THE OSPREY • ISSUE NO. 75 MAY 2013 15 Recovering California Steelhead South of Santa Cruz By Kurt Zimmerman, Tim Frahm and Sam Davidson — California Trout, Trout Unlimited — Kurt Zimmerman is Southern Steelhead genetics evince unique documents, intended to help achieve California Regional Manager for characteristics region-by-region (and recovery goals by describing strate - California Trout. Tim Frahm and Sam even watershed-by-watershed), as the gies and recommended actions likely Davidson are California Central Coast fish adapted to the particular condi - required to restore viable wild popula - Steelhead Coordinator and California tions and climate factors of coastal tions. Communications Manager for Trout streams from the Baja Peninsula to In early 2012, after years of public Unlimited. Visit their web sites at: Alaska. Today, steelhead south of San and agency input, NMFS released the www.caltrout.org Mateo County in California are catego - Final Southern California Recovery www.tucalifornia.org rized by the National Marine Fisheries Plan for the SCC steelhead. Later that Service (NMFS) into two “Distinct year, the agency released for public any anglers consider Population Segments” (DPS): the comment a Review Draft of the the steelhead trout (O. “South Central California Coastal” Recovery Plan for the South Central mykiss) the “perfect Coastal steelhead. These two Recovery fish.” Steelhead are Plans identify area-wide threats as widely revered for well as threats specific to particular Mtheir power and grace in the water, and watersheds. Common threats are the Steelhead have for the high challenge of actually three “Ds”: Dams, Diversions and catching one. Sport fishing for steel - declined across much Diminished Aquatic and Riparian head is a major contributor to many Habitats. According to NMFS, success - local economies along the California of their range along ful implementation of actions leading coast. to recovery “depends on the voluntary Steelhead are rainbow trout exhibit - the West Coast, but cooperation of multiple stakehold - ing an anadromous (i.e., migrating to ers…at the local, regional, state, and and from the ocean) life history. they are a remarkably national levels.” Unlike salmon, however, steelhead do not perish after the first spawning sea - resilient fish. The South-Central California son, and may complete the cycle of Coastal DPS anadromy multiple times. Steelhead populations have declined Steelhead that populate central (SCCC) DPS and the “Southern precipitously across much of their California streams from the Pajaro California Coastal” (SCC) DPS’s. range along the west coast of North River in Monterey County south to Genetic studies suggest that steelhead America. Yet, steelhead are a remark - Arroyo Grande Creek in San Luis from these DPS’ are the progenitors of ably resilient salmonid, and even in the Obispo County are included in the all steelhead on the west coast of the most degraded habitats, remnant pop - South-Central California Coastal DPS. United States. These DPS’s tolerate ulations still persist. This fact, and the Rivers here are of two types: short warmer water and more episodic legal status of steelhead, have led to a streams which drain coastal mountain stream flows — traits that could con - multi-party effort to recover the ranges; and rivers which flow through tribute to their long-term survival in species south of San Francisco Bay by gaps in the coastal mountains along the face of global climate change. restoring habitat, improving stream - broad inland valleys. Some of the In 1997, the SCCC DPS was “listed” as flows and fish passage opportunities, rivers in this DPS feature productive Threatened (still persisting across and even rescuing juveniles, as river lagoons, where juveniles rear and some of its historic range but with sub- segments dry up or become discon - grow; others have no functional lagoon optimal population numbers and man - nected during summer. For more than at all. Each watershed has its own agement intervention probably neces - two decades, steelhead advocacy “personality” in terms of steelhead sary) and the SCC DPS as Endangered groups such as California Trout habitat. (CalTrout) and Trout Unlimited have (at serious risk of extirpation) under the federal Endangered Species Act driven this effort, working in partner - Carmel River ship with local steelhead conservation (ESA). The ESA requires the agency organizations, resource agencies, with jurisdiction over the listed species to prepare a Recovery Plan for The Carmel River originates in the municipalities, agricultural interests, Ventana Wilderness of the Los Padres and water providers. restoring that species within its native range. Recovery Plans are “guidance” Continued on next page 16 MAY 2013 THE OSPREY • ISSUE NO. 75 Continued from previous page National Forest and drains the wine/golf mecca of Carmel Valley before flowing into Monterey Bay near Carmel. The main channel of the Carmel is 28 miles long, but the main - stem is fed by seven significant peren - nial stream tributaries. A severely diminished run of native steelhead persists in the Carmel River. As many as 5,000-10,000 steelhead may have returned each year to this river prior to construction of San Clemente Dam in 1921 and Los Padres Dam (1949) upstream of San Clemente. Today, steelhead returns vary from an estimated 300-900 adults. Due to loss of access to spawning habitat in the upper watershed and low streamflows at times during the winter and spring, it is estimated that 50% of Carmel River steelhead spawn below San Clemente Dam in sub-optimal habitat. Carmel River steelhead have been Although beleaguered from a host of threats, southern California steelhead are a the focus of an intensive, multi-decade resilient fish. With enough help they will make a comeback. Photo by Tim restoration effort by the Carmel River Frahm/Trout Unlimited Steelhead Association (CRSA) and resource agencies. CRSA and the municipal water which will reduce ular river/ocean connectivity for use Monterey Peninsula Water demand on the river, and CRSA and the by migrating steelhead. In addition, Management District rescue juvenile water management district will contin - for the last century the riparian corri - steelhead from disconnected pools in ue to rescue stranded steelhead as the dor has been ‘managed’ by adjacent the tributaries and mainstem each lower river dries up each summer. landowners to reduce flooding on farm - year and relocate them to a rearing lands. The result has been substantial facility or to segments of the mainstem Salinas River depletion of vegetative and stream bed which remain watered. This effort structure needed to create adequate may have prevented extirpation of The Salinas River watershed is the steelhead habitat and cooler water wild steelhead from this river during fourth largest watershed in California. temperatures. To address these issues, recent multi-year periods of drought. This river has an axis of 170 miles and NMFS has instituted a working group The biggest impediments to steel - flows north from its headwaters in San of stakeholders to begin integrating head recovery in the Carmel River are Luis Obispo County through one of the the needs of steelhead into river mouth the four dams within this watershed most productive row crop regions in management, and recently a Draft and water diversions. The four dams the world. The watershed encompass - River Channel Maintenance Program impede or prevent access to approxi - es nearly 4,600 square miles and Environmental Impact Report (EIR) mately 50% of the watershed, while includes the San Antonio River, the was released. The EIR proposes surface and groundwater extractions Nacimiento River and Arroyo Seco changes in river management that will cause the lower portion of the main- River as tributaries. The Salinas is benefit steelhead, and food safety audit stem to dry up during the summer. the biggest watershed south of San requirements are being modified to Trout Unlimited and CRSA are work - Francisco supporting a persistent reflect “co-management” of food safe - ing to remove and reduce these imped - steelhead population. ty and natural resource concerns. iments to recovery, most importantly Trout Unlimited is working with local to support the long political and plan - angling groups such as the Salinas Pajaro River ning process which recently produced Valley Fly Fishers to advance steel - an agreement to remove San Clemente head recovery in the Salinas River. The Pajaro River is the most norther - Dam. This historic project (it will be Due to significant manipulation of the ly river in the SCCC DPS. In 2006, the largest dam yet removed in river, the Salinas now requires American Rivers designated the California) commences in 2013, and mechanical breaching to ensure timely Pajaro as America's most endangered will restore access for steelhead to 25 opening of its mouth. Unfortunately, river, due to flood control levies along miles of good spawning habitat. In steelhead requirements have not been its lower 22 miles and severe runoff addition, local water purveyors are the trigger for such action; rather, into the river from agricultural fields. developing alternative sources for agricultural field inundation has been Despite its degraded condition, steel - the impetus. The result has been irreg - Continued on next page THE OSPREY • ISSUE NO. 75 MAY 2013 17 Continued from previous page sportsmen, land-owners, NGOs and Flycasters, the San Diego Chapter of governmental agencies committing the Audubon Society, San Diego head consistently enter this watershed time and effort to the recovery of Coastkeeper, and the Chaparral Lands and migrate to spawning habitat in the steelhead here. Conservancy.) SanDOC Coalition mem - upper tributaries. A 1966 memo from bers are finalizing a strategic plan and the California Department of Fish and have identified multiple steelhead Game estimated the run from 500 to The Southern California Coastal DPS restoration projects. Coalition mem - 2000 spawning pairs (although most bers are actively working to fund these current authorities believe present projects.