About the project

The Clear Lake Hitch Project is an independent, volunteer-run educational effort to track and raise awareness of the Clear Lake hitch (chi), California's rarest minnow and a cultural keystone for the Pomo people.

What this is, and what it isn't

This site compiles publicly available information on the hitch: spawner counts, lake conditions, and the historical record, presented in one place with links back to the agencies, Tribes, and researchers who collect it.

It is not a government agency, the Lake County Water Resources Department, or any Tribe, and it does not speak for them. For official determinations, monitoring, and permits, rely on the agencies and Tribal programs linked below.

Who's behind it

The project was created by Taylor Woodruff and Jordan Stevens. Taylor Woodruff is credited in Lake County Watershed Protection District hitch spawner-survey documentation referenced in this site's archive.

How the data is gathered

Figures on this site come from CDFW visual spawner surveys, USGS gillnet monitoring (since 2017), Lake County Water Resources reports, Tribal monitoring programs, and federal status documents. Two different measures appear across the site and should not be confused: visual spawner counts (adult fish seen migrating up tributaries) and the USGS gillnet relative-abundance index (the basis for the 96% decline figure). Every major source is linked in the Hitch Archive.

Data last reviewed June 2026.

Partners & sources

The monitoring and recovery work this site documents is carried out by these agencies and sovereign Tribal nations:

Contact

Questions, corrections, or want to help? Send a note below. For a hitch stranded in a drying creek, don't wait. Call the Hitch Rescue Team at (707) 263-2344.