Central Coast

Status Review of California coho salmon north of San Francisco

California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) | May 9th, 2002

On July 28, 2000, the Fish and Game Commission (Commission) received a petition to list coho salmon north of San Francisco as an endangered species under provisions of th

On July 28, 2000, the Fish and Game Commission (Commission) received a petition to list coho salmon north of San Francisco as an endangered species under provisions of the California Endangered Species Act (CESA). The Commission referred the petition to the Department of Fish and Game (Department) on August 7, 2000, for evaluation. The Department found that the information in the petition was sufficient to indicate the action may be warranted and recommended the Commission accept the petition. The petition was accepted by the Commission on April 5, 2001. On April 27, 2001 the Commission published a Notice of Findings in the California Regulatory Notice Register declaring coho salmon a candidate species, thereby starting the candidacy period. The Department solicited information and undertook a status review of the species using the best scientific information available. This report contains the results of the Department’s status review and recommendations to the Commission. The Department evaluated the status separately for the two coho salmon Evolutionarily Significant Units (ESU) that occur in California: Southern Oregon/Northern California Coast Coho ESU (SONCC Coho ESU - those populations from Punta Gorda north to the Oregon border) and the Central California Coast Coho ESU (CCC Coho ESU - those populations from San Francisco Bay north to Punta Gorda). This approach is consistent with previous listings, the federal approach to species’ evaluation, and the generally accepted biological criterion that a species is “a group of interbreeding organisms that is reproductively isolated from other such groups.”

Storing and managing water for the environment is more efficient than mimicking natural flows

Nature Portfolio (Springer Nature) | June 27th, 2024

Stormquakes

American Geophysical Union (AGU) | October 14th, 2019

Seismic signals from ocean-solid Earth interactions are ubiquitously recorded on our planet. However, these wavefields are typically incoherent in the time domain limiti

Seismic signals from ocean-solid Earth interactions are ubiquitously recorded on our planet. However, these wavefields are typically incoherent in the time domain limiting their utilization for understanding ocean dynamics or solid Earth properties. In contrast, we find that during large storms such as hurricanes and Nor’easters the interaction of long-period ocean waves with shallow seafloor features located near the edge of continental shelves, known as ocean banks, excites coherent transcontinental Rayleigh wave packets in the 20 to 50 s period band. These “stormquakes” migrate coincident with the storms, but are effectively spatiotemporally focused seismic point sources with equivalent earthquake magnitudes that can be greater than 3.5. Stormquakes thus provide new coherent sources to investigate Earth structure in locations that typically lack both seismic instrumentation and earthquakes. Moreover, they provide a new geophysical observable with high spatial and temporal resolution with which to investigate ocean wave dynamics during large storms.

Strategic Plan to Protect California Coast and Ocean 2020-2025

California Ocean Protection Council (COPC) | February 26th, 2020

Strategic stream gauging network design for sustainable water management

Nature Portfolio (Springer Nature) | June 3rd, 2024

Stream gauging stations that monitor the flow of water in rivers and streams provide critical information to water managers, but biases and gaps in gauge placement, compo

Stream gauging stations that monitor the flow of water in rivers and streams provide critical information to water managers, but biases and gaps in gauge placement, compounded by gauge deactivations, limit our ability to track river flows and address global water challenges. Here we introduce an approach for identifying gauging sites to efficiently fill gaps in monitoring coverage within river networks while also addressing water management priorities, including reservoir operations, biodiversity conservation and hydroclimatic monitoring. Applying this approach to gauges in California, United States, we found substantial gaps in the stream monitoring network. Hypothetically reconfiguring gauges to locations that maximize coverage and representation of management objectives highlights the current network’s biases. Through the strategic reactivation and placement of additional gauges, we demonstrate how stream gauging networks can be designed to support sustainable water management.

Strawberry Case Study: What If Farmers Had to Pay for Water?

New York Times | December 29th, 2023

While American farmers elsewhere have watered their crops by freely pumping the groundwater beneath their land, growers in Pajaro must pay hefty fees for irrigation water

While American farmers elsewhere have watered their crops by freely pumping the groundwater beneath their land, growers in Pajaro must pay hefty fees for irrigation water — making it one of the most expensive places to grow food in the country, if not the world. The cost: Up to $400 per acre-foot, a standard measurement equal to water covering one acre, one foot deep. The fees bring in $12 million a year, which is used to recycle, restore and conserve the region’s groundwater.

Summary & Evaluation of California Coastal Chinook Salmon and Northern California Steelhead 2016

National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) | April 11th, 2016

Many West Coast salmon and steelhead (Oncorhynchus sp.) stocks have declined substantially from their historic numbers and now are at a fraction of their historical abund

Many West Coast salmon and steelhead (Oncorhynchus sp.) stocks have declined substantially from their historic numbers and now are at a fraction of their historical abundance. There are several factors that contribute to these declines, including: overfishing, loss of freshwater and estuarine habitat, hydropower development, poor ocean conditions, and hatchery practices.  These factors, among others, led to the National Marine Fisheries Service‘s (NMFS) listing of 28 salmon and steelhead stocks in California, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington under the Federal Endangered Species Act (ESA). The ESA, under section 4(c)(2), directs the Secretary of Commerce to review the listing classification of threatened and endangered species at least once every five years. After completing this review, the Secretary must determine if any species should be: (1) removed from the list; (2) have its status changed from threatened to endangered; or (3) have its status changed from endangered to threatened. NMFS completed a 5-year status review in 2011 and concluded the status for threatened California Coastal (CC) Chinook salmon and Northern California (NC) steelhead should remain as threatened (NMFS 2011a, NMFS 2011b). This document summarizes NMFS’s current 5-year review for the threatened CC Chinook salmon and NC steelhead.

Summary & Evaluation of Central California Coast Coho Salmon 2016

National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) | April 14th, 2016

Many West Coast salmon and steelhead (Oncorhynchus sp.) stocks have declined substantially from their historic numbers and now are at a fraction of their historical abund

Many West Coast salmon and steelhead (Oncorhynchus sp.) stocks have declined substantially from their historic numbers and now are at a fraction of their historical abundance. There are several factors that contribute to these declines, including: overfishing, loss of freshwater and estuarine habitat, hydropower development, poor ocean conditions, and hatchery practices.  These factors collectively led to the National Marine Fisheries Service‘s (NMFS) listing of 28 salmon and steelhead stocks in California, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington under the Federal Endangered Species Act (ESA). The ESA, under section 4(c)(2), directs the Secretary of Commerce to review the listing classification of threatened and endangered species at least once every five years. After completing this review, the Secretary must determine if any species should be: (1) removed from the list; (2) have its status changed from threatened to endangered; or (3) have its status changed from endangered to threatened. The most recent listing determinations for most salmon and steelhead occurred in 2011. NMFS completed a 5-year status review in 2011 and concluded the status for endangered Central California Coast (CCC) coho salmon should remain the same. This document summarizes NMFS’s current 5-year review for the endangered CCC coho salmon.

Summary & Evaluation of Central California Coast Steelhead 2016

National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) | April 12th, 2016

Many West Coast salmon and steelhead (Oncorhynchus sp.) stocks have declined substantially from their historic numbers and now are at a fraction of their historical abund

Many West Coast salmon and steelhead (Oncorhynchus sp.) stocks have declined substantially from their historic numbers and now are at a fraction of their historical abundance. There are several factors that contribute to these declines, including: overfishing, loss of freshwater and estuarine habitat, hydropower development, poor ocean conditions, and hatchery practices.  These factors collectively led to the National Marine Fisheries Service‘s (NMFS) listing of 28 salmon and steelhead stocks in California, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington under the Federal Endangered Species Act (ESA). The ESA, under section 4(c)(2), directs the Secretary of Commerce to review the listing classification of threatened and endangered species at least once every five years. After completing this review, the Secretary must determine if any species should be: (1) removed from the list; (2) have its status changed from threatened to endangered; or (3) have its status changed from endangered to threatened. The most recent listing determinations for most salmon and steelhead occurred in 2011. NMFS completed a 5-year status review in 2011 and concluded the status for threatened Central California Coast (CCC) steelhead should remain the same. This document summarizes NMFS’s current 5-year review for the threatened CCC steelhead.

Summary and Evaluation of South-Central California Coast Steelhead Distinct Population Segment 2016

National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) | March 26th, 2016

The South-Central California Coast Distinct Population Segment (DPS) is listed as threatened and is comprised of a suite of steelhead populations (Oncorhynchus mykiss) th

The South-Central California Coast Distinct Population Segment (DPS) is listed as threatened and is comprised of a suite of steelhead populations (Oncorhynchus mykiss) that inhabit coastal stream networks from the Pajaro River south to, but not including the Santa Maria River. Freshwater-resident (non-anadromous) O. mykiss, commonly known as rainbow trout, also occur in the same geographic region, frequently co-occurring in the same river systems as the anadromous form. Clemento et al. (2009) found that O. mykiss above and below impassable dams within the South-Central Coast DPS tended to be each other’s closest relatives, suggesting that each steelhead DPS is simply the anadromous component of a corresponding Evolutionarily Significant Unit (ESU; Waples 1991) comprising both anadromous and resident O. mykiss.  Anadromous and/or freshwater forms of the species also occur in some basins south of the U.S. border, on the Baja California Peninsula (Ruiz-Capos and Pister 1995). West Coast salmon and steelhead (Oncorhynchus spp.) stocks have declined substantially from their historic numbers and many now are threatened with extinction. Multiple factors have contributed to the declines of individual populations. These include the loss of freshwater and estuarine habitat, periodic poor ocean conditions, and a variety of land-use, flood control and water management practices which have impacted many watershed-wide processes; these include sedimentation and hydrologic processes which create and sustain essential steelhead habitats. These factors collectively led to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to list south-central California coast steelhead (the anadromous form of O. mykiss) as threatened under the ESA in 1997 (Figure 1). Section 4(c)(2) of the ESA directs the Secretary of Commerce to review the listing classification of threatened and endangered species at least once every five years. After completing this review, the Secretary must determine if any species should be: (1) removed from the list; (2) have its status changed from threatened to endangered; or (3) have its status changed from endangered to threatened. The most recent listing determinations for salmon and steelhead occurred in 2005 and 2006. This document reflects the agency’s 5-year review of the ESA-listed South-Central California Coast Steelhead Distinct Population Segment (SCCCS DPS) since the last status review in 2010 (Williams et al. 2011).