Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Man vs. trout vs. drought

In the turf war between man and trout, man inevitably wins. And the Southern California steelhead trout – an endangered species with a population a tenth of its former size – is suffering greatly as people destroy its habitat. Engineers armor streams, casting concrete channels on them to contain flooding. Home developers suck streams dry to water lawns. Builders raise dams to collect water and irrigate precious farmland, inevitably blocking fish from their upstream spawning grounds. But in the Santa Ana Mountains, the fish – with a powerful ally – have struck back. In 2012, the U.S. Forest Service launched its Southern California steelhead recovery program. Toward that end, the agency started tearing down dams across the region that block the steelhead trout from historic and potential future spawning grounds. Next month, the Forest Service is scheduled to dismantle four dams in Holy Jim Canyon in the Santa Ana Mountains, according to the fire chief there, though Forest Service officials say the precise timing is still undetermined. The dams – small rock walls less than 15 feet tall – block stream flow and create pools of water above and below. The steelhead, if they return as hoped, wouldn’t be able to get upstream...more

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