Big Sur River Study (Monterey County)

The Big Sur River is a stronghold for one of the most important wild steelhead trout populations on California's Central Coast. However, in recent decades the Big Sur River steelhead trout population has declined from historical levels.

To assess instream habitat conditions and subsequent steelhead trout population conditions, several technical instream flow studies were conducted. The Big Sur River studies focused on quantifying south-central steelhead trout habitat as a function of flow with the aim of identifying what flow regimes would protect habitat conditions for various life-stages of the fish. Stream flow, habitat, topographical, and fish observation data were collected and multiple modeling tools were utilized to assess flow and habitat relationships.

Data analysis for the Big Sur River study is complete, and technical reports, final flow regime recommendations, and supporting materials are available below.