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First Steelhead Spawning in Alameda Creek Watershed Since the 1960s?
As the Pacific Fishery Management Council was proposing to close commercial and recreational salmon fishing off the California and Oregon coast because of the collapse of Central Valley chinook salmon, we received some very good news from Jeff Miller, executive director of the Alameda Creek Alliance. It appears that a pair of steelhead are spawning in Stonybrook Creek, a tributary of Alameda Creek. This would be the first time that steelhead have spawned in the creek since the 1960s.
"The pair of radio tagged steelhead trout that were given a helping hand on February 26th past the BART weir in lower Alameda Creek have paired up and made their way together into Stonybrook Creek in Niles Canyon, where they were observed traveling together and exhibiting spawning behavior for two days in early March," said Miller. "This marks the first time that adult steelhead have attempted to spawn in suitable trout habitat in the Alameda Creek watershed since the early to mid 1960s, a significant milestone in our effort to restore steelhead and salmon to Alameda Creek."
Bonnie (a female steelhead measuring 27 inches long and weighing 8.5 pounds) and Clyde (a male 28 inches and 8 pounds) were initially observed in the Alameda Creek flood control channel in Fremont on February 25th, attempting to jump the BART weir, according to Miller. They were netted by Alameda Creek Alliance volunteers, East Bay Regional Park District biologists, and Alameda County staff operating under state and federal permits on February 26th, fitted with radio tags and moved upstream into Niles Canyon. Both fish are currently holding together in a pool in the creek and could attempt to spawn again - they are being monitored daily via the radio tags.
"Please do not attempt to locate or view the steelhead - they need their privacy and are in a vulnerable location where they could easily get spooked," emphasized Miller.
We have witnessed unprecedented declines of fish in the Sacramento River and the California Delta over the past several years. The Sacramento River chinook salmon run, until just recently the healthiest population of salmon on the California and Oregon and the mainstay of the fishing industry, has crashed from a population of over 804,000 in 2002 to 88,000 in 2007. Although the Bush adminstration blames ocean conditions for the precipitous decline, a coalition of commercial fishermen, recreational fishermen, environmentalists and Indian Tribes points to massive increases in water exports from the California Delta in recent years as the major factor behind the collapse. These water exports are compounded by the complete failure of the Schwarzenegger administration to regulate the toxic brew of pesticides, herbicides, selenium and other contaminants that agribusiness dumps into Central Valley rivers and the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
The collapse of Central Valley salmon parallels the collapse of delta smelt, longfin smelt, juvenile striped bass, threadfin shad and other species on the California Delta as documented by a team of state and federal scientists since 2005. These species have reached record low population levels, due to record levels of water exports combined with the impacts of toxic chemicals and invasive species.
I greatly thank the Alameda Creek Alliance for its heroic efforts to bring salmon and steelhead home to Alameda Creek - and for providing us with this greatly needed good news in a time of tremendous fishery collapses engineered by the Bush and Schwarzenegger administrations.
"The pair of radio tagged steelhead trout that were given a helping hand on February 26th past the BART weir in lower Alameda Creek have paired up and made their way together into Stonybrook Creek in Niles Canyon, where they were observed traveling together and exhibiting spawning behavior for two days in early March," said Miller. "This marks the first time that adult steelhead have attempted to spawn in suitable trout habitat in the Alameda Creek watershed since the early to mid 1960s, a significant milestone in our effort to restore steelhead and salmon to Alameda Creek."
Bonnie (a female steelhead measuring 27 inches long and weighing 8.5 pounds) and Clyde (a male 28 inches and 8 pounds) were initially observed in the Alameda Creek flood control channel in Fremont on February 25th, attempting to jump the BART weir, according to Miller. They were netted by Alameda Creek Alliance volunteers, East Bay Regional Park District biologists, and Alameda County staff operating under state and federal permits on February 26th, fitted with radio tags and moved upstream into Niles Canyon. Both fish are currently holding together in a pool in the creek and could attempt to spawn again - they are being monitored daily via the radio tags.
"Please do not attempt to locate or view the steelhead - they need their privacy and are in a vulnerable location where they could easily get spooked," emphasized Miller.
We have witnessed unprecedented declines of fish in the Sacramento River and the California Delta over the past several years. The Sacramento River chinook salmon run, until just recently the healthiest population of salmon on the California and Oregon and the mainstay of the fishing industry, has crashed from a population of over 804,000 in 2002 to 88,000 in 2007. Although the Bush adminstration blames ocean conditions for the precipitous decline, a coalition of commercial fishermen, recreational fishermen, environmentalists and Indian Tribes points to massive increases in water exports from the California Delta in recent years as the major factor behind the collapse. These water exports are compounded by the complete failure of the Schwarzenegger administration to regulate the toxic brew of pesticides, herbicides, selenium and other contaminants that agribusiness dumps into Central Valley rivers and the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
The collapse of Central Valley salmon parallels the collapse of delta smelt, longfin smelt, juvenile striped bass, threadfin shad and other species on the California Delta as documented by a team of state and federal scientists since 2005. These species have reached record low population levels, due to record levels of water exports combined with the impacts of toxic chemicals and invasive species.
I greatly thank the Alameda Creek Alliance for its heroic efforts to bring salmon and steelhead home to Alameda Creek - and for providing us with this greatly needed good news in a time of tremendous fishery collapses engineered by the Bush and Schwarzenegger administrations.
STEELHEAD TROUT PAIR MAY BE SPAWNING IN STONYBROOK CREEK:
First in Alameda Creek Watershed Since 1960s
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 7, 2008
CONTACT: Jeff Miller (510) 499-9185
Alameda Creek Alliance
Fremont, CA – A pair of radio tagged steelhead trout that were given a helping hand last week past a barrier in
lower Alameda Creek swam up Stonybrook Creek in Niles Canyon where they were observed traveling together
and exhibiting spawning behavior last weekend. This marks the first time that adult steelhead have attempted to
spawn in suitable trout habitat in the Alameda Creek watershed since the early to mid 1960s, a significant
milestone in the decades-long effort to restore steelhead and salmon to Alameda Creek.
Bonnie (a female steelhead measuring 27 inches long and weighing 8.5 pounds) and Clyde (a male 28 inches
and 8 pounds) were initially observed in the lower Alameda Creek flood control channel in Fremont on
February 25th, attempting to jump the BART weir, an impassable fish barrier. They were netted by Alameda
Creek Alliance volunteers, East Bay Regional Park District biologists, and Alameda County staff operating
under state and federal permits on February 26th, fitted with radio tags and moved upstream into Niles Canyon.
“This is a nice hint of what is to come with the restoration of Alameda Creek fish runs,” said Jeff Miller,
Director of the Alameda Creek Alliance. “Residents along Alameda Creek and its tributaries could literally see
steelhead and salmon spawning in their backyard creeks within a few years. Our goal is to gain access for these
fish all the way up Alameda Creek into and above Sunol Regional Wilderness and to ensure there is adequate
stream flow for them to thrive.”
Both fish are currently holding together in a pool in the creek and could attempt to spawn again. In March of
1999 a female steelhead dubbed “Stella” was rescued at the BART weir and later swam into Stonybrook Creek,
where it is believed she spawned with resident rainbow trout. Stonybrook Creek has almost two miles of
suitable habitat for spawning and rearing of trout and steelhead, but several road crossing culverts are in the
lower creek. CalTrans has committed to replace a culvert at the bottom of Stonybrook Creek with a free span
bridge. In 2005 Alameda County completed conceptual designs for modifying or removing two county culverts
for fish passage in lower Stonybrook Creek. Stonybrook Creek and Alameda Creek in Niles Canyon are offlimits
to fishing.
This is the 11th consecutive winter the Alameda Creek Alliance has documented ocean-run steelhead in lower
Alameda Creek. Construction of a fish ladder is planned at the BART weir and an adjacent rubber dam by 2010,
so that steelhead can migrate on their own past the barrier to more suitable cold water spawning and rearing
habitat upstream. Since steelhead were listed as a federally threatened species in 1997 the Alameda Creek
Alliance has been advocating for dam removals and construction of fish ladders to allow fish to reach spawning
habitat in and above the Sunol Valley and Sunol Regional Park. There are 15 local, state, and federal agencies
cooperating on fish passage projects in Alameda Creek, including dam removals and construction of fish
ladders and fish screens. These restoration projects will make up to 20 miles of Alameda Creek and its
tributaries accessible to ocean-run fish for the first time in over half a century.
Until fish passage projects are completed, fisheries biologists and volunteers have been given annual permits by
the California Department of Fish and Game and the federal agency National Marine Fisheries Service to move
blocked or stranded fish from the Alameda Creek flood control channel to suitable habitat upstream, and to
track them with radio transmitters to learn more about their migration and habitat needs. The Alameda County
Water District (ACWD) and Alameda County Flood Control District are moving forward with four fish passage
projects in the lower creek, including a fish ladder that will allow fish to bypass the BART weir and middle
ACWD rubber dam, removing ACWD’s lower rubber dam, and installing fish screens at several water
diversions.
The Alameda Creek watershed covers an area of about 680 square miles and once supported populations of
steelhead trout and salmon. Steelhead and salmon are anadromous fish, living out their adult lives in the ocean
and migrating up fresh water streams and rivers to spawn and rear their young. Construction of dams, water
diversions, modifications to the Alameda Creek streambed, and urbanization made it impossible for steelhead to
migrate upstream, eliminated access to suitable spawning areas, and reduced suitable habitat. As a result,
steelhead have been absent from Alameda Creek and its tributaries for several decades.
Seventeen public agencies and nonprofit organizations signed an agreement in 2006 to collaborate on studies of
stream flows and fish habitat needed for Alameda Creek steelhead restoration. The San Francisco Public
Utilities Commission (SFPUC) recently began environmental review for capital improvement projects to the
San Francisco water supply system, including nine projects along Alameda Creek in the Sunol Valley. The
largest is the Calaveras Dam Replacement Project, to rebuild the seismically vulnerable Calaveras Dam.
The Alameda Creek Alliance is pushing for the project to include minimum flow releases from Calaveras Reservoir
to help spawning, rearing and migration of steelhead in Alameda Creek below the dam, and the removal of the
Alameda Diversion Dam from upper Alameda Creek.
Unfortunately, the SFPUC so far has dismissed consideration of the impacts of their three dams on steelhead
trout in Alameda Creek in their programmatic environmental review for the retrofits to San Francisco’s water
system. The draft Environmental Impact Report for the dam replacement project is due out this summer. The
SFPUC is also proposing other water supply projects in the Sunol Valley that could further harm fish and
wildlife in Alameda Creek. The SFPUC’s failure to include Alameda Creek stream restoration as part of the
Calaveras Dam rebuild and controversial SFPUC proposals to divert more water from Alameda Creek could
unnecessarily jeopardize the schedule for water system upgrades.
The non-profit Alameda Creek Alliance last year celebrated ten years of working to restore Alameda Creek and
its native fish populations. The Alliance, formed in August 1997 after steelhead trout in the Central California
Coast were listed as a threatened species, has grown to an organization of 1,500 members.
First in Alameda Creek Watershed Since 1960s
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 7, 2008
CONTACT: Jeff Miller (510) 499-9185
Alameda Creek Alliance
Fremont, CA – A pair of radio tagged steelhead trout that were given a helping hand last week past a barrier in
lower Alameda Creek swam up Stonybrook Creek in Niles Canyon where they were observed traveling together
and exhibiting spawning behavior last weekend. This marks the first time that adult steelhead have attempted to
spawn in suitable trout habitat in the Alameda Creek watershed since the early to mid 1960s, a significant
milestone in the decades-long effort to restore steelhead and salmon to Alameda Creek.
Bonnie (a female steelhead measuring 27 inches long and weighing 8.5 pounds) and Clyde (a male 28 inches
and 8 pounds) were initially observed in the lower Alameda Creek flood control channel in Fremont on
February 25th, attempting to jump the BART weir, an impassable fish barrier. They were netted by Alameda
Creek Alliance volunteers, East Bay Regional Park District biologists, and Alameda County staff operating
under state and federal permits on February 26th, fitted with radio tags and moved upstream into Niles Canyon.
“This is a nice hint of what is to come with the restoration of Alameda Creek fish runs,” said Jeff Miller,
Director of the Alameda Creek Alliance. “Residents along Alameda Creek and its tributaries could literally see
steelhead and salmon spawning in their backyard creeks within a few years. Our goal is to gain access for these
fish all the way up Alameda Creek into and above Sunol Regional Wilderness and to ensure there is adequate
stream flow for them to thrive.”
Both fish are currently holding together in a pool in the creek and could attempt to spawn again. In March of
1999 a female steelhead dubbed “Stella” was rescued at the BART weir and later swam into Stonybrook Creek,
where it is believed she spawned with resident rainbow trout. Stonybrook Creek has almost two miles of
suitable habitat for spawning and rearing of trout and steelhead, but several road crossing culverts are in the
lower creek. CalTrans has committed to replace a culvert at the bottom of Stonybrook Creek with a free span
bridge. In 2005 Alameda County completed conceptual designs for modifying or removing two county culverts
for fish passage in lower Stonybrook Creek. Stonybrook Creek and Alameda Creek in Niles Canyon are offlimits
to fishing.
This is the 11th consecutive winter the Alameda Creek Alliance has documented ocean-run steelhead in lower
Alameda Creek. Construction of a fish ladder is planned at the BART weir and an adjacent rubber dam by 2010,
so that steelhead can migrate on their own past the barrier to more suitable cold water spawning and rearing
habitat upstream. Since steelhead were listed as a federally threatened species in 1997 the Alameda Creek
Alliance has been advocating for dam removals and construction of fish ladders to allow fish to reach spawning
habitat in and above the Sunol Valley and Sunol Regional Park. There are 15 local, state, and federal agencies
cooperating on fish passage projects in Alameda Creek, including dam removals and construction of fish
ladders and fish screens. These restoration projects will make up to 20 miles of Alameda Creek and its
tributaries accessible to ocean-run fish for the first time in over half a century.
Until fish passage projects are completed, fisheries biologists and volunteers have been given annual permits by
the California Department of Fish and Game and the federal agency National Marine Fisheries Service to move
blocked or stranded fish from the Alameda Creek flood control channel to suitable habitat upstream, and to
track them with radio transmitters to learn more about their migration and habitat needs. The Alameda County
Water District (ACWD) and Alameda County Flood Control District are moving forward with four fish passage
projects in the lower creek, including a fish ladder that will allow fish to bypass the BART weir and middle
ACWD rubber dam, removing ACWD’s lower rubber dam, and installing fish screens at several water
diversions.
The Alameda Creek watershed covers an area of about 680 square miles and once supported populations of
steelhead trout and salmon. Steelhead and salmon are anadromous fish, living out their adult lives in the ocean
and migrating up fresh water streams and rivers to spawn and rear their young. Construction of dams, water
diversions, modifications to the Alameda Creek streambed, and urbanization made it impossible for steelhead to
migrate upstream, eliminated access to suitable spawning areas, and reduced suitable habitat. As a result,
steelhead have been absent from Alameda Creek and its tributaries for several decades.
Seventeen public agencies and nonprofit organizations signed an agreement in 2006 to collaborate on studies of
stream flows and fish habitat needed for Alameda Creek steelhead restoration. The San Francisco Public
Utilities Commission (SFPUC) recently began environmental review for capital improvement projects to the
San Francisco water supply system, including nine projects along Alameda Creek in the Sunol Valley. The
largest is the Calaveras Dam Replacement Project, to rebuild the seismically vulnerable Calaveras Dam.
The Alameda Creek Alliance is pushing for the project to include minimum flow releases from Calaveras Reservoir
to help spawning, rearing and migration of steelhead in Alameda Creek below the dam, and the removal of the
Alameda Diversion Dam from upper Alameda Creek.
Unfortunately, the SFPUC so far has dismissed consideration of the impacts of their three dams on steelhead
trout in Alameda Creek in their programmatic environmental review for the retrofits to San Francisco’s water
system. The draft Environmental Impact Report for the dam replacement project is due out this summer. The
SFPUC is also proposing other water supply projects in the Sunol Valley that could further harm fish and
wildlife in Alameda Creek. The SFPUC’s failure to include Alameda Creek stream restoration as part of the
Calaveras Dam rebuild and controversial SFPUC proposals to divert more water from Alameda Creek could
unnecessarily jeopardize the schedule for water system upgrades.
The non-profit Alameda Creek Alliance last year celebrated ten years of working to restore Alameda Creek and
its native fish populations. The Alliance, formed in August 1997 after steelhead trout in the Central California
Coast were listed as a threatened species, has grown to an organization of 1,500 members.
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