The North Fork of Matilija Creek and Bear Creek both run through Wheeler Gorge Campground in the Los Padres National Forest. The campground, while welcoming for visitors, has for decades not been welcoming to migrating fish.
Four vehicle crossings through the campground blocked endangered Southern California Steelhead from migrating upstream as part of their ocean-to-freshwater stream spawning process.
A just-completed project that’s been in the works for decades has removed the barriers.
"In a nutshell, it's to improve habitat accessibility for endangered steehead trout," said Marucio Gomez, Director of South Coast Habitat Restoration, the nonprofit organization spearheading the project. "We worked with the Forest Service to figure out how to remove the four creek crossings that were located along Bear Creek, as well as the North Fork of Matilija Creek, figuring out where we could remove the creek crossings completely and restore the stream channel, or look at the option of placing a bridge over the creek."
The aim was to give the fish a clear passage on the creeks while allowing campground users to still cross the waterways.
"This was a road that had been placed by the Forest Service to get from the eastern side of the (campground) property to the western side, to access more campsites," said Gomez. "People would literally drive through concrete, and the water would go over that concrete, and on the downstream end of it, there were three to12 foot drops. Those would prevent fish from migrating up the creek."
He said the engineering team was able to figure out ways to allow vehicle access while removing the barriers for the fish.
The project was challenging because it involved removing the cement barriers and adding two bridges. It needed to be done in a way that endangered fish could use the waterway, while still allowing visitors to cross the creeks to access different parts of the campground. The modifications in the creeks also have to survive natural changes in creek flows.
"Engineering specifications and designs, the placement of rocks, and things like that allow for the creek channels to do what they want to do, while remaining intact through high velocity flows," said Jason White, Senior Project Manager for South Coast Habitat Restoration.
He added that it gives the migrating steelhead access to an additional 13 miles of streams they couldn't reach for decades due to the barricades.
There was also a population of Steelhead Trout that was trapped, living in creeks above the campground, which will now be able to migrate south.
Along the creek beds where the work occurred, more than a thousand native plants been added to restore the habitat.
Sophie McLean is a Native Plant Specialist with the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy, which is handling that part of the project.
"We collected seed in this campground, and in this canyon about a year and a half ago," explained McLean. "We've been growing the seed to provide the plants for the projects."
There’s a lot of excitement about the completion of the work.
"It's a huge effort. Lots of partners involved, and certainly eras of people's careers and partnership efforts," said Marshall Alford, District Ranger for the Ojai Ranger District in the Los Padres National Forest. "It really is part of a larger effort to restore watersheds, as well as accommodating recreational access."
Gomez said they’re thrilled to get the project to the finish line. "It's a really exciting day for me to see all this happen."
The project cost about $7 million, with funding coming from a series of state grants, as well as funding from the Ventura-based Patagonia outdoor clothing company.
With the effort now complete, the only thing that’s missing is the first migrating fish. While it hasn’t happened officially yet, those involved say some steelhead may have already discovered and used the passageway to get to the new habitat.
