Lower Santa Ynez River FISH MANAGEMENT PLAN

Volunteer Keeps Watch on Fish
Passage Between Ocean and River
Cachuma Water Agencies are implementing the
L owe r S a n t a Y n e z R i ve r
FISH MANAGEMENT PLAN
City of Santa Barbara • Goleta Water District • Montecito Water District
Carpinteria Valley Water District • Santa Ynez River Water Conservation District ID #1
Steelhead—like salmon—live much of their life in the ocean, and then return to spawn in
rivers or streams. During periods of rainfall, Santa Ynez River flows push open a sandbar
at the coast built up by surf and tides. The open sandbar allows the steelhead to move to
and from the ocean and the river.
Experienced Eye at the Scene
Lee Miller, a knowledgeable volunteer, keeps watch
on the sand bar at the Ocean Park beach area near
Lompoc. He checks the sandbar two or three
times a week, and more frequently when it rains.
Lee reports whenever the sandbar is open, and
the information is incorporated into the GIS data
described on the inside of this newsletter.
Lee Miller monitors the sandbar at the
mouth of the Santa Ynez River. His reports
help manage the river for the benefit of the
steelhead. “Good flow from the ocean to and
from the river means the steelhead can find
the fresh water and return to spawn in
rivers or streams”.
CACHUMA CONSERVATION RELEASE BOARD
3301 Laurel Canyon Road, Santa Barbara, CA 93105
Phone: 805/569-1391 • www.ccrb-comb.org
MANAGER: Kate Rees
CCRB BOARD OF DIRECTORS: Jan Abel, Charles Evans,
Robert Lieberknecht, Das Williams
PARTNER AGENCY ID NO. 1: Matt Loudon
WINTER 2007
From NASA to Fisheries Volunteer
Lee is retired from NASA. He was the Launch
Support Manager for Kennedy Space Center
at Vandenberg Air Force Base. Lee is currently
a Santa Barbara County Fish and Game
Commissioner. He has been an active fisherman
and hunter throughout his adult life. As a Fish
and Game Commissioner he learned the value of
keeping tabs on when the sandbar is breached
at the mouth of the river. The information he
records from his observations helps steelhead
management efforts on the river.
Printed on recycled paper using soy based ink. Each ton of recycled paper saves 7,000 gallons of water.
PROMOTING UNDERSTANDING
FISH AND WATER SUPPLIES
OF THE SANTA YNEZ
RIVER SYSTEM
PRESORTED
FIRST-CLASS MAIL
U.S. POSTAGE PAID
Santa Barbara, CA
Permit No. 1215
Blending Biology and Technology to Improve Fish Habitat Management
The Cachuma Water Agencies are combining fish biology with new
technology, and using that information to support, preserve, and enhance
fish habitat along the Santa Ynez River. Our new Geographic Information
System (GIS) is featured on these pages. GIS is computer software that
integrates and displays complex environmental data to provide better,
more efficient river management.
A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words
An Example of How GIS Helps Protect and Improve Fish Habitat
GIS integrates complex data and translates them into visual maps that help our
biologists and scientists understand and better manage the river environment.
Solvang
GIS maps—like this one—can show the location of any physical feature, such as
roads, rivers, and impediments to fish migration. GIS can then add information
about quality and location of habitat year to year, such as the number of fish
counted in various reaches of the river (see orange circles below).
GIS: Visual Mapping
of Data Improves
Fisheries Management
The Santa Ynez River watershed is 90 miles
long. It contains many streams, and some
natural and man made features that impact
fish. A constant flow of data—fish size,
counts, locations, stream flow, rainfall, water
temperature, and more—have been recorded
over the last two decades. Until recently,
biologists struggled to efficiently integrate and
analyze the large volume of information.
Collecting data in the field.
Uploading GIS data from the handheld field unit.
GIS links spatial data with other information
to provide useful visual information and
analytical aids to understanding complex river
systems. Using GIS, biologists can collect,
analyze, and merge large amounts of data to
develop a better understanding of steelhead
habitat. This improves our ability to develop
more cost-effective programs that benefit
fish and the environment.
Santa Ynez River
Number of fish counted.
= The larger the circle,
the more fish counted.
Sample GIS Map
Biologists Collect and Analyze Complex Data Using GIS
Our biologists and scientists obtain data through trapping, measuring, snorkeling, and observing fish. Many additional
types of data are integrated, such as water quality, land use, roads, property boundaries, and elevations to create useful
visual images like the sample GIS map above.