Tuesday, October 21st at Ventura Harbor Ballroom
8-9am Registration
9am Orientation Presentation
- The Origins of Life History Variation in Steelhead/Rainbow Trout from Coastal California, Carlos Garza, PhD, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, NOAA Fisheries
9:30am
- Resilient Fish in an Arid Landscape: How Understanding Southern California Steelhead Informs the Future of West Coast Salmon Management Under Climate Change, Jacob Katz, PhD, Central Region Manager, Cal Trout
10:15am Break
10:30am-Noon Coastal Monitoring for Steelhead: Status, Results, and the CMP
- Rosi Dagit, Santa Monica Mountains Resource Conservation District
- Dana McCanne, Steelhead Monitoring Program, California Department of Fish and Wildlife
- Ethan Bell, Stillwater Sciences, and Tim Robinson, PhD, Cachuma Operations Maintenance Board
Noon-1pm Lunch
1pm-5pm Presentations and Panel Discissions
Panel Discussion Regarding Recovery Strategies
- Phasing Prioritizing Recovery Actions for Southern California Steelhead Recovery, Mark Capelli, South-Central/Southern California Steelhead Recovery Coordinator, NOAA Fisheries
- A Framework for Testing Effectiveness of Recovery Strategies, David Boughton, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, NOAA Fisheries
- Fish Need Water Presentations and Panel Discussion Water Rights, Instream Flow Dedications and other Mechanisms to Ensure Adequate Water for Fish and People, Matt Clifford, Staff Attorney, California Water Project, Trout Unlimited
- Intro to Water Law, Voluntary Transactions, and Instream Transfers, Tom Hicks, Water Rights Attorney
- Water Conservation Techniques, Regina Hirsh, Sierra Watershed Progressive
- The Practical Realities of Implementing the Southern California Steelhead Recovery Plan, Mary Larson, California Department of Fish and Wildlife
6pm-8pm Poster Session, No Host Bar and Networking!
Wednesday, October 22nd Full-Day Concurrent Field Tours
Southern Santa Barbara County Steelhead Recovery Efforts, Mauricio Gomez, South Coast Habitat Restoration and Andrew Raaf, SB Flood Control District
Ventura River from Restoration Projects in Ojai to the Habitat Above Matilija Dam, Paul Jenkin, Surfrider Foundation, Regina Hirsch, Sierra Watershed Progressive, and Brian Stark, Ojai Valley Land Conservancy
Thursday, October 23, 2014 Optional Water Conservation & Water Rights Efforts to Preserve Instream Flow for Steelhead
Matt Clifford, Staff Attorney for Trout Unlimited’s California Water Project, and Tom Hicks, Water Law Attorney Most landowners know that when it comes to water rights, it is “use it, or lose it.” This historic perspective has had the effect of maximizing water diversions from streams and rivers to preserve rights at the expense of instream conservation values. This training will focus on ways to develop, fund, permit, and implement projects that increase instream flow by working with landowners to change water conservation and management practices. The training will include an overview of California water rights and the legal framework related to buying, leasing, or donation of water rights, including instream transfers for fish and wildlife purposes. There will be emphasis on practical permitting issues encountered in instream flow work, as well as a discussion of the science necessary to develop and permit streamflow projects. Using case studies of successful projects in coastal California watersheds, the training will examine a wide range of different project types, including rainwater harvesting, wet season storage using ponds and tanks, conjunctive use of groundwater, alternatives for frost protection, and improving irrigation efficiency. The training will conclude with a site visit to one or more actual or potential project sites within the watershed.