Trabuco Creek, a tributary of San Juan Creek just five miles inland from the Orange County coast, holds real promise for one of California's most imperiled fish: Southern California Steelhead, federally and state-listed as endangered. But two hardened infrastructure crossings, the Metrolink railroad bridge and the I-5 bridge array, form complete barriers that block steelhead from reaching the cold, high-quality habitat further upstream in the Santa Ana Mountains, cutting off access to roughly 15 miles of spawning and rearing habitat within a 134-square-mile watershed.

CalTrout is leading this effort as part of the South Coast Steelhead Coalition, working alongside Trout Unlimited, the Orange County Flood Control District, Caltrans, federal and state resource agencies, and the Juaneño Band of Mission Indians, Acjachemen Nation. The plan replaces the barrier weirs with 600 feet of hydraulically designed, nature-like fishways that let fish move through the way they would in a natural channel. The project is backed by funding from NOAA and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, with additional support from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the Wildlife Conservation Board, the Orange County Community Foundation, and the Whittier Trust.

This restoration is also a partnership rooted in place. The Acjachemen Nation, whose presence in the area dates back more than 10,000 years, received a dedicated budget to support construction monitoring for cultural artifacts, native plant revegetation, expanded educational programming, and interactive language and history displays at nearby Putuidem Village. With design and permitting essentially complete, construction is expected to begin in 2026, with the project targeted for completion by 2029, giving steelhead, Pacific Lamprey, and Arroyo Chub a real path back to the habitat their ancestors once used.