, and the Potter Valley Project, 2020-10-29 Agenda and Minutes

2021: 2021-1-21 Agenda and Minutes, 2021-5-6 Agenda

2022: 2022-5-26 Agenda, 2022-9-8 Agenda

 

Authorizing Statutes

1971 Assembly Resolution No. 64 - Relative to creating an Advisory Committee on Salmon and Steelhead Trout

1983 Senate Resolution No. 19 - Relative to salmon and steelhead trout fishery

1984 Statutes Chapter 1686 - CAC membership

 

CACSST Annual Reports

An Environmental Tragedy (1971) 

A Conservation Opportunity (1972) 

The Time is Now (1975) 

The Tragedy Continues (1986) 

A New Partnership (1987) 

Restoring the Balance (1988) 

California Advisory Committee on Salmon and Steelhead Trout: Report to the Joint Legislative Committee on Fisheries and Aquaculture (1992) 

Helliwell – California Advisory Committee on Salmon and Steelhead Trout: Presentation to 35th annual JCFA Fisheries Forum, with "A Forty-Year History of Citizen Activism on Behalf of California’s Native Fish Resources" (2008)

Helliwell – California Advisory Committee on Salmon and Steelhead Trout: Presentation to JCFA Fisheries Forum (2012)

Duffy – California Advisory Committee on Salmon and Steelhead Trout: Presentation to JCFA Fisheries Forum (2016)

Farro – California Advisory Committee on Salmon and Steelhead Trout: Presentation to JCFA Fisheries Forum (2017)

Mierau – California Advisory Committee on Salmon and Steelhead Trout: Presentation to JCFA Fisheries Forum (2018)

Mierau – California Advisory Committee on Salmon and Steelhead Trout: Presentation to JCFA Fisheries Forum (2019)

 

Supporting Documents

North Coast Basins Report (1987) 

Hallock-Sacramento River System Salmon & Steelhead Problems & Enhancement Opportunities (1988) 

WRC Report 13 - Research & Extension Program (1988) 

Meyer - Benefits from present and future salmon and steelhead production (1988) 

An Analysis of the Effectiveness of the Mitigation Plan for Shasta and Keswick Dams - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1987

Shasta Salmon Salvage Efforts: Coleman National Fish Hatchery on Battle Creek, 1895–1992

Battle Creek Salmon and Steelhead Restoration Plan 1999

 

Steelhead Report Card Legislative and Administrative reports

1997 California Steelhead Report-Restoration Card - A Report to the Legislature

2000 California Steelhead Report-Restoration Card - Report to the Legislature

2007 California Steelhead Fishing Report-Restoration Card - A Report to the Legislature

2015 California Steelhead Report and Restoration Card Program: 2006-2011 - Administrative Report

2016 California Steelhead Report and Restoration Card - Report to the Legislature - Executive Summary

2016 California Steelhead Report and Restoration Card Program: 2007-2014 - Report to the Legislature full report

A Synthesis Report of 25 Salmonid Creel Censuses Spanning 60 Years from 1955 through 2014 in the
Smith River, Del Norte County, California

 

History

Kier -- A Brief History of the California Legislature’s Annual Fisheries Forum – Where It Has Been, Some of the Chores Ahead.

Kier – Powerpoint Presentation to accompany "A Brief History of the California Legislature’s Annual Fisheries Forum," as presented at the 36th annual Capitol Fisheries Forum (2009) 

Stickel – The California Advisory Committee on Salmon and Steelhead Trout: An Epic of Stymied Good Intentions (2008) 

Stickel – Appendices to “The California Advisory Committee on Salmon and Steelhead Trout: An Epic of Stymied Good Intentions” (2008) 

Resolution Honoring CAC for 50 Years of Salmon Restoration (2006) 

 

Relevant Legislation and Fish and Game Code Sections

Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 64 - Relative to creating an Advisory Committee on Salmon and Steelhead Trout. (Chapter 124, Statutes of 1970) 

Senate Joint Resolution No. 19 - Relative to salmon and steelhead trout fishery (Chapter 141, Statutes of 1983) 

California Fish & Game Code Section 2762

California Fish & Game Code Section 6920-24

California Fish & Game Code Section 7380-82

California Fish & Game Code Section 7660-62

Public Resources Code 6217.1

 

CACSST Bylaws:

CACSST Bylaws adopted January 30, 2018

 

Other Items of Interest:

California Environmental Flows Framework

California's Salmon and Steelhead -The Struggle to Restore an Imperiled Resource by A. Lufkin

State Water Resources Control Board - Draft Water Quality Control Plan for Salinity: San Francisco Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Estuary (Oct. 1988) 

 

Contact Information

CACSST Roster 

 

Videos

On the Edge - A provocative documentary that traces the decline of California's once great fisheries and argues that recovery is possible. (29 min.) Katherine Domeny Productions (used with permission)

Return of the Kings - Northern California Salmon Restoration Video from 1987, Narrated by Raymond Burr.  Produced by the California Salmon Stamp Committee and Others.

 

Related Links

California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW)

CDFW Fisheries Restoration Grant Program

CDFW Steelhead Fishing Report and Restoration Card

CDFW Fisheries Branch

Environmental Protection Agency

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation

U.S. Geological Survey