MCERP has launched a new Community Science Program to help monitor creek activity. The first photo post is in Malibu Creek State Park.

For centuries, the Southern California steelhead roamed Southern California rivers, creeks and estuaries until a stark decline led to their 1997 classification as a federally endangered species. Photo credit: Mike Wier

How do you tackle a watershed-scale restoration project? We’ll be sharing the areas of expertise involved in the Malibu Creek Ecosystem Restoration Project—removing a 100-year-old, sediment-filled dam and mitigating/removing eight upstream barriers. When completed, a key aquatic corridor will be restored to bring back the watershed’s ecological resiliency and support Southern Steelhead once again.

After nearly two decades of studies, research, and stakeholder collaboration, advancing the Malibu Creek Ecosystem Restoration Project (MCERP) into the pre-construction, engineering and design (PED) Phase II was greeted with public enthusiasm! We captured some of the highlights during our first year.

Through a coordinated partnership effort that began in 2014, the return of the rare California red-legged frog (Rana draytonii) appeared to be a successful comeback story in the Santa Monica Mountains where their populations begin to flourish by the fall of 2018. Then the Woolsey Fire struck in November burning 88% of federal parkland, according to the National Park Service, and ravaging the frog’s habitat. Immediately following the fire was a winter of heavy rainfall, causing debris flows to fill their homes with silt and mud. One of the many goals of the MCERP is to restore natural stream processes, which will benefit these special amphibians.