Fish Ladder at Old San Clemente Dam 2014
HISTORICAL ADULT STEELHEAD COUNTS AT THE SAN CLEMENTE FISH LADDER
The Monterey Peninsula Water Management District (District) operated and maintained the fish counting station on the Carmel River at the San Clemente Dam fish ladder from 1994 to 2015. This monitoring station was a component of our overall environmental monitoring program, following our mission statement and legislative directive to “manage, augment and protect water resources for the benefit of the community and environment.” This station was the only long-term data record on adult steelhead abundance in the South-Central California Coast Distinct Population Segment (DPS). The removal of the San Clemente Dam in late 2015 also removed the counting station. It is evident that data on the status of the steelhead run in the Carmel River are essential to all responsible agencies in documenting the ongoing impacts to, and recovery from water diversions within the watershed, as well as the only long-term representation of trends for the whole DPS. The District is currently evaluating other methods to monitor adult steelhead population status in replacement of the former San Clemente counting station.
