Community Corner

Mountains Restoration Trust Announces 'Bring Back the Streams' Campaign

The effort will help reestablish frogs, newts, fish, birds and healthy water sources to larger wildlife.

The following is a press release from the Mountains Restoration Trust:

Mountains Restoration Trust (MRT) announced the launch of the “Bring Back the Streams” campaign to eradicate invasive species in and along streams and restore local wildlife throughout the Santa Monica Mountains. The effort will help reestablish frogs, newts, fish, birds and healthy water sources to larger wildlife.

With precious few water resources in the range, every stream is a key life line of the mountains, said Debbie Sharpton, executive director of MRT. “Streams and creeks nourish the mountains and serve every aspect within their ecosystem. When streams are diverted from their natural course, polluted with trash and waste material, or invaded by foreign species, the entire ecosystem is at risk.”

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Already part of the campaign is an aggressive program to remove the invasive Louisiana crayfish from local streams and creeks. MRT received a grant from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to start a regular trapping program near Tapia Park, a lower portion of Malibu Creek State Park. MRT recruited assistance from the Sierra Pacific Flyfishers and Wilderness Flyfishers organizations.  (The crayfish may have been introduced through fishing.) The program expanded with help from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Five Star and Urban Waters Restoration Grant Program, FedEx and the support from volunteers, organizations, and corporations. MRT staff  organizes community volunteers from all over southern California that includes students, Sierra Club members, Fedex volunteers, Getty Center volunteers and many more to trap and remove the critters. To date, over 30,000 crayfish have been eradicated from local mountain streams.

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The Bring Back the Stream Campaign hopes to raise awareness about the introduction of non native species and help raise funds for supplies and recruit volunteers to tackle more areas of the mountains with eradication and clean up programs. “With public support we can step up efforts and conquer the overtaking of local streams by non natives and return them to their native state with healthy native flora and fauna,” said Sharpton.

 

MRT has proved that stream restoration can be accomplished at its Headwaters Corner at Calabasas. With a team of consultants, volunteers, and donors, MRT transformed Dry Canyon Creek, the start of the headwaters to the Los Angeles River, from a weed-choked dumping ground to a healthy, vibrant environment. Today, native plants and indigenous critters thrive in and along the creek.  The public is invited to the interpretive center to witness the achievement.  

 

Mountains Restoration Trust (MRT) is a non-profit land conservancy dedicated to preserving natural land in the Santa Monica Mountains through restoration, education and land acquisition. Founded in 1981, MRT collaborates with communities in an ongoing effort to maintain a sustainable relationship between urbanization and native land. To learn more, make a donation or volunteer, visit mountainstrust.org.

 


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