Dam Removal, the easy way

[Digger]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OW1RZf8j0TM&mode=related&search=

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Yahooo......way to go.

[bigtj]

There is some seriously good fly-fishing in thata area. Anybody from So. Cal get your topo map and mountain bike out and fish that area from April-June you won't be disappointed, just check the regs some places are closed to protect southern CA steelhead. . In many of the places I've fished the fish are landlocked steelhead and have a very silvery appearance. Definitely good stuff to see the habitat restored.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

In the past 41 years that I have spent in the fishing tackle business in Sacramento I have talked to many who have move up here from Southern Cal and have told me about the Steelhead that use to run up rivers all the way down into Mexico on the Pacific Coast.

Many of those streams were damed up because of the serious need for water down that way.

Great to see them rebuilding those fisheries.

[PaulC]

Right on. Hopefully Matilija dam is next!
http://pages.sbcglobal.net/pjenkin/matilija/

[PaulC]

Right on. Hopefully Matilija dam is next!
http://pages.sbcglobal.net/pjenkin/matilija/

[Langenbeck]

I'm all for dam removal but a little too much hype on this one. This dam was on a feeder creek to the Sisquoc River(year around stream on private land with a healthy trout population). The Sisquoc River then flows into the Santa Maria River which is dry 99% of the time. I have NEVER heard of any steelhead runs going up the Santa Maria River. Was born & raised in Santa Maria. Thirty miles to the south is the Santa Ynez River which used to have runs of 20,000 fish prior to Cachuma Dam.

So much for the claim of 15 new miles of steelhead spawning waters. :cry:

[Darian]

As a transplant from SoCal, I recall that during the late 50's or early 60's either Matilija or Cachuma dam was "notched" to reduce the probability of failure due to leakage.... :? :? This all occured around the time that Baldwin Hills dam (in west LA) failed inundating that community. The resulting paranoia caused all of the area dams to be inspected for potential failure.

I guess they've been repaired as reports give me the impression that both of these dams are functional, now. :? :?

[bigtj]

Lagenbeck,

I disagree a bit with the sentiment you expressed and the mis-information you provided. There historically have been steelhead in the Santa Maria river, those fish just had be a bit more opportunistic than rivers with historically higher flows like the Santa Ynez. You may not know that S. cal steelhead are adapted to drought conditions which means returns aren't necessarily ever year or even to the same stream. Those fish get in, spawn, and get out in a matter of a month or two, doesn't matter if the river is dry the rest of the year. And if they can't get up one stream, they'll move to another. Any progress is good and in my opinion the hype on this project is good, gets people interested in the process as a whole and the fact that there are thousands of dams in a state of disrepair that need to be removed. One step at a time in the right direction is a whole lot better than settling for status quo like we have for the past 100 years. All we have to do is give the fish a place to call home and they will come back.

Here is a link to S. cal steelhead that describes their historical distribution, including the Santa Maria river:

http://www.tucalifornia.org/socalsteelhead.htm

Here is a brief description of the southern ca steelhead ESU, from NMFS:

Southern California--This coastal steelhead ESU occupies rivers from the Santa Maria River to the southern extent of the species range. Historically, O. mykiss occurred at least as far south as Rio del Presidio in Mexico (Behnke 1992, Burgner et al. 1992). Spawning populations of steelhead did not occur that far south but may have extended to the Santo Domingo River in Mexico (Barnhart 1986); however, some reports state that steelhead may not have existed south of the U.S.-Mexico border (Behnke 1992, Burgner et al. 1992). The present southernmost stream used by steelhead for spawning is generally thought to be Malibu Creek, California (Behnke 1992, Burgner et al. 1992); however, in years of substantial rainfall, spawning steelhead can be found as far south as the Santa Margarita River, San Diego County (Barnhart 1986, Higgins 1991).

Genetic data show large differences between steelhead populations within this ESU as well as between these and populations to the north. Steelhead populations between the Santa Ynez River and Malibu Creek show a predominance of a mitochondrial DNA type (ST8) that is rare in populations to the north. Allozyme data indicate that two samples from Santa Barbara County are genetically among the most distinctive of any natural populations of coastal steelhead yet examined.

Migration and life history patterns of southern California steelhead depend more strongly on rainfall and streamflow than is the case for steelhead populations farther north (Moore 1980, Titus et al. in press). Average rainfall is substantially lower and more variable in southern California than in regions to the north, resulting in increased duration of sand berms across the mouths of streams and rivers and, in some cases, complete dewatering of the lower reaches of these streams from late spring through fall. Environmental conditions in marginal habitats may be extreme (e.g., elevated water temperatures, droughts, floods, and fires) and presumably impose selective pressures on steelhead populations. Their utilization of southern California streams and rivers with elevated temperatures (in some cases much higher than the preferred range for steelhead) suggests that steelhead within this ESU are able to withstand higher temperatures than populations to the north. The relatively warm and productive waters of the Ventura River have resulted in more rapid growth of juvenile steelhead than occurs in more northerly populations (Moore 1980, Titus et al. in press, McEwan and Jackson 1996). However, we have relatively little life history information for steelhead from this ESU. Additionally, the relationship between anadromous and nonanadromous O. mykiss, including possibly residualized (footnote 5) fish upstream from dams, is unclear.


Darian,

It's Matilija that was notched. I think what is taking so long is the amount of sediment in behind it. It's completely filled in. It's going to cost a lot to get that out of there. Good thing though when they do there are zillion trout in that stream that will head out into the ocean in a hurry. A couple wet years and there will be a run of 800-1,000 steelhead a year in the ventura river/matilija creek.

[Langenbeck]

bigtj: I have careful read your references. You claim that I provided mis-information. Please give me any DOCUMENTED reference that steelhead have been observed in the Santa Maria River drainage including either the Cuyuma River and the Sisquoc River. Almost all other streams in Santa Barbara County(Gavoita Creek, Santa Ynez, etc) and San Luis Obispo County(Arroyo Grande Creek, San Luis Creek, etc) in fact had runs of steelhead. There have been periods of 5-8 years when NO WATER in the Santa Maria River reaches the ocean. My history on the Santa Maria River drainage goes back 55 years and I have never heard of a steelhead in that drainage. You would think with the two big water years of 1987-88 there would have been some sighting. See no specific reference in the memos from Eric Gerstung to Bob Rawstron on this subject.

I stand ready to be corrected with a documented reference.

[Langenbeck]

Here are the best references I can find on the Santa Maria River drainage.
Santa Barbara County (Line follows the Santa Maria R. and Cuyama R.)
Santa Maria R. SH-W Described by Shapovalov in 1944. The Santa Maria River is formed at the confluence of the Cuyama and Sisquoc Rivers, ~40km upstream from the Pacific. Stream flow in the main river was historically interrupted and intermittent throughout the year especially during the summer except in some headwater tributaries where perennial flow occurs (Manzana Cr., South Fork Sisquoc R.). Other factors affected habitat, such as forest fires, which increased runoff and erosion, and groundwater pumping and surface diversions, which reduced available stream flows. Steelhead used the main river primarily as a migratory route to the tributaries. Adults entered with the first heavy rains of the season (Dec.-Mar.). Few details found regarding historic spawning areas and run size. Rescued juvenile steelhead from the Santa Ynez were planted during 1940-1944 and possibly in 1945 and 1946. The last sizable run of steelhead was in 1941 with a few adults reported in 1942-1943. Seven years of drought and the completion of Vaquero Dam in late 1950's @ 6.5 miles (11 km) up the Cuyama River created unreliable flows. Shapovalov 1944b
Evans 1951
Cuyama R. SH-W No historical account of steelhead distribution in Cuyama River. Headwater tributaries managed for catchable trout and stocked with hatchery trout (Alamo Cr. - 1947; Beartrap Cr. - 1944 and 1947; Reyes Cr. - 1933, 1941-1948). Titus et al. 2000
Los Alamos Cr. ? Planted with juvenile steelhead rescued from the Santa Ynez River from 1940-1942. Creek has perennial flow and now forms one of the arms of Twitchell Reservoir. Shapovalov 1944b
Sisquoc R. SH-W
RT Used more heavily by steelhead for spawning than the Cuyama R.. Historically known for its sports fishery of trout and steelhead. Local newspaper articles from 1890 commented on plentiful "trout". 1959 stream survey indicated self-sustaining population of trout and therefore suitable stream conditions for steelhead although none were mentioned. A 1964 survey during the low flow period indicated fewer trout were found due to poor water conditions, and the upstream movement of anadromous fish was not possible because of intensified water use. SH juveniles planted in 1930. Shapovalov 1944
Richardson 1959
Whalls 1964
Swift, pers. comm.
Tepusquet Cr. ? Planted with 73,800 juvenile steelhead from the Santa Ynez River during 1940 to 1944. Shapovalov 1944b
La Brea Cr. SH-W Know as a spawning area for steelhead. Spawning and rearing habitat was influenced by forest fires in the 1920's which increased sediment loads and filled in pools in the stream. Shapovalov 1944b
Manzana Cr. ? Perennial flows present. In 1930, ~15,000 hatchery steelhead were planted as were rainbow (10,000 in 1930, 4,500 in 1941-1942. Approximately 47,240 juvenile steelhead were rescued from the Santa Ynes and were planted from 1940 to 1944. Titus et al. 2000
Davy Brown Canyon Cr. ? Tributary to Manzana Cr. Approximately 103,600 juvenile steelhead rescued from the Santa Ynez River were planted from 1941 to 1944 (also, 1,900 rainbow trout in 1941-1942). Titus et al. 2000
South Fork Sisquoc R. ? Tributary to Manzana Cr. Approximately 10,000 hatchery reared steelhead were planted in 1933 (3,200 hatchery rainbow trout in 1942) Shapovalov 1944b

Please not the bulk of the references are circa 1944

[bigtj]

Lagenbeck,


Well looks like you answered it for yourself. The Santa Maria and it's tributaries have, in the past, had viable populations of steelhead. It's just easier to say that given the right water conditions, nearly any coastal stream north of the mexican border is a candidate to provide steelhead habitat, given the removal of man-made barriers to fish passage and sufficent in-stream flows. This includes the Santa Maria and its tributaries. You won't find a single biologist knowledgable with the subject that will argue with this statement.

For the heck of it, here's the excerpt fromt he first link I provided that talks about the Sisquoc and Cuyama:

In terms of the stream habitat presently utilized, southern steelhead occur in about 16 km of the Ventura River, 5 km of Malibu Creek, 16 km of the Santa Ynez River, and, if they still occur there, within 80 km of suitable habitat in Sespe Creek (E. Gerstung, pers. comm.). The once large steelhead runs in San Mateo Creek and Santa Margarita River have been completely eliminated (Higgins 1991). Other now extirpated runs occurred in the San Luis Rey, San Diego, and San Dieguito rivers, and San Onofre Creek (all in San Diego County), Santa Ana River and San Juan Creek (Orange County), San Gabriel River (Los Angeles County), Sisquoc River (Santa Barbara County) and the Cuyama River (USFWS 1991). A detailed stream-by-stream account of southern steelhead distribution and abundance is currently being completed by R. Titus, W. Snider (CDFG) and D. Erman (UCD).

I'm surprised growing up in Santa Maria you never head of steelhead in the Sisquoc or Cuyama. I grew up in Ventura and heard about steelhead being in both locations in the 1980's, that's where I first heard about the Santa Maria river having steelhead migrations. By the way to clarify, habitat within the Santa Maria proper is marginal, think of the river system as a whole, not just the part below the confluences with tributaries. You can't separate the two when talking about the river system and it's biological integrity.

[bigtj]

Looks like the Matilija dam removal is on track. Here is a powerpoint from a recent meeting of the Ventura flood protection district, it has a gantt chart that says dam removal should commence some time around the end of the decade:

http://www.matilijadam.org/documents/1-06presentation.pdf

I think removal of Matilija dam is not a question of if, but when. Ventura county realizes they are going to have a huge liability on their hands if the dam fails, it's time to ge the thing out of there.

I can't wait to see this happen, it's something I have dreamed of for twenty years.