California State Parks will be giving the endangered southern California steelhead trout another chance to make a comeback with the $3.2 million “Arroyo Sequit Creek Steelhead Barrier Removal Project.” Beginning two weeks ago, a construction crew in Leo Carrillo State Park began removing two concrete road crossings (also known as “Arizona crossings”) from the Arroyo Sequit Creek that prevent steelhead trout from reaching four-and-a-half miles of prime historic habitat upstream. The crossings will be replaced by free-span bridges.
According to Angeles District Superintendent Craig Sap, the largest of the two road creek crossings is near PCH. The second one, which is much smaller, is located at the back of the campground. “The most time consuming thing will be the concrete pouring for the bridge forms and pillar supports. Once it’s poured, it needs a month to dry, so it’ll be hurry up and wait.”
Construction of the new bridges is also expected to make the park more visitor-serving, because they’ll be far less likely to flood than the Arizona crossings.
As part of the project, Sap said there would also be “re-contouring of the creek to make a more natural condition,” and “replanting with native plants.”
During construction, which is expected to last at least until the end of October, but could extend through December, Malibu residents and visitors may need to look out for an increase in the number of cars parked along PCH at Leo Carrillo since both of the public parking lots will be closed (except to some campers). Pedestrians can access the beach via a pedestrian pathway under the PCH bridge, which will not be affected during project construction. Drop-offs at the South Beach parking lot will not be available.
Construction work on creek beds is regulated, and only allowed when the creek is dry during the summer and fall. “We wanted to get this project started as soon as possible,” Sap said, “because the permit to work in the creek expires at the end of October — the beginning of the rainy season. Although, if there’s no running water, we can ask for an extension.”
Steelhead trout are found only between the Santa Maria River in Central California and the Mexican border. Historically, thousands spawned each year in the streams of the Santa Monica Mountains; but today, only Arroyo Sequit, Malibu and Topanga creeks are used by a few steelhead trout. The Southern California Steelhead Trout Recovery Plan (National Marine Fisheries Service – 2012) estimates that only 500 ocean-going adult steelhead are left. Dams and other man-made barriers across creeks are the primary reason for their decline.
Funding and grants for the steelhead project were obtained from nine different public and private agencies.
State Parks has also been investing in other projects at Leo Carrillo. Last year, they removed one two-foot dam across the Arroyo Sequit Creek, also for the purpose of improving steelhead trout access.
This year, they’ll be the first campground in the Angeles District to upgrade selected campsites with electrical hook-ups. From Oct. 1 until Jan. 31, 2016, about 55 campsites out of a total of 135 will be closed for upgrades.
“Adding the electrical hook-ups will allow larger RVs and trailers to use the park, as well as tent campers that want electricity,” Sap said. One of the park rules is that campers’ electrical generators have to be turned off at 8 p.m. because of the noise.
Broad Beach sand replenishment project update
The Broad Beach Geological Hazardous Abatement District (BBGHAD), a group of 121 property owners on Broad Beach, will have its second hearing in front of the California Coastal Commission (CCC) in October.
The group has been seeking a Coastal Development Permit (CDP) to truck in hundreds of thousands of cubic yards of sand to restore the badly eroded mile of beach and sand dunes adjoining their properties since 2012.
The group’s attorney, Ken Ehrlich, said in a phone interview with The Malibu Times that the group is “excited” about the hearing, and hopeful that the sand replenishment project can begin in the “early months of next year so everyone can enjoy a restored beach by the summer.”
So far, the BBGHAD has incurred over $8 million in costs out of a $20 million budget for the project, primarily on government-requested engineering and environmental studies.
After the first hearing with the CCC last December, the BBGHAD decided to temporarily withdraw its CDP application in order to make changes recommended by the CCC staff. Changes included reducing the amount of sand from 600,000 to 300,000 cubic yards and renourishing the beach as needed rather than on a set schedule. CCC wanted the beach to be made only as wide as it was before instead of wider and wanted assurances that no sand would be poured on a designated rocky intertidal habitat area at the far western end of Broad Beach.
