Thursday, November 5, 2009

Steelhead Revival



Over 120 people attended the Steelhead Revival presentation yesterday at Patagonia headquarters in Ventura. The event was organized by Matt Stoecker and Mauricio Gomez to provide an overview of the federally endangered southern steelhead trout and highlight efforts to restore this magnificent, iconic species to our local watersheds.

This event, fourth in a series, focused on the Santa Clara and Ventura River watersheds, both of which drain to the ocean in the city of Ventura. Matt provided a lively overview of the species, a presentation filled with photos and video that brought the fish to life. Matt also highlighted some of the recent progress made in our region with removal of small barriers that have reopened upstream habitat critical to the recovery of this endangered species.

I was invited to provide an update on the work of the Matilija Coalition, a program that has benefited from the support of Patagonia since 2000. I gave a brief overview of Matilija Dam and the steelhead monitoring that we have been sponsoring for the past 2 years.

The Q&A included much discussion of the Matilija Dam removal project, and the current impass on sediment management. There was interest in the before and after 'vision' for Matilija canyon, an image that has been integral to the planning process. This is also posted in video format here


If you missed it, there are two more events coming up:

November 7, 3:30 pm, Arroyo Hondo Preserve – Gaviota Coast
In coordination with the Land Trust for Santa Barbara County, this presentation will focus on theGaviota Coast (Jalama to Goleta) Watersheds.

November 19, 7:30 pm, Solvang Library, 1745 Mission Drive
In coordination with the Santa Ynez Valley Natural History Society, this presentation will focus
on the Santa Ynez River Watershed.

For additional information and specifics on upcoming events please contact:
Matt Stoecker matt@stoeckerecological.com or Mauricio Gomez mgomez@schabitatrestoration.org.

Many thanks to Patagonia for making this series of events possible.