• California Department of Fish and Game (DFG)
   
• Santa Ynez River Water Conservation District, Improvement District No. 1 (SYRWCD ID #1)
   
• Cachuma Conservation Release Board (CCRB)
   
• U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation)
   
• Santa Ynez River Water Conservation District (SYRWCD)
   
• United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)
   
• National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)
   
• Santa Barbara County Water Agency

The purpose of assembling this diverse group is to share work and information necessary for a mutually satisfactory resolution of the collective concerns related to the protection of fish and the protection of domestic and agricultural uses below Bradbury Dam.

Salsipuedes Creek-Upstream and Downstream Trap

The MOU created a Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) and a Biological Subcommittee which are composed of persons with training or experience in fisheries biology, engineering, hydrology, and water supplies and distribution to enhance cooperation among the parties; to collect, analyze, and share information related to the SYR watershed fisheries; and to make recommendations for releases of water related to fisheries.

MOU Technical Advisory Committee specific goals are to make long-term recommendations on feasibility and management of the fisheries resources including:

(1) evaluating the possibility of restoring the upper tributaries (below Bradbury Dam) to support anadramous species and reestablishing mainstem spawning and rearing of anadramous steelhead/rainbow trout,

(2) defining the fisheries potential of the lower river (below Bradbury Dam), and

(3) optimizing productive capacity of fisheries in the mainstem and tributaries of the SYR within the context of natural hydrological patterns and available water supplies.

The ultimate goal of the TAC is to provide the State Water Resources Control Board with the flow requirements and resource management recommendations necessary to balance the needs of consumptive water users with fisheries needs downstream of Bradbury Dam. The Biological Subcommittee hired a Project Biologist (late April 1994) to conduct the field investigation program and to coordinate data collection for the annual study plan. Specific objectives of the study plan include:

(1) document and quantify the timing, numbers, and geographic distribution of various age classes of steelhead/rainbow trout and other fish species migrating into the SYR and tributaries,

(2) document the abundance, geographic distribution, and habitat conditions of juvenile steelhead trout and other fish species within the SYR and its tributaries, and

(3) provide information on growth, survival, and habitat conditions of various age classes of steelhead/rainbow trout and other fish species inhabiting various areas within the river and its tributaries.

The purpose of the above objectives is to document and better understand the life history and habitat conditions required by steelhead/rainbow trout and other fish species in order to develop restoration goals,

7" Smolt from Salsipuedes Creek.

management objectives, and a long term management plan for the steelhead/rainbow trout inhabiting the SYR and its tributaries. Specific study activities include: