Session Coordinator: Wendy Katagi, McMillen Corporation

 

As we have witnessed with the rapid return of salmonids to the Klamath River after removal of the four large and impassable dams that blocked hundreds of miles of spawning and rearing habitat for native fish – and diminished the ecological, cultural and biological function of that watershed – we have the opportunity in Southern California to make transformational change for state and federally ESA listed Steelhead in Southern California. Momentum to remove Matilija Dam and Rindge Dam, as part of the Ventura River and Malibu Creek Ecosystem Restoration Projects respectively, are garnering renewed support and a sense of urgency to get these dams off the landscape. Further south – remediation of barriers which are entwined with major transportation structures such as the Trabuco fish passage structure at the Metrolink Bridge in Orange County must employ different tactics for hydraulic fishways. This project is now in final design, funded and ready to start construction. The LA River has always been the central hub of activity for fish, water and people – it now sees an elevated ecological stature for the LA28 Olympics and the impetus to improve the natural watershed characteristics that can sustain fisheries through major upgrades throughout the river system. The San Gabriel Mountains headwaters streams, with spring-fed waters but perilous fires, hold some of the last and well-adapted native rainbow trout of coastal steelhead lineage in the mountains of Southern California. This session will highlight the long-term vision now becoming reality through sophisticated engineering design and ecological modeling for recovery of Southern steelhead through removal of these major threats to steelhead recovery in high priority rivers across the Distinct Population Segment.