Hey SK60, would you mind sharing some conclusions/interesting facts from the article? Thanks!

it's difficult to do a brief summary of this rather long article, but I'll try to hit some of the high points:

1.  Ms. Spooner provides a brief stocking history that reaches back to the 1800s when pioneers introduced several different trout into waters in which they had not previously existed. As a specific example she spends several paragraphs on the experience and plight of the California Golden Trout.

2. She moves on to a more political oriented discussion of the last 20 years in which it has become apparent through scientific studies that introduced non-native species (including trout) are almost always a threat to and damaging to existing ecosystems-the endangered yellow legged frog been one of the most publicized victims of trout planting in California. She also summarizes some of California's DF&G  actions in defending planting programs as well as their efforts to make changes in practices and conservation.

3. She then moves her focus to the 2006 lawsuit filed by Pacific Rivers Council (PRC) and the Center for Biological Diversity against California DF&G "claiming that the statewide stocking program was harming amphibians, insects, and upward of 30 native aquatic species including imperiled steelhead, trout, suckers, chubs, and the Owens speckled dace." According to the conservation groups, the remedy called for the agency to comply with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and conduct a comprehensive Environmental Impact Report (EIR) of its stocking program.  The judge agreed with the plaintiffs and DF&G will initiate a year-long environmental review, with ample opportunities for public input throughout the process. After the environmental review is completed, DF&G may choose to change its stocking program based on a series of "alternatives", or proposed management approaches, detailed in the EIR. DFG could then modify or curtail its stocking practices in waters where sensitive native species are present and are being impacted by introduced trout, or "they may make no changes, as happened after a similar stocking reform effort by the Trout Unlimited came to a grinding halt in the 1990s."

4. Ms. Spooner then touches on other conservation efforts that are ongoing by different organizations that she hopes signals an increasing interest in and perception about biodiversity and the value of intact freshwater ecosystems. She notes that non-native species are here to stay and are just one of many factors that we need to be concerned with when working towards a future filled with wild trout living in a suitable environment.