Recovery Plan OKd for Steelhead Trout

The City Council has approved an agreement with the Casitas Municipal Water District that will create a recovery plan for steelhead trout in the Ventura River and its tributaries.

The National Marine Fisheries Service is expected to make a final ruling in August on whether the West Coast steelhead trout should be considered threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act.

If the trout is found to be endangered, water agencies will be forced to take steps to protect the ocean-going fish, which spawns in coastal streams from Malibu Creek north to the Santa Maria River, including the Ventura and Santa Clara rivers.

According to a National Marine Fisheries Service report released in July, there used to be 55,000 southern steelhead trout in the region, which includes the Santa Maria, Santa Ynez, Ventura and Santa Clara rivers and Malibu Creek. Now officials say there are only 500 fish remaining.

Because the operation of Ventura’s water diversion facilities in the Ventura River is likely to be affected by such a ruling, several local entities have joined together to begin taking necessary steps.

They are the city of Ventura, the Casitas Municipal Water District, Ventura County, Ventura County Flood Control District, the Ojai Valley Sanitary District, the Meiners Oaks County Water District, the Ojai Basin Groundwater Management Agency, the Ventura River County Water District and Southern California Water Co.

Officials estimate that the steelhead recovery plan will cost $89,100. Under the agreement, Ventura will pay 20% of that cost to Casitas, which will manage the plan’s preparation.

Ventura now diverts 8,000 acre-feet a year drawn from wells beneath the river.