Abstract
Steelhead Fisheries Management of the Lower Santa Ynez River, California Track: Forestry, Wildlife, and Fisheries Management Author(s): Timothy Robinson, Scott Engblom, Scott Volan The Lower Santa Ynez River in Santa Barbara County is home to southern Steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss), a federally listed endangered species with critical habitat designation. An integrated multi-purpose GIS database was developed to manage divergent objectives between the fisheries and water supply needs on the river. Multi-variant analysis of the natural resources was conducted to optimize sampling locations, analyze habitat changes, track short- and long-term trends, understand population dynamics and lifecycle strategies, and study landuse affects. Staff utilized GIS (desktop and mobile), GPS, and high resolution aerial photographs to augment field observations of migrant trapping, snorkel and redd surveys, and water quality. The database assists in maximizing field operations, streamlining data management and analyses, and facilitating decision-making to implement our NMFS Biological Opinion and Fish Management Plan. By inventorying in the GIS-database, migration barriers, suitable habitat mileage, migration distances, and potential projects, we have vastly enhanced our research, management, fund raising, and outreach potential. Timothy Robinson Cuchuma Operations and Maintenance Board Natural Resource Management 3301 Laurel Canyon Road Santa Barbara , CA 93105-2017 US Phone: 805-687-4011 E-mail: trobinson@cachuma-board.org Scott Engblom Cachuma Operations and Maintenance Board Fisheries 3301 Laurel Canyon Road Santa Barbara , CA 93105-2017 US Phone: 805-687-4011 E-mail: sengblom@cachuma-board.org Scott Volan Cachuma Operations and Maintenance Board Fisheries 3301 Laurel Canyon Road Santa Barbara , CA 93105-2017 US Phone: 805-687-4011 E-mail: svolan@cachuma-board.org |
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