Still, for the Undergrounders whose annual income exceeds mine (basically anything above four figures), it’d be a good time – and all for a good cause.

California Trout Gala: May 8 (click image to visit their site)

Over the past year, CalTrout has suffered the same depredations as any other nonprofit caught in the grips of a recession (though if they’d wake up the online marketing program a little bit, I think they’d be a happier organization), and they’re certainly worth supporting.

If it weren’t for them, we might not have any real McCloud Redbands left, and their comprehensive “SOS” report on California’s disappearing native fish species was a landmark production (download your own copy by clicking the image):

The cover is pretty, but the news for California's Natives isn't great... (click image to download a copy)

So sign up for the gala, slip on the ritzy duds, check out the hot babes in their evening wear mingle with other fly fishing geeks, and have a good time.

This concludes today’s public service announcement.

I’m late on the Class Stuff because I’ve been building behind-the-curtain Underground Stuff, and realizing life isn’t actually a box of chocolates (as Forrest noted); it’s more a series of dominoes, each one falling when the one before it decides to stop standing.

Still, I’m not so busy that I missed today’s Important, Life-Altering Fact: Americans graze their way through 100 acres of pizza every day.

Personally, I’d account for a half-acre all on my own if the L&T didn’t ride herd on me, which is yet more proof I married above myself.

What else have I got?

Way Upstream publishes a killer short poem (shame on you fly fishermen) and a photo. Be literate for a change and visit.

Ian Rutter wants 70 seconds of your day to put a good word in for the Tellico River’s Brook trout (the Underground loves Brookies), which are threatened by erosion and the resulting siltation. Get a move on, Undergrounders.

Bacon to Fry (one of Buster’s gang) writes about a bad forest plan and elegantly captures the frustration of fighting tooth and nail to preserve a watershed against stupidity and greed. Don’t miss it.

Proposed Timber Harvest, Wilson River, OR

See you in class, Tom Chandler.

That’s because fly fishers, CalTrout, Orvis and the National Fish & Wildlife foundation threw down big time in a “3 for 1″ matching grant program, raising more than $120,000 to restore McCloud Redband Trout habitat.

 
One stretch of Trout Creek after restoration — it used to be more than a hundred feet wide…

Keep in mind the private donations exceeded the program’s goals (mind you I’m not taking all the credit just because I posted about this recovery program months ago), our warm, fuzzy Fact For the Day.

From the CalTrout/Orvis press release:

Mt. Shasta – California Trout announced today that over $120,000 was raised through an innovative partnership to protect the rare and beautiful McCloud River Redband trout. The Orvis Company and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation each gave $30,000 grants, and more than $60,000 was donated by hundreds of private citizens. The private donations were generated by an Orvis campaign promoted in their catalogs and website, and through outreach by California Trout to its membership.

“It’s encouraging to see how strongly the residents in the Mount Shasta region and our customers as a whole feel about saving this unique, local species,” said James Hathaway, Communications and Conservation Manager of the Orvis Company. “There’s nothing else like it on earth, and people understand that.”

I took a tour of a few of the restoration sites with the CalTrout folks, and will throw together an article sometime soon.

Some pretty damned impressive stuff goes on in a restoration project, especially when the small stream in question has captured an old road bed, abandoning its 3-foot wide stream bed for what will eventually become a 150′ wide, 25′ deep, featureless gully.

Even more impressive is the collaboration at work — private landowners were largely happy to help:

The Core Group was established voluntarily to protect the redband’s genetic integrity, and to secure populations while respecting existing land uses, resource uses and private property rights.  This conservation effort is unique in that a diverse group of stakeholders are working collaboratively and efficiently to protect and restore the redband’s native biodiversity.

The habitat conservation projects include restoration of degraded meadows and stream banks, and private landowners are voluntarily helping to improve roads and culverts on their property to reduce stream sedimentation and improve upstream fish passage.

Score one for the good guys (and Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors, take note of the collaborative aspect). And for everyone who threw down a few bucks — well, pat yourselves on the back.

See you in Redband Trout country, Tom Chandler.