Teens Saving Struggling North Coast Steelhead

This is a miraculous story. Once upon a time a high school biology teacher named Tom Furrer decided to save and restore a little known trickle of a dead creek directly across the road from his high school. Why you ask? Well, this little watershed, called Adobe Creek, used to provide spawning habitat for migrating Steelhead trout on the north coast of California. Now, 27 years later, Casa Grande High School in Petaluma is ground zero for trout study, stream restoration and a continuing education center for these big monarchs of our northern rivers and streams. Hence United Anglers, a non-profit organization of Casa Grande High School, was born and have successfully managed these restoration projects without significant help from federal or state agencies.

Tom and his high school students have exclusively done all of the creek cleanup work, fish counting, public education and habitat restoration since the early eighties. Starting with building a small greenhouse-like hatchery made possible with a tiny donation, Casa Grande High has fund raised consistently throughout the years which has enabled them to finally construct a state-of-the-art, multi-run hatchery complex. This building is also conveniently attached by a common wall to Tom's homeroom classroom at Casa Grande High. With the much larger building and extensive equipment required to run it, you can imagine what their current annual operational budget is now.

These high school kids enthusiastically do all the work themselves. They are 14 to 17 year old kids. They're dedicated, they're smart and they love these fish, and of course, Tom Furrer. Sometimes Tom's students from twenty years ago come back with their families to visit him and visit the creek banks where they planted scores and scores of trees and put their own time and hard work efforts into habitat restoration on the creek. Teary eyed and proud of their accomplishments, they attempt to explain to their children what has taken place here at the now thriving, protected creek across from their old high school.

Much work is still needed and fund raising is ongoing. November 7th United Anglers of Casa Grande High School will be hosting their annual fund raiser at Lucchesi Center in Petaluma CA. Visit their website for further info about the program and how you can help these amazing kids... and amazing fish. You will find lots of video and information about this extraordinary group of dedicated people and how to contact them.

http://www.uacg.org/index.html or (707) 778-4703 for info.