Join a virtual walking tour of the Santa Margarita River preserve trail, located in Fallbrook, CA, led by Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians Representative, Myra Masiel-Zamora, and CalTrout’s San Diego Project Manager, Elise Ruiz.
This site holds important cultural significance for the Pechanga Tribe and also provides crucial habitat to sustain anadromous steelhead populations. Check out the video below and follow along on the walking tour as Myra and Elise explore the land and the many aspects of our connectivity to it. They discuss the responsibility we should all have in respecting, preserving, and protecting these areas.
The trail is located on the site of one of CalTrout’s Reconnect Habitat restoration projects: the Santa Margarita River – Sandia Creek Fish Passage project. This effort involves removing a dilapidated bridge over Sandia Creek and replacing it with a new bridge that will re-open 12 miles of upstream habitat for juvenile and adult steelhead.
The Santa Margarita River is one of the last free flowing rivers in Southern California. Once the project is complete, the Santa Margarita River will be the first reconnected headwaters-to-sea river for endangered Southern California steelhead.
Complete the form below to be added to our volunteer database, with options to choose your interest areas and availability. You’ll be added to our volunteer mailing list and notified when there are opportunities in your region. Commitment levels vary, with some opportunities requiring more in depth training, while others you only need to show up.
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Thank you for your interest in Big Chico Creek and the Iron Canyon Fish Passage Project! We looking forward to sharing project updates, news, and stories with you from the Big Chico Creek watershed as they develop.
Thank you for your interest in Big Chico Creek and the Iron Canyon Fish Passage Project! One of our staff members will do their best to get back to you as soon as possible. However, please note that due to limited capacity we may not be able to respond to all questions or fulfill all requests.
Let us know if you are interested in volunteering and we will get in contact with you as soon as we can.
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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.
2 Comments
Hello, I have recently retired and looking for volunteer work related to the Santa Margarita River Project. Could be anything from streamside restoration work to fish counts. I am also a volunteer with the CDFW, and could rally more able bodied folks to work. Let me know if we can help. I live in San Diego County and know the area.
Thanks for your consideration and Happy Holidays! Dennis
Such crazy serendipity! I was looking for trout resources for my nephew in North Carolina who is an avid fisherman and hopeful biologist and came across this page with the lovely Myra who I studied with at UC Berkeley! We did a class project together under Dr. Laura Wilkie in 2003. When I graduated, a year before Myra, she gave me a beautiful gift of a pair of shell earrings which I still have and wear and cherish to this day. I was so touched when she gave me the gift. I’m not sure if she’ll see this but I still think of her fondly and am proud to see her wonderful representation of her rich and beautiful culture which she taught me about those many years ago. I have so much respect for this incredible woman and knew she would go far in life.