Trabuco Creek:
Making way for steelhead
Providing fish passage on Trabuco Creek in Orange County at Interstate 5 crossing will address one of the most significant barriers in Southern California. A redesign will reconnect fragmented habitat.
RETURN TO RESILIENCE
Matilija Dam:
How to pull
the plug?
The case of Matilija Dam in Ventura County illustrates the complexities of dam removal. Built in the 1940s for flood control and irrigation water storage, it was condemned by the 1960s as being structurally unsound.
CalTrout is a long-standing member of the Matilija Coalition, and has recently taken a key role in developing comprehensive dam removal grant proposals and identifying funding needed to complete the project. Southern California steelhead evolved to survive in warmer waters than other steelhead populations, making this a particularly valuable population to protect in times of climate change.
RETURN TO RESILIENCE
One of the most significant fish passage barriers in Southern California is the Interstate 5 (I-5) Bridge Array on Trabuco Creek, a major tributary to San Juan Creek in Orange County. The I-5 bridge array project site comprises Trabuco Creek stream channel beneath an array of five bridges consisting of (west to east) Camino Capistrano, I-5 southbound, I-5 northbound, Rancho Viejo Road, and a wooden pedestrian overpass. The fish passage barrier is the concrete flood control channel beneath these bridges spanning about 0.25 mile.