Restoration of steelhead trout

Restoration of steelhead trout will not only preserve this species for future generations, it will also focus people and policy toward rehabilitating California's coastal streams. A viable steelhead population is an indicator of the ecological health of a watershed, providing an easily understood metric for assessing the impact of human activities.

In 2001 CEMAR convened the Bay Area stream restoration community for a first-ever symposium on the status of steelhead populations and restoration efforts. Realizing that a lack of authoritative information on steelhead distribution was limiting the restoration processes, CEMAR has published the most authoritative and accessible information ever collected about steelhead in the San Francisco Bay Area, the coast between the Golden Gate and the Mexican border, and the enormous Eel River watershed. More recent work has analyzed rearing habitat and inventoried restoration needs and programs to establish priorities for restoration funding.

CEMAR has also developed support for and carried out essential projects that advance restoration. We expect our conceptual designs for fish passage barrier modifications around the Bay will be implemented over the course of the next several years, vastly improving access to habitat. Other projects have allowed for efficient fish rescues, establishing steelhead monitoring programs, and rehabilitation of large-scale stream reaches.

Our program has also been informed by our long-term facilitation of restoration activities on Alameda Creek. By working in a collaborative and comprehensive fashion, CEMAR's steelhead restoration program is addressing key problems limiting restoration so that this magnificent species can thrive throughout its historical range.