Grant funds are in place to build a bridge at controversial Serra Retreat crossing. Malibu Creek is now a protected steelhead trout habitat, making it a federal offense to disturb the waters.
By Stephanie Mojica/Special to The Malibu Times
The battle over replacing the concrete blocks at the Serra Retreat Arizona Crossing with a bridge over Malibu Creek is flowing toward a close, thanks to a $400,000 grant.
Serra Canyon residents such as Bill Carson, and Santa Monica Bay Restoration Commission environmental specialist Jack Popel worked together for more than a year to get the money needed to build the bridge. The commission, started by the state and the Environmental Protection Agency in 1988, is now an independent organization dedicated to helping the bay and its watersheds.
When it rains, Serra Retreat residents cannot drive over the creek due to rising waters. One of the most controversial issues around Serra Crossing are the cement blocks placed out for driving in and out of the community during storms, which environmentalists say impedes the endangered steelhead trout from moving.
“Helping an endangered species is really in line with our mission,” Popel said. “The people I’ve dealt with at Serra Canyon are very nice, and we’ve enjoyed working to help the trout and residents in general.”
However, some say trout sightings, and the fact that the water would support any trout, are unsubstantiated.
Serra Retreat resident Louis Busch said the bridge is important, but the idea of it helping the trout is unfounded.
“We have the Las Virgenes Sewer Plant dumping in the creek year after year, polluting the water for people and animals, and some groups claim concrete is what’s hurting trout,” Busch said. “I really question why people are more worried about concrete blocks than sewage. Maybe it’s easier to try to lay guilt on the citizens over the big taxpayers.”
In 1992, the steelhead all but disappeared from the creek, though isolated sightings have been reported in recent years. The grant funds come at a time when officials from the National Marine Fisheries Service are preparing to formally release a report that includes, among other topics, official information that there are still steelhead trout in Malibu Creek. David Boughton, a research ecologist for the National Marine Fisheries Service in Santa Cruz, supervised the project.
“Last year, the field crew detected numbers of steelhead trout in Malibu Creek, as well as in nearby areas such as Topanga,” Boughton said. “There were no adults spotted, but likely they were there or nearby at some point in order for the juveniles to exist. There is a need to give them the best possible chance to thrive again.”
Last spring, Malibu Creek became an official protected steelhead habitat. Thus, placing concrete blocks in the water near Cross Creek Road by Malibu Plaza Shopping Center became a federal offense, but through cooperation, residents avoided hefty fines.
An ideal habitat for the steelhead would be a creek with gravel, pools, and shade that had no restrictions on movement, said Suzanne Goode, senior resource ecologist for California Department of State Parks and Recreation.
She said the bridge, when built, would help the steelhead move effectively up and down stream.
“I’m excited that the money is becoming available to build the bridge,” Goode said. “It’s not just about trout, but also keeping the people safe.”
Once the necessary permits are issued and the construction plans finalized, work will begin, Popel said. The project should break ground by the end of the year.
Carson, a member of the Serra Canyon Property Owners Association, said he has no problems with the construction plan. But he does not believe it will help steelhead trout.
“Reports that they are already in Malibu Creek have never been substantiated with photos or other evidence,” Carson said. “It seems almost like propaganda.”
Boughton said few scientists take photographs or provide other concrete evidence in such research.
“We don’t ask a doctor to prove to us that we’re sick with all sorts of photographs and videos of the diagnosis,” Boughton said. “Our research shows there are juvenile steelhead in parts of Southern California, including Malibu Creek. Qualified personnel saw them. I respect the citizens, but these scientists are highly trained to differentiate one kind of fish from the other, and they were steelhead.”
Details of the crew’s findings will be officially released in the next couple of months.
Jim Edmondson, Southern California manager of CalTrout, a watchdog group dedicated to preserving steelhead, said the upcoming report is not a surprise.
“There have been juveniles spotted in the last 20 years,” Edmondson said. “Maybe it’s harder to tell than in the 1950s to 1970s, but they are definitely there. No one is here to duel, and I am glad people are finally moving toward a solution that no one can lose in.”