The Golden Trout Project Film Screening and Panel

California Golden Trout are celebrated everywhere they’ve been transplanted across the West, but the native range of these beautiful fish is limited to the headwater meadow streams of the Kern River watershed high in the southern Sierra Nevada backcountry. Following years of rigorous planning and decades of work by dedicated volunteers, TU and our partners are expanding the scale of our ambitious effort to restore golden trout.

In the coming years, we’ll restore 75 stream miles and 7,000 acres of critical headwater habitat, a lifeline for threatened populations of this beloved species of native trout.

Panel Discussion Speakers

Jessica Strickland

Jessica Strickland is TU's California Inland Trout Program Director with a focus on headwaters of the California Sierra Nevada region. Jessica holds a B.S. from Louisiana State University in Fisheries Ecology and a M.S. in Aquatic Resources Management from Texas State University. Jessica works on inland trout conservation and policy throughout the state with a specific focus on public lands.She leads TU California’s inland trout restoration efforts with over 15 year’s experience in aquatic restoration planning and permitting. As the key project manager for the Golden Trout Project, Jessica has worked the last 10 years coordinating restoration activities throughout the Kern Plateau.

Howard Kern

Kern is a legendary volunteer leader in California. With a lifetime of experience hiking, camping and fishing in the Sierra Nevada, Kern charged into the role, working with agency partners to help build The Golden Trout Project.

One of the Project’s most impactful efforts was a multi-year partnership with scientists at the University of California Davis to identify remnant populations of unhybridized California golden trout. The project organized extensive work in the backcountry and Kern handled complicated logistics. Initially, the core group of volunteers was concerned anglers, but the work eventually captured the attention of other user groups such as mountain bikers, hikers and equestrians.

In 2007, in recognition of their dedication and immense contribution, the Golden Trout Project was given the Department of the Interior’s Take Pride in America award. Two years later, Kern was named magazine for his work on behalf of California golden trout.

Bernard Yin and Rebecca Ramirez

Rebecca Ramirez and Bernard Yin are passionate fly fishing anglers turned conservationists who are advocating for the protection of Southern California’s native trout. They have been recognized and recruited in the field by CalTrout, Trout Unlimited, the Resource Conservation District of the Santa Monica Mountains, the US Forestry Service, and are Patagonia Fly Fish and NRS ambassadors.They serve as Conservation co-chairs for the Southern Sierra Fly Fishers Club.They are on the editorial board for California Fly Fisher magazine for which they also write and manage social media accounts.

Dan Johnson- Moderator

Dan Johnson is the CA/NV Public Lands Manager for Trout Unlimited. His role embraces all aspects of TU and includes outreach, community engagement, communications, and advocacy, primarily focused on protecting and restoring public lands.

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