As a lifelong angler and Malibu resident, I applaud Mr. Meyer and the Steelhead Coalition’s efforts to save the Southern California steelhead trout from extinction.
And I agree with Bo Meyer, that they are truly magnificent creatures. I was fortunate to catch them in Malibu Creek back in the ’60s, a few the size of salmon. We occasionally fished at night at the “Arizona Crossing” type bridge in Cross Creek and although the water was often less then 12 inches deep there, they appeared to have no trouble crossing, in fact they regularly swam through creek riffles much shallower than that. For steelhead, traversing shallows or Arizona Crossings in their spawning run is not the problem. Water quality is. I also witnessed their immediate destruction when the Tapia treatment facility began pumping into the creek.
Now that our government is finally funding endangered species groups, a lot of people want to save the steelhead (or any other endangered animal for that matter). That’s great. Too bad they weren’t around back then. I haven’t heard these groups addressing water quality issues regarding the reintroduction of these trout. I don’t believe steelhead can thrive in the Santa Monica Mountain watershed. Urban runoff, semi-treated sewerage and low water levels have created too toxic an environment. They don’t call them an “indicator species” for nothing.
Sure, a few fish probably still exist, but their ability to reproduce and thrive is long gone. Spending $40 million tearing down Malibu Canyon Dam won’t solve anything. Is tiny Solstice Creek really an acceptable alternative? It sure is a far cry from the typical water steelhead live in, and although less polluted (at the moment) than Malibu Creek, isn’t big enough to support a large population.
Mr. Meyers suggests that his efforts will increase Malibu’s revenue from fishermen. Who is he kidding? Anglers will not be allowed to catch these endangered fish and no money will really come from that source. If he wants to keep “this great fish in the pantheon of West Coast animals,” his group might be better served building a rearing facility, perhaps on the undeveloped park land on the east side of Malibu Lagoon, and raising their steelhead in self-contained waters, much like Troutdale, then carefully releasing them into the ocean. Malibu, despite its rural appearance, is just too urbanized to accommodate the steelhead trout. We can have the fish, or our golf courses, housing tracts, stables, pesticides, fertilizers, human and animal wastes, but we don’t get both.
I guess that a certain species’ predominance is, as the scientists say, “cyclical.” The steelhead will probably return-after we’re gone. Forget your federal funding and coalitions. I bet Mother Nature has a plan, and with the way things are going, we may not be in it for long.
Scott Winner