![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/creeklands.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/CommunitymemberworkingwithSteelheadtroutinlocalwatershed.jpg\")
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It\u2019s March, and that means we\u2019re right in the middle of the spawning season for our steelhead trout. Steelhead take the pulses of water flowing out from creeks after rain events as their cue to head upstream, so their spawning season coincides with California\u2019s rainy season.<\/span><\/p>\n While El Ni<\/span>\u00f1o hasn\u2019t brought us the torrential rains that some predicted, we WSPers, have been going out into our local creeks every other week since the end of January, hoping to find ourselves some steelhead nests, or \u201credds\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n I\u2019m originally from southern California, so I\u2019m used to dry, dusty riverbeds that maybe carry a trickle of water after the biggest storms. Our creeks here in San Luis Obispo County are running lower than they should be, thanks to the drought, but they still have more water than I\u2019ve ever expected to see in a creek. <\/span><\/p>\n If I ever thought I was a graceful person, going up and down the creeks has taught me otherwise. No one else seems to have issues, but for me it\u2019s a wonder if I only fall once during a survey. We\u2019re now about ten surveys in to our field season, and I think I\u2019ve only just gotten my \u201ccreek feet\u201d- and it\u2019s a cause worth celebrating. Now that I\u2019m able to look around instead of just always looking where I put my feet, I\u2019m amazed at the unexpected things I find.<\/span><\/p>\n We\u2019ve yet to see any redds (which isn\u2019t that strange, with the low flows we\u2019ve been having), but as long as we walk softly and don\u2019t disturb the creek bottom, we see tiny fish darting in and out of the shadows. We see native pond turtles, trudging slowly along. Most of the time, we\u2019re surrounded by birds twittering away. We see signs of human impact, too- bottles, plastic bags, even a washing machine- but even that can\u2019t detract from the unique experience of being out in the water. Going into a creek is like rediscovering a lost world.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It\u2019s March, and that means we\u2019re right in the middle of the spawning season for our steelhead trout. Steelhead take the pulses of water flowing out from creeks after rain […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"0","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"ocean_post_layout":"","ocean_both_sidebars_style":"","ocean_both_sidebars_content_width":0,"ocean_both_sidebars_sidebars_width":0,"ocean_sidebar":"","ocean_second_sidebar":"","ocean_disable_margins":"enable","ocean_add_body_class":"","ocean_shortcode_before_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_after_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_before_header":"","ocean_shortcode_after_header":"","ocean_has_shortcode":"","ocean_shortcode_after_title":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_bottom":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_bottom":"","ocean_display_top_bar":"default","ocean_display_header":"default","ocean_header_style":"","ocean_center_header_left_menu":"","ocean_custom_header_template":"","ocean_custom_logo":0,"ocean_custom_retina_logo":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_height":0,"ocean_header_custom_menu":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_family":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_subset":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_size":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_unit":"px","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_line_height":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_unit":"","ocean_menu_typo_spacing":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_unit":"","ocean_menu_link_color":"","ocean_menu_link_color_hover":"","ocean_menu_link_color_active":"","ocean_menu_link_background":"","ocean_menu_link_hover_background":"","ocean_menu_link_active_background":"","ocean_menu_social_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_links_color":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_color":"","ocean_disable_title":"default","ocean_disable_heading":"default","ocean_post_title":"","ocean_post_subheading":"","ocean_post_title_style":"","ocean_post_title_background_color":"","ocean_post_title_background":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_image_position":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_attachment":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_repeat":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_size":"","ocean_post_title_height":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay":0.5,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay_color":"","ocean_disable_breadcrumbs":"default","ocean_breadcrumbs_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_separator_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_hover_color":"","ocean_display_footer_widgets":"default","ocean_display_footer_bottom":"default","ocean_custom_footer_template":"","cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","ocean_post_oembed":"","ocean_post_self_hosted_media":"","ocean_post_video_embed":"","ocean_link_format":"","ocean_link_format_target":"self","ocean_quote_format":"","ocean_quote_format_link":"post","ocean_gallery_link_images":"on","ocean_gallery_id":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[32,34,35,37,38],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/creeklands.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/EnvironmentalconcernsontheCentralCoast.png\")
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