Stevens Creek Fishery: Restoration or Extirpation?

Article by Richard McMurtry

Stevens Creek was once one of our county’s streams with the best potential for restoration of a healthy abundant run of steelhead trout. Fishery biologists found adult steelhead as well as smolts (young fish headed to the sea). The Santa Clara Valley Water District had stated in 2003 a commitment to perform the necessary actions to create the habitats to restore the fish population to a healthy condition. Also as a result of a victorious pollution suit in 2013 against the Permanente Quarry in Cupertino, actions to improve habitat in upper Permanente Creek will be implemented in the next few years.

All these encouragements gave rise to the idea of finding ways that Stevens Creek steelhead could swim upstream and then get over to nearby Permanente Creek to spawn and rear their young. One option is to convert a flood water channel (that joins Permanente Creek to Stevens Creek) into a fish passage way to let fish go from Stevens Creek into spawning and rearing habitats in Permanente Creek.

Dead trout, minnows, crayfish in Stevens Creek

All this is well and good. But the Water District, facing a drought, decided to save water for lawn watering and other human needs by turning off the flow of water from the Stevens Creek pipeline into the creek. Any steelhead remaining in the creek were wiped out by the dryback and became food for raccoons and herons!

There are two things that need to be done to protect and restore our steelhead.  

1. Remove the barriers to fish migrating from the Bay to the upper reaches of the stream to spawn and rear their young.
2. Develop a fish rescue and relocation plan to move the steelhead to year-round reaches of the stream above the dam IF there is not enough water to keep the stream wet.