We are excited to announce that a CalTrout project to Reconnect Habitat is moving forward thanks to grant funding from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) voter-approved Proposition 1 Watershed Restoration Grant. This project is part of the South Coast Steelhead Coalition portfolio to recover this endangered trout from the brink of extinction.
CalTrout's fish passage project on the Santa Margarita River was awarded $7.2M to build a new steel bridge at Sandia Creek Drive. An archaic crossing at the site location currently blocks fish from reaching 12 miles of upstream habitat. As a result, adult steelhead cannot reach their historic spawning area in the river’s headwaters. Replacing this old bridge removes the last remaining barrier on the main river to allow steelhead to repopulate the Santa Margarita watershed from ocean to headwaters. The Santa Margarita River historically supported steelhead and still has natural channel characteristics necessary for migration and propagation of the species.
The existing bridge—in the middle of a scenic wildlife corridor and the popular Santa Margarita Trail Preserve, owned and managed by The Wildlands Conservancy—also presents a safety issue for local residents, recreationists, and commuters traveling on Sandia Creek Drive. This aging piece of infrastructure is a flood hazard, becoming completely submerged during heavy rains. The new bridge will allow flood flows to pass beneath it, and improve traffic flow and pedestrian safety around the river and trail system.
We are very pleased to receive this funding from CDFW and to acknowledge the work of project partners and the project design team. Government grants make up 70% of the CalTrout operating budget, allowing us to execute large-scale and significant projects that benefit wild fish and people in California.
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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.