County OKs Funds for Trout Recovery

With steelhead trout expected to be placed on the endangered species list in August, county supervisors on Tuesday agreed to take part in an $89,000 recovery plan for the fish in the Ventura River and its tributaries.

The countywide plan is being drawn to help the county and other agencies avoid protracted negotiations with the National Marine Fisheries Service as they try to gain permit approvals for future road or flood control work along the Ventura River.

The federal agency reports that there were once 55,000 steelhead trout living in the rivers and streams from Santa Maria to Malibu. Estimates now suggest there are just 200 to 500 left in the region.

Populations of the sea-running fish have been decimated by pollution and the damming and development of rivers that block the trout’s upstream passage to spawn.

Steelhead are extinct south of Malibu Creek, and remaining runs along the Southern California coast are the lowest along the West Coast.

Several area agencies are joining to plan for the listing.

Already, the pending protection has stalled several projects in the county, from an Ojai-area flood control project to a ballpark behind the Ventura Auto Mall.

Supervisors on Tuesday agreed to contribute $22,275 to the recovery plan project.

The spending includes $8,900 to address maintenance and construction of roads and $13,365 to address flood control projects.

Other agencies joining in the study include the Casitas Municipal Water District, the city of Ventura, the Ojai Valley Sanitation District, the Ventura River County Water District, the Southern California Water Co., the Meiners Oaks County Water District and the Ojai Basin Groundwater Management Agency.