Streamkeeper’s bLog – October 2017

October 30, 2017

The fish of the future

A word from CalTrout’s ED, Curtis Knight

Can wild, native steelhead thrive alongside humans in SoCal’s engineered landscape? It’s a challenging issue, but one that provokes determination for us at CalTrout. The Southern steelhead has shown amazing resiliency. Their unique genetic diversity has, so far, enabled them to adapt to higher water temperatures (up to 77°F!), low streamflows, and weather variability. Southern steelhead are the fish of the future, if we continue to fight for their recovery. In the face of a warming climate, sustaining this species is critical since they may offer clues to help their northern cousins weather hotter water.

Historically, tens of thousands of adult steelhead would return to Southern California streams. Today, only a few hundred make the pilgrimage; their numbers have declined so significantly that it is now rare to see them in the wild. Their home has been engineered to serve human needs, not taking into account the need for fish passage and headwaters residence. The aptitude of this native fish to persevere despite human impacts and climate change threats gives us great hope.

We’ve established a headwater-to-sea recovery approach focused on restoring estuaries (critical nursery areas and transition zones for steelhead), in addition to restoring riverine habitat that has become degraded and over-run with invasive species, and removing in-stream barriers such as dams, weirs, and roads that block passage and flows. These types of projects take years and more planning and permitting than you could imagine, but we are in it for the long haul. CalTrout leads two coalitions that are focused on Southern steelhead recovery, the Santa Clara River Steelhead Coalition serving Ventura and Los Angeles counties and the South Coast Steelhead Coalition working in San Diego, Orange, and Riverside counties. We work with Coalition partners– non-profits, government agencies, tribes, and interested stakeholders– to re-establish steelhead populations in high priority watersheds.

It’s hard to imagine that at one time, the San Gabriel River in L.A. County was known as one of the best steelhead fishing rivers in the state. We may not reach that point ever again, but we will continue our work until spotting a steelhead in SoCal waters is no longer at the same level as spotting Big Foot.

Tight lines,

CURTIS SIG

MEET THE AUTHORS

Peter Moyle is the Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the Department of Wildlife, Fish and Conservation Biology and Associate Director of the Center for Watershed Sciences, at UC Davis. He is author or co-author of more than 240 publications, including the definitive Inland Fishes of California (2002). He is co-author of the 2017 book, Floodplains: Processes and Management for Ecosystem Services. His research interests include conservation of aquatic species, habitats, and ecosystems, including salmon; ecology of fishes of the San Francisco Estuary; ecology of California stream fishes; impact of introduced aquatic organisms; and use of floodplains by fish.

Robert Lusardi is the California Trout/UC Davis Wild and Coldwater Fish Researcher focused on establishing the basis for long-term science specific to California Trout’s wild and coldwater fish initiatives. His work bridges the widening gap between academic science and applied conservation policy, ensuring that rapidly developing science informs conservation projects throughout California. Dr. Lusardi resides at the UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences and works closely with Dr. Peter Moyle on numerous projects to help inform California Trout conservation policy. His recent research interests include Coho salmon on the Shasta River, the ecology of volcanic spring-fed rivers, inland trout conservation and management, and policy implications of trap and haul programs for anadromous fishes in California.

Patrick Samuel is the Conservation Program Coordinator for California Trout, a position he has held for almost two years, where he coordinates special research projects for California Trout, including the State of the Salmonids report. Prior to joining CalTrout, he worked with the Fisheries Leadership & Sustainability Forum, a non-profit that supports the eight federal regional fishery management councils around the country. Patrick got his start in fisheries as an undergraduate intern with NOAA Fisheries Protected Resources Division in Sacramento, and in his first field job as a crew member of the California Department of Fish & Wildlife’s Wild and Heritage Trout Program.

Streamkeeper’s bLog – October 2017

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MEET THE AUTHORS

Streamkeeper’s bLog – October 2017

Streamkeeper’s bLog – October 2017

The fish of the future

A word from CalTrout’s ED, Curtis Knight

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