California Trout receives new grants to support recovery of steelhead and native trout in Southern California

SAN DIEGO – Nonprofit science, implementation and advocacy organization California Trout recently received significant grants to support regional efforts to recover steelhead and native trout populations in Southern California.

The grants will help recovery efforts for southern steelhead, an endangered fish that migrates between the ocean and freshwater; and will help protect native resident trout populations.

Two of the grants support construction of a new bridge on the Santa Margarita River, replacing the current aging structure that is a fish passage barrier.

Another grant funds the CalTrout-led South Coast Steelhead Coalition in San Diego, Orange and Riverside counties, whose mission is to implement the federal recovery plan for Southern steelhead. The fourth grant supports protection of at-risk native rainbow trout populations throughout Southern California

Southern California steelhead populations are in danger of extinction within the next 25-50 years due to human-caused threats such as major dams and fish passage barriers, urbanization, estuary alteration and the increasing frequency of wildfires and droughts.

Southern steelhead populations can survive in warmer water temperatures than their northern cousins, which makes saving this population segment particularly important in the era of climate change and warming waters. These fish are also key indicators of the health of a watershed because they use almost all parts of the river system and are sensitive to poor water quality, invasive species, fish passage barriers and dewatered stretches.

"The momentum is growing to recover steelhead and native trout populations in Southern California," said Sandra Jacobson, Ph.D., CalTrout's Southern California regional director. "These fish are endangered and are at record low numbers, but we remain optimistic they can survive with the right interventions. Ultimately, these large recovery efforts bring together many partners in the recognition that these restoration projects are mutually beneficial for wildlife and communities and will ultimately restore the rivers for all of us."

$2.6M toward Santa Margarita River Bridge replacement effort

A $1.9 million grant from the Fisheries Restoration Grant Program of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and a $700K grant from CDFW Prop 1 will bring the Santa Margarita River bridge replacement project closer to completion. CalTrout is spearheading the construction phase.

The Sandia Creek Drive bridge, located where Sandia Creek flows into the Santa Margarita River near Fallbrook, currently blocks fish passage to 12 miles of upstream habitat. As a result, adult steelhead cannot reach their natal spawning grounds in the river's headwaters.

Nearly the entire river corridor is protected from development through ownership of large tracts of land by the U.S. Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, San Diego State University and The Wildlands Conservancy.

Replacing this bridge removes the last remaining barrier on the main river to allow steelhead to repopulate the Santa Margarita watershed. Bridge replacement also builds upon the recently completed construction of fish passage structures downstream at Camp Pendleton.

The bridge currently creates a safety issue for local residents, recreationists and commuters traveling on Sandia Creek Drive. The bridge floods during heavy rains; in February 2019, the bridge was completely submerged by floodwaters.

The flooding makes it difficult for drivers to judge whether they can safely cross under these dangerous conditions. The flooded bridge can also prevent first responders from reaching their destinations in a timely manner during fires and medical emergencies. The existing structure will be open for traffic while the new bridge is being built and will then be demolished.

NOAA and the South Coast Steelhead Coalition rank this bridge replacement as a high priority project. CalTrout hopes the new grant will spur additional funding from other sources. This project is one of two large fish passage projects receiving recent state grant support, the other one being further north at the I-5 Trabuco bridge array in the San Juan Creek watershed. More information about the project can be found at https://caltrout.org/projects/santa-margarita-river-sandia-creek-fish-passage.

$300K for CalTrout's management of Southern California Steelhead Coalition

CDFW's Fisheries Restoration Grant Program has also renewed support for operation of the South Coast Steelhead Coalition under leadership by CalTrout. This grant for $302,000 provides the needed funding to implement the Coalition's strategic plan, which follows guidelines set out in NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service Southern Steelhead Recovery Plan.

Based in San Diego, the Coalition works to reestablish Southern California steelhead populations in high priority rivers. Much of their work involves balancing the needs of wild fish in urban landscapes. Project partners and funders are listed at https://caltrout.org/projects/southern-steelhead-coalitions#impact.

As Jacobson points out, "The Coalition's projects chart a new path to integrate natural processes into urban landscapes - creating resource management solutions that support wildlife and communities. Our approach demonstrates that endangered species are not an inevitable consequence of development, but instead that ecology and urban infrastructure can coexist."

CalTrout Executive Director Curtis Knight reinforces this idea of full-on action to prevent extinction of this species. "Southern steelhead are critically important fish as California's climate heats up, because they can survive in warmer water than other steelhead populations. CalTrout is doing everything we can to bring these fish back from the brink of extinction."

$15K supports Trout Translocation Project

A separate $15,000 grant from SoCal Edison will supplement funds of the Coalition grant to support a GIS-based project that identifies and prioritizes new, high-quality refugia habitat for small rainbow trout populations rescued from wildfire and drought conditions.

Rainbow trout are steelhead populations that have been cut off from access to the ocean, whether

through natural or human-caused processes, and now reside exclusively in remote backcountry habitats in Southern California. Fires and droughts can quickly wipe out these small, isolated populations of native trout.

For example, the Holy Fire in August 2018, which burned 23,000 acres in Orange and Riverside counties, decimated the canyon habitat of one of the only remaining native rainbow trout populations in the area. The fish that survived the immediate effects of the fire were relocated by agencies to a regional hatchery for short-term safety.

Planning for the long term relocation of rescued rainbow trout is essential for their survival because there are so few populations left. The more native trout populations are stabilized in various geographies, the less the need for active intervention on an emergency basis.

The "Finding Shelter for Rescued Native Trout in Southern California" project will use existing data to analyze streams in the region for their suitability as translocation sites for rescued trout. The analysis will consider factors such as trout occupancy and genetic lineage, fire history, proximity to springs, and water flow and temperature year-round.

The highest-priority sites will then be visited by scientists with the help of local volunteers from fly fishing clubs to verify their suitability. CalTrout aims to work closely with CDFW to identify 10 suitable sites where trout could be relocated under emergency conditions.

For more information about the rainbow trout project and for before-and-after images of a stream habitat affected by the Holy Fire, visit https://caltrout.org/news/saving-the-rainbows-finding-shelter-for-rescued-native-trout-in-southern-california.

Submitted by California Trout.