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Project Overview 1 <br />1-5 <br />1.3 OPPORTUNITIES <br />San Leandro Creek is known for having been the site of the first rainbow trout <br />hatchery in the world, drawing on the locally native variety of the species. <br />The fish raised in this hatchery were sent as far away as New York. The site has <br />been declared a California Historical Landmark. <br />1.3.1 RESTORATION OF SAN LEANDRO CREEK <br />The San Leandro Creek segment in the City of San Leandro in general is <br />naturalized with steep slopes that drop to as much as 50 feet below the street <br />level in certain areas. The banks are inundated with a plethora of invasive <br />vegetation. The presence of large Blue Gum Eucalyptus trees pose a threat <br />to the neighboring development as they have been known to fall, especially <br />during El Nino storms, which can lead to power outages, interrupt traffic, <br />damage Creek banks, and impede flows. <br />Any kind of restoration of the San Leandro Creek might have to deal with the <br />removal of the eucalyptus trees as well as other invasive vegetation. The trail <br />project is seen as a first step towards the long-term goal of Creek restoration <br />and reintroduction of Steelhead fish in the San Leandro Creek. <br />1.3.2 REEMERGENCE OF RAINBOW TROUT <br />In 1855, William P. Gibbons, founder of the California Academy of Sciences <br />discovered a new species of trout in San Leandro Creek, which he named <br />Salmo iridea. The San Leandro Creek site was declared a California Historical <br />Landmark thereafter. The locally native variety of trout was traded in different <br />parts of the Country. This variety of Steelhead trout spawn in gravel-bottomed, <br />fast-flowing, well-oxygenated rivers and streams, some stay in fresh water <br />all their lives. However, a study on historical distribution and current status <br />of Steelhead/rainbow trout reported a decline in their population and only <br />anecdotal evidence of their existence has been sited in the project. A <br />survey of San Leandro Creek between Interstate 880 and 2.3 miles above <br />Lake Chabot in December 1982 concluded that Lower San Leandro Creek <br />could provide good spawning habitat for Steelhead except for siltation <br />problem areas (Leidy, 2005). Once the San Leandro Creek is restored, various <br />stakeholder groups think that the re-emergence of Steelhead trout will take <br />place in these reaches of the Creek. <br />FIGURE 1-2 BLUE GUM EUCALYPTUS TREES <br />FIGURE 1-3 INVASIVE VEGETATION <br />19