Abstract

GIS, Policy, and Management of Santa Ynez River Steelhead, California
Track: Forestry, Wildlife, and Fisheries Management
Author(s): Timothy Robinson

Southern steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) were federally listed endangered species in 1997 which initiated a sequence of policy efforts to protect the fishery and its critical habitat. The Cachuma Project Biological Opinion (BO) and Fish Management Plan set the policy and the framework for managing steelhead preservation and recovery on the Lower Santa Ynez River, Santa Barbara County, California. A multi-purpose GIS-database was developed as an integrated and efficient tool for managing the fishery and many of the Reasonable and Prudent Measures (RPMs) described in the framework documents. GIS technologies were used to conduct multi-variant spatial analyses and execute the RPMs. Presented will be GIS utilization to conduct National Marine Fishery Service BO reconsultation, steelhead migration supplementation releases from Lake Cachuma, monitoring impacts from summer water right releases, and developing detailed annual monitoring plans to optimize sampling locations, analyze habitat changes, track short-/long-term trends, and understand population dynamics and lifecycle strategies.

Timothy Robinson
Cachuma Operations and Maintenance Board
3301 Laurel Canyon Road
Santa Barbara , California 93105
United States
Phone: 805-687-4011
E-mail: trobinson@cachuma-board.org