Background

A major goal for the restoration of Lower Topanga Creek is to allow the creek channel to recover and re-establish its natural course following the removal of the fill.  Restoring the natural channel will provide over 1000 meters of additional spawning and rearing habitat for endangered southern steelhead trout.  Understanding the evolution of the channel as it recovers will provide students with an understanding of how the hydrology, geo-morphology, alluvial processes and sediment transport elements interact within a watershed. Pre-restoration data will be used as the baseline for documenting changes over time.

Objectives

To document the changes in available spawning and rearing habitat, overall habitat complexity in the restored channel reach in Lower Topanga.

What will the students be doing?

• Students will use the CA Department of Fish and Game Habitat mapping protocol to measure physical channel characteristics such as wetted width, bankfull width, flood prone width, average and maximum depths, substrate characteristics, canopy cover and in-stream habitat quality for fishes.