Overview

Project Background

Overfishing, habitat loss, changes in land use and land cover, water withdrawals and diversions, and other natural and human factors have led to catastrophic declines in the populations of coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) and steelhead trout (O. mykiss) in California. As a result of these declines, coho salmon have been listed as endangered and steelhead trout have been listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries) is currently developing recovery plans that will address factors related to declines of these and other species of salmonids, factors impeding recovery, and early recovery and restoration options. NOAA Fisheries will also describe the population and habitat criteria needed to ensure long-term recovery of these species. This effort is largely being supported by compiling, managing, and analyzing data within customized geographic information systems (GIS).

Various California agencies have already developed watershed assessment programs that include GIS-based information resources for the northern California coast. However, a gap existed in centralized resource management-related information in the two southernmost counties within the recovery planning region. The Salmonid Habitat Restoration Planning Resource for San Mateo and Santa Cruz Counties was created to complement other efforts, and complete the network of digital information needed to plan for and manage recovery of salmonids in the whole north-central California planning region.

Project Partners

The Salmonid Habitat Restoration Planning Resource was developed by Circuit Rider Productions, Inc. (CRP) under a cooperative agreement with the Landscape Characterization and Restoration program of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Coastal Services Center. CRP, a California community-based organization dedicated to the enhancement of human and natural resources, has been engaged in watershed planning and ecological restoration throughout California for over 25 years.

Many other agencies and organizations also contributed to development of the Salmonid Habitat Restoration Planning Resource. The Southwest Regional Office of the NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries) was a primary partner, as well as the California Resources Agency and the California State Coastal Conservancy. Additional partners included the other agencies under the umbrella of the State Resources Agency, such as:

• California Department of Fish and Game
• California Coastal Commission
• California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection
• Division of Mines and Geology
• Department of Conservation

These agencies contributed spatial and non-spatial data to this information resource. Additionally, these agencies served in an advisory capacity to guide CRP and NOAA Fisheries in the prioritization and compilation of relevant data, the identification of data gaps, and formulation of the proposed analysis and interactive tools to be used in decision-making. Local planning agencies and groups also offered valuable sources of information and staff expertise. Partners included, but were not limited to:

• FishNET 4C
• County of Santa Cruz
• City of Santa Cruz
• City and County of San Mateo
• local Resource Conservation Districts, and
• local watershed groups

How to Cite this Web Site

Circuit Rider Productions, Inc. and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Coastal Services Center. 2004. Salmonid Habitat Restoration Planning Resource for San Mateo and Santa Cruz Counties [Web site]. Available at: http://www3.csc.noaa.gov/salmonid/index.htm.

Publication Date

This Web site was originally published in July of 2004; however, some pages contained within are occasionally updated. These pages are dated individually; all undated pages were published July 2004.

Image Permissions

Pictures and graphics from this Web site may not be used without permission from the original source (CRP should be assumed to be the source if one is not indicated).