Steelhead Trout Listed as Endangered in Region

SACRAMENTO —  In a call to arms to save dwindling populations of steelhead trout throughout much of the West, the federal government Monday listed the fish as endangered in Southern California and central Washington.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration also designated the fish--a favorite of anglers--as threatened in parts of Oregon, Idaho, Washington and California.

In making the designation, federal officials called on the four Western governors to be innovative in efforts to protect the species, and chided the Wilson administration for moving slowly on behalf of the steelhead.

“These fish are of serious risk of disappearing forever,” said Terry Garcia, acting assistant commerce secretary. “Our commitment to . . . steelhead conservation is clear: We must restore these magnificent fish. The law requires it, common sense calls for it, and our own sense of what makes for a strong economy and a healthy ecosystem dictate it.”

A listing of “endangered” means that a species is likely to become extinct in the foreseeable future. “Threatened” species are likely to become endangered in that same time frame.

In the wake of Monday’s listing, the federal government--with state and local assistance--has a year to prepare a plan to restore the steelhead populations. In Southern California, that could include requiring water utilities in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties to build multimillion-dollar “fish ladders,” a system of staircases that allow the trout to swim upstream to spawn.

It also could mean that sportfishing would be restricted or banned in some areas. And municipal water officials voiced concern that restoring the steelhead could be costly and interfere with the delivery of water to California customers because, in some instances, the water might have to be used instead to provide habitat for the fish.

Dubbed for their steel-blue color, steelhead are actually a species of rainbow trout with a life cycle similar to the salmon. They are born and reared in fresh water, migrate to the ocean as adults and return to their home rivers to spawn. Unlike salmon, steelhead do not necessarily die after such arduous duty--many make the trip several times.

News of the listing brought a mixed response from environmental activists, with the Sierra Club cautioning that California has dragged its feet on protecting designated endangered species, such as the coho salmon, in the past.

“We knew that if the coho had good protection measures and recovery strategies, other species would be in good shape,” said Elyssa Rosen, a Sierra Club spokeswoman. “The coho has already been through this process for a year, and logging activity has not changed.”

The fishery conservation organization California Trout said the listings may help restore steelhead populations in many areas, but that the situation is dire in Southern California.

“In all places except in Southern California, we’re in time to be able to make a change for the better,” said Jim Edmonson, executive director of California Trout. “In Southern California, we may be showing up just in time to say goodbye unless immediate action begins.”

Because steelhead remain in rivers and streams for a long time--at least one year--Edmonson termed them “a great indicator species of habitat health.”

By that standard, Monday’s news was not a good report card for the river systems of the West.

In designating one region as endangered--from northern Los Angeles County to northern Santa Barbara County--the federal government said that the steelhead population has dwindled from 55,000 returning adults to fewer than 500. That area includes Malibu Creek.

Another area listed as endangered--along the Upper Columbia River in Washington state--has seen its steelhead population drop from 5,000 to less than 1,400.

Along the Central California coast, the population has dropped from a historic high of 94,000 to about 9,000, earning the area--which includes Santa Rosa, San Francisco and San Jose--a threatened designation.

More troubling to environmentalists was the listing of the southern end of the California coast as only a threatened region, which calls for lighter protection for the steelhead than if listed as endangered. Running from about Monterey to about San Luis Obispo, this region’s steelhead population has dropped from 25,000 to fewer than 500.

Environmentalists were not the only ones skeptical about Monday’s announcement. Water officials worried about the varying costs of protecting the steelhead, including having to use precious water to maintain rivers that normally go dry in the summer.

Water agencies might be required to release more water into the Ventura and Santa Ynez rivers. At Malibu Creek, Los Angeles County and state officials could look for the money to tear down the obsolete Rindge Dam.

“In recent years, we’ve been trying to balance environmental demands with the needs of people. Having the species listed like the steelhead makes that balancing act much, much tougher,” said Chip Wullbrandt, chairman of the steelhead task force for the Assn. of California Water Agencies.

“If we have to provide not only water for the fish to swim in but to go in and out to the ocean, that has a potentially huge effect on that balance. That is already a pretty precarious balance.”

Saying that state, federal and local governments and landowners should work together to formulate a plan for the steelhead, Garcia said that abiding by the Endangered Species Act does not have to have “this Armageddon-like impact.”

On Friday, the state secretary for resources sent an 11th-hour letter to the federal government asking that officials hold off designating the steelhead for six months.

The letter, which did not arrive until after 7 p.m. Eastern time, was the “first formal contact” between California and the federal government, Garcia said.

“It asked us to defer, and I couldn’t do that,” Garcia said. “I want to work with California. The [Clinton] administration does too.”

Doug Wheeler, California’s secretary for resources, warned in a written statement that the designations announced Monday could affect activities from farming to fishing. But he welcomed the decision to wait six months before designating the steelhead as endangered or threatened in three additional regions of the state. The federal government also delayed action on two other Western regions, citing a need for additional scientific information.

Wheeler said California officials have long told the federal government “that Herculean efforts already are underway in California to conserve and restore fishery habitats.”