TU Hires California Hydropower Coordinator

Contact:

8/31/2000 --  --  Contact:
Steve Trafton, California Policy Coordinator, Trout Unlimited, 510-528-4772
Jeff Curtis, Western Conservation Director, Trout Unlimted, 503-827-5700

August 31, 2000. Albany, Calif...Trout Unlimited announced the addition of environmental attorney Chuck Bonham to its California staff. Bonham joins TU California Policy Coordinator, Steve Trafton, and volunteer Regional Vice President, Stan Griffin, at the organization's Albany office.

Bonham, 32, brings a diverse background and a longstanding appreciation for the outdoors to the position. After graduating from the University of Georgia, he spent two years in Africa as a Peace Corps volunteer, followed by an extended stint as a whitewater guide and kayaking and rock climbing instructor, based on the East Coast with the Nantahala Outdoor Center, but leading trips all over the country.

Bonham then entered law school at the Northwestern School of Law of Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Ore. While in law school, he worked as an intern at the U.S. Department of the Interior's Regional Solicitor's office, and at TU's Portland office. Bonham also found time to publish articles in the environmental law journals of the University of Oregon (1999) and the University of Montana (forthcoming).

A significant portion of Bonham's time will be devoted to hydropower relicensing efforts on some of the crown jewels of California's trout fisheries: the Pit, Feather, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, and Klamath rivers, among others. He will represent TU on the steering committee of the California Hydropwer Reform Coalition, and in the CalFed process examining the feasibility of restoring anadromous salmonids to the Yuba River above Englebright Dam.

Chuck will also put his legal training to use helping TU's 8,000 California members sort out the intricacies of state water law, small dam removal, securing adequate flows for salmon and trout, and arranging for fish-friendly transfers of water rights.

Trout Unlimited's mission is to conserve, protect and restore North America's trout and salmon fisheries and their watersheds. TU is supported by over 125,000 members in North America.

Date: 8/31/2000