City of Santa Barbara - Fish

Mission Creek Fish Passage Projects

A 30" steelhead trout in Mission Creek in 2008. Southern California Steelhead Trout
The steelhead trout is a remarkable trout species that lives in both freshwater and ocean environments. Steelhead trout are born in freshwater streams/rivers. They typically spend their first year in freshwater habitats and then migrate to the ocean where they spend most of their adult life. Adult steelhead trout are anadromous, meaning they migrate up freshwater streams and rivers to spawn.

Steelhead trout are native to streams and rivers along the Pacific Coast from Mexico to Alaska. Populations of southern steelhead historically existed in all of the larger watersheds within Santa Barbara County (Stoecker 2002). The Santa Ynez River is reported to have had the largest population of steelhead in all of Southern California, with estimates of 13,000 to 25,000 adults returning in the 1943-1944 run (Titus 1994).

Steelhead trout in Rattlesnake Creek.

Although the range of steelhead trout is still very large, from Alaska to northern Baja, populations in the southern portion of their range have been severely reduced. Since the beginning of the century it is estimated that steelhead populations in Southern California have been reduced to less than one percent of their former population size (Stoecker 2002).

Due to this significant reduction, the Southern California steelhead trout population (which includes Santa Barbara County) has been federally designated as an endangered species by the National Marine Fisheries Service.

Mission Creek Restoration Program
Mission Creek is considered the most viable stream for steelhead trout restoration within the City of Santa Barbara. Mission Creek has an existing population of rainbow trout, contains high quality spawning and rearing habitat within the stream channels in the mid and upper watershed, and has a documented historic run of steelhead trout.

In five of the last seven years, Southern California steelhead trout have been observed attempting to migrate and spawn within the lower section of Mission Creek. During the winter of 2007/2008 six steelhead trout over sixteen inches were documented in the lower section of Mission Creek.

Barriers
Although steelhead trout are frequently spotted in Mission Creek, they are unable to migrate upstream and spawn due to barriers within the creek channel. Currently, there are 12 significant anthropogenic (manmade) barriers to steelhead trout migration in Mission Creek. The Creeks Division is working to remove three of these barriers, located at the Caltrans Channels, the Tallant Road Bridge, and the Highway 192 Bridge. Removing these barriers would provide access for steelhead trout to 3.9 miles of creek channel, which includes 2 miles of moderate to high quality spawning and rearing habitat (Stoecker 2002).

Caltrans Channel Barriers
Mission Creek at the Caltrans Channel. The two concrete lined flood control channels known as the “Caltrans Channels” are major barriers to steelhead migration. The upstream channel is approximately 0.3 miles long, extending between Los Olivos and Pedregosa Streets, and the downstream channel is approximately 0.8 miles long, extending between Arrellaga and Canon Perdido Streets. The upstream and downstream channels are separated by a 0.4 mile long natural section extending between Pedregosa and Arrellaga Streets.

The Caltrans Channels were constructed in 1934 and 1961 respectively, by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to improve flood control along Highway 101. The channels prevent fish from migrating upstream because flow rates and flow depths within the concrete channels are too fast and/or to shallow for fish to swimp upstream, and there are no resting areas.

The Creeks Division has received two grants from the California Department of Fish and Game (DFG), and one private grant from the Annenberg Foundation (through the Environmental Defense Center) for project design. A feasible concept design has been developed and the City is currently working with HDR Engineering to prepare the final construction design plans and specifications, expected to be completed in the fall of 2010. Construction at the upper channel is scheduled for summer 2011, and construction of the lower channel will follow in 2012.

City staff visit the concrete grade control structure in Mission Creek at the Tallant Road Bridge in Oak Park. Tallant Road Bridge
The Tallant Road Bridge is located at the upstream end of Oak Park and provides a critical link between the Samarkand neighborhood and downtown Santa Barbara. The bridge currently has a large concrete grade control structure that extends downstream of the bridge approximately 80 feet. The grade control structure also protects a sewer line that runs below the creek bed. At the bottom of the grade control structure is a large pool. Due to the height and length of the grade control structure, fish passage upstream is considered almost impossible.

Conceptual design work for modifying the barrier at the Tallant Road Bridge was completed by Questa Engineering in June 2007 thanks to a grant from the State Coastal Conservancy. Questa Engineering was hired to prepare final construction plans and specifications in July 2008, funded through a grant from the DFG’s Fisheries Restoration Grant Program. The fish passage design selected for the Tallant Road Bridge will replace the existing grade control structure with a series of large riffles and pools. Permitting and final construction plans for the project were completed in April 2010, and the Creeks Division has received grant funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Open Rivers Program and the DFG Fisheries Restoration Grant Program for project construction, which is scheduled to begin in July 2010 and to be completed in October 2010.

Highway 192 Bridge
The Highway 192 barrier is located upstream of the Caltrans Channels and the Tallant Road Bridge. The bridge currently has a large concrete grade control structure that extends downstream of the bridge approximately 40 feet. The grade control structure also protects a large 36” water main operated by the Cachuma Operation and Maintenance Board (COMB) that runs below the creek. At the bottom of the grade control structure is a large pool. The concrete grade control structure severely limits upstream fish migration.

Questa Engineering was hired by the Creeks Division to prepare final construction plans and specifications in July 2008. The Creeks Division received a grant from DFG to develop the plans for the fish passage project and originally intended to construct the project. However, COMB has agreed to use the fish passage plans to restore the creek during their project to replace the water line. The Creeks Division coordinated with COMB on completing the final plans and specifications, and COMB is now the responsible agency for permitting and constructing the fish passage project at the Highway 192 Bridge, scheduled for construction in summer 2011.

For more information on fish passage projects, please contact George Johnson at (805) 897-1958.