Few Remaining Santa Monica Mountains Steelhead Bouncing Back Following Palisades Fire

Great piece in the Los Angeles Times about the endangered steelhead of the Santa Monica Mountains creeks that some feared would be wiped out by the devastating Palisades Fire of January, 2025.

Here’s the Times with some details:

Scientists feared the Santa Monica Mountains’ last remaining steelhead trout were dead, smothered by debris flows unleashed by the Palisades fire.

But the endangered fish surprised them: A team of biologists recently spotted 30 of the rare trout — and 21 babies — in Topanga Creek. 

“There was a lot of happy dancing in the creek,” said Rosi Dagit, principal conservation biologist for the Resource Conservation District of the Santa Monica Mountains, which works with public and private landowners to conserve natural resources.