Without realizing it, millions of people all over the world have seen Malibu Creek. Just 25 miles from downtown Los Angeles, the creek has served as the backdrop for popular movies and television shows like Planet of the Apes and M*A*S*H. But before the completion of the Rindge Dam in 1926, Malibu Creek was more famous for its abundant steelhead.

At one time the steelhead run on the creek was thought to be over 1000 strong. Hollywood luminaries like Clark Gable and Spencer Tracy were said to take a break from their movie shoots to fish the Malibu's still-viable runs. Sadly, less than 50 steelhead now make the trek. Eight miles of their former spawning habitat in what is now Malibu Creek State Park and the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area is permanently out of reach, the first 574 feet of it filled with the collected sediment that has made Rindge Dam useless since the mid 1950's.

Restoring Malibu Creek's fishery by removing Rindge Dam has become the focus of intense scientific scrutiny in recent years. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is currently conducting a dam removal feasibility study sponsored by the Rindge Dam Task Force, a committee of various local, state, and federal agencies involved in the Malibu Creek watershed. How much sediment is behind the dam (estimates range from 800,000 to 1,600,000 cubic yards); what methods for removal are most viable and how much it will cost are all questions that the study will, hopefully, answer.

Money, however, is not the only impediment. Local homeowners are concerned that some removal strategies might lead to inundations or flooding. And the descendents of the Rindge family are lobbying for a California Point of Historical Interest designation.

While CalTrout is, of course, only interested in removal strategies that ensure the safety of residents, the long-term benefits to everyone involved should be obvious. These include:

• Restoration of the Southern California Steelhead, the only Federally-listed "endangered" species of steelhead and the repository of the "parent" genetic material for all steelhead.



• Restoration of Malibu beach, which brings in an estimated $1 billion to the local economy, by reconnecting the pipeline of sediment that is now trapped.



• The transcendent beauty of a natural flowing creek unencumbered by a crumbling concrete structure and a morass of silt and mud.

CalTrout eagerly awaits the Corps' study, which is due by the end of 2005. Until then, we will continue to preach about the benefits of a restored Malibu creek and the importance of Southern California Steelhead.