CalTrout News
The South Bay is not the first place one may think to look for steelhead trout or Chinook salmon, but the fish are there and have been for years. Still, they are very much in need of our help to secure fresh water and critical habitat needed for survival. CalTrout has been working for nearly 20 years with our partners in the Fisheries and Habitat Collaborative Effort (FAHCE) to ensure that streamflows and habitat are adequate to support steelhead and Chinook survival in Coyote and Stevens creeks and the Guadalupe River.
Guadalupe River, downtown San Jose.
The process has been a long one, but we are excited to announce a new step forward and a way for you to be involved.
The Santa Clara Valley Water District released in June 2021 the FAHCE Draft Program Environmental Impact Report (EIR) which is now open for public comment. CalTrout encourages our California community, especially those that live and/or work in the South Bay, to check out the report and submit a public comment in favor of protecting threatened steelhead and Chinook salmon. Not only are these fish culturally significant, but they are also excellent predictors of water and habitat quality. We will continue to work with our partners to ensure this project helps restore fisheries to good condition below the reservoirs and allows a path for their recovery.
The proposed EIR document is important – it needs your voice. It’s amazing that in San Jose, the 10th largest city in America, you can still find steelhead and salmon swimming through downtown. But they will not survive in these watersheds without considerable restoration and changes in water management. What is at stake ultimately comes down to quality of life – do we want to have these iconic, native fishes in our backyards for future generations? Join us in telling the water district that we care about the fish in our backyard – that they indicate healthy waters upon which we all depend.
PUBLIC COMMENT ACCEPTED JUNE 30 – October 15, 2021
Read the Environmental Impact Report: www.valleywater.org/node/1828.
Written comments on the Draft Program EIR should be received by 5:00 pm PST on October 15, 2021 and sent to: Ryan Heacock at fahce@valleywater.org.
For additional information or a CD copy of the Draft EIR, please contact Mr. Heacock at (408) 265-2600.
4 Comments
The Water District, City of SJ are all complicit in their total disregard for the water quality of Coyote Creek and the Guadalupe River. They have allowed the homeless to severely impact the quality of the water, streambeds and banks. The amount of litter, garbage, debris and human waste makes the waterways toxic and unlivable for fish and other aquatic life. They have abrogated their responsibility to the fish and citizens and should all be kicked out of office. Why aren’t they being held accountable. CalTrout, or Fish and Wildlife should sue them over the water quality.
Please consider water management policies that protect threatened wild steelhead and chinook salmon. Their plight in these watersheds is the same as they are facing throughout their historic range. If individual communities took steps toward better water quality and enhanced access to their historic habitat, it will be possible to turn around their current path toward extinction.
Every possible effort should be made to save these iconic fish! They are signs of a healthy watershed and ecosystem and reflect the resiliency of wildlife and how, if given a small chance, can rebound with self-sustaining populations … Save Our Steelhead and Salmon!
We must be stewards of the land and do our part to protect these fish. San Jose and the surrounding areas are the breeding ground for creativity and progress. Let’s utilize those strengths and utilize them to protect the fish.