Steelhead view spawns hope
By Jesse Phelps

While working up in the Sespe to restore the habitat of steelhead two weeks ago, in a tributary called Piedras Blancas Creek, members of Concerned Resource and Environmental Workers (the C.R.E.W.) ran across a welcome sight. There, in a pool, shying away but clearly visible, were several trout.

"We're excited to find fish still there," said Wally McCall, leader of the C.R.E.W. "Piedras Blancas Creek has always had trout."
McCall said activists are concerned about the creek because it was significantly affected by the runoff from the Wolf Fire a couple of years back. "The runoff turned that creek into something that looked like concrete slurry," he said.

The C.R.E.W. received a grant for more than $140,000 from California Fish and Game last year, originally to be implemented in 2004, to repair the habitat for the fish, which are listed as an endangered species.

As a result of the fire, however, the schedule for the restoration project was moved up and in June, in collaboration with the fire service and Ventura County Wetland Recovery Taskforce, the C.R.E.W. went to work.

Members of the team are working on a two-phase project, said McCall. "The first phase," he said, "is to minimize siltation and erosion. We sent a crew out in the summer, in excess of 25 people each week for the first month and a half, working out there to rebuild the trail to prevent siltation runoff ... We finished phase one in early August."

Then, said McCall, a team went into the area to prepare for the second phase. "With one of our chief trail leaders and two biologists, a horseback team went out to assess the current status of the creek," he said.

And there, looking quite healthy, were healthy fish in several pools.
"In the process of assessing creek stability and health and inventorying vegetation sites and sources, we were able to photograph trout in three separate sites. What makes this significant is that they're still there," said McCall. "That's why we selected it as a site to save."
Consulting biologist Jeff Brinkman was on the team that observed the fish. He said that any steelhead in the Piedras Blancas could be native or the result of stocking. He believes, however, based on both behavior and appearance, that all the fish seen by the team were born in the wild and will potentially make the migration to the ocean traditionally undertaken by steelhead.

"Hatchery fish usually have worn down fins and bland silvery coloration. These fish didn't look like that, " Brinkman said. "The fish that we saw were definitely not hatchery fish. Intact fins and markings indicate that they're wild fish. Good brown spots, good coloration. The wild-born fish tend to be very skittish when they see people. These fish were definitely exhibiting that behavior."

McCall said that trout in the Piedras Blancas have been adversely affected not only by the fire, but also by siltation and inappropriate foot traffic into the shallows and spawning areas. He also pointed out that an "impact on breeding caused by temperature changes as a result of lost vegetation on the creek sides. "We're trying to focus on all three of those issues," said McCall.

The second phase of the restoration project will focus on re-vegetation using local native plants such as California Rose, California Blackberry and other man-inhibiting plants the deter foot traffic from the creek sides. "Significant discussion determined which plants were appropriate," said McCall. Two plant biologists, Mike Vaughan and Chis Bysshe, who is also developing a native plant nursery for the land conservancy, have "strong working knowledge of native plant biology," according to McCall.

The C.R.E.W.'s Piedras Blancas steelhead habitat restoration project will continue for the next year and half. Piedras Blancas Creek, located in the Dick Smith Wilderness system, serves as a tributary to the Sespe, which flows into the Santa Clara River. A fish ladder similar to the one undergoing construction in the Ventura River at the Robles Diversion provides them access to the ocean.

© 2003 The Ojai Valley News

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