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Update: Steelhead on Alameda Creek

by Kevin Cutler — published January 01, 2006

2005

"By the Water's Edge: A Chronicle of Two Creeks"

Our January-March 2005 issue highlighted the riparian habitats of the East Bay's Alameda Creek watershed. Recently, the Alameda Creek Alliance (ACA) received $1 million from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation for the construction of fish screens and the removal of an inflatable dam. In addition, Niles and Sunol dams are scheduled for removal in 2006, restoring steelhead runs in these areas. The ACA is seeking money after the Army Corps of Engineers cut funding for a fish ladder project, and the ACA remains at odds with Caltrans over the Highway 84 widening project. "We have been meeting with Caltrans and the California Department of Fish and Game for four years to make sure this project provides fish passage, but the proposed project is extremely disappointing," says ACA's Jeff Miller.

Not too far away, rainbow trout in the restored sections of Oakland's Sausal Creek are "self-sustaining," according to Mark Rauzon of Friends of Sausal Creek. Since 2001, Friends of Sausal Creek has removed debris, reconfigured a meander, and planted riparian understory along the creek. Unfortunately, erosion plagues the watershed above Highway 13, clogging trout pools and damaging habitat. Funds are being sought to determine the cause of the sedimentation.

For more information, contact:

Alameda Creek Alliance

(510) 499-9185

Friends of Sausal Creek

(510) 501-3672

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