Keeping our rivers, beaches, and estuaries clean of pollution and promoting good water quality along our coast and waterways is imperative to the recovery of this federally endangered species. Coastal Cleanup Day is just one way to help us fulfill this mission.
California Trout, Sierra Club and The Nature Conservancy partnered to co-captain the Santa Clara River Gateway site as part of the 31st anniversary of International Coastal Cleanup Day on Saturday, September 19, 2015. This was the second year the groups partnered at this new site to clear trash from the lower Santa Clara River main stem.
25 volunteers worked tirelessly between 09:00am until 12:00pm to clear 1,399 pounds of garbage from two square miles of the Santa Clara River. Almost a TON – tires, shopping carts, shoes, gloves, golf bag, eyeglasses, a bible… you name it! The teens from Foothill Technology High School were an inspiration! The youngsters from Sierra Linda 5th Grade (Oxnard) turned the time into a fantastic fun work party! What a pleasure to see young stewards of our environment getting involved and supporting local community efforts.
Volunteers picked up all human-made debris at the site and recorded what they removed on data cards. The data collected is inserted into the Ocean Conservancy’s international database, which helps identify the sources of debris, and helps inform strategies to address marine pollution. The Santa Clara River Steelhead Coalition’s mission; of which CalTrout is the chair, is to protect and restore wild southern California steelhead and its habitat in the Santa Clara River watershed spanning Los Angeles and Ventura Counties. Steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) are rainbow trout that exhibit an anadramous (i.e., migrating to and from the ocean) life history.
Fishing line is a big perpetrator that is collected on Coastal Cleanup Day. And Friends of the Los Angeles River have initiated their Fishing Line Recycling Program in an effort to combat the effects fishing line has on local wildlife.
Thanks again to all our volunteers!
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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.