A proposed trail bridge in San Juan Capistrano would allow for the removal of barriers in Trabuco Creek, making it easier for endangered southern steelhead trout to travel from the ocean to their spawning grounds in the Santa Ana Mountains.
The $45 million project, which would also include removing non-native species along the creek, stabilizing soil along the banks and some other public safety features, is being spearheaded by California Trout, a nonprofit group with a mission to preserve the state’s salmon, steelhead trout and other wild trout populations.
Planning has been in the works for more than a decade and could break ground by the end of next year if permits and approvals go through. It is being paid for by the nonprofit group.
Earlier this month, officials from California Trout asked the city of San Juan Capistrano to support the project and its request to the California Public Utilities Commission for approval of the bridge. Part of the land where the new bridge is proposed is under a railway bridge that belongs to the Southern California Regional Rail Authority, better known as Metrolink, prompting the need for the commission’s approval. And, because Cal Trout is not a government agency, the group needed the city’s help.
On Aug. 5, the San Juan Capistrano City Council agreed to make the request.
“I think it’s a great project,” Councilmember John Taylor said, adding it would also help equestrians traveling through that area.
“Even the trail connection for the equestrian people getting to the northwest open space is pretty tricky,” he said. “I don’t think I’d want to take a horse across that concrete abuttment and go 15 feet down. Even that part alone is such a benefit. If this all works out, it would be pretty amazing.”
Nate Yancheff, project coordinator for California Trout’s south coast region, said he’s gotten reports from people who have seen steelhead trout in the creek water, but their declining population makes them harder to find in nature.
He said studies have shown their DNA is present in the pool area below the Metrolink structure.
“That’s the barrier and that’s kinda where they’re stuck,” he said.
The trout, part of the salmon family and the only such fish native to Southern California, were listed as endangered in 2024 under the California Endangered Species Act, but declared federally endangered in 1997. The population has been struggling due to development and flood control within and near their habitat.
The fish were once found all throughout the state’s coastal creeks and rivers.
The San Juan Creek watershed, where the project is proposed, has been identified as critical to the recovery of the fish species by the National Marine Fisheries Service.
The group’s project would remove two barriers, including a structural support and a grouted rock drop near the railroad bridge and a steep concrete flood channel near the 5 freeway, and create a 600-foot, nature-like fishway that would allow the trout to swim past. The fishway would be created by placing boulders in the creek, which redirect the water flow through the area, allowing fish to bypass the obstacles.
With this in place, trout would be able to swim from their ocean entrance at Doheney Beach, all the way to their spawning grounds in Holy Jim Canyon, said Yancheff.
Right now, the barriers are too high, and fish can’t make it past them, he said. The project would also improve water quality and mitigate erosion impacts in the half-mile stretch between the two barrier points.
“It stabilizes the channel and improves trail connections,” said Joel Rojas, the city’s development services director. “During the rainy season, at the high-water mark, you can’t traverse it. And now, during low-stream flow, you have to walk through it, which is not ideal.”
He said California Trout’s proposed 15-foot-wide bridge would get users from one side to the other and would also connect to the city’s Northwest Open Space. If people use the Trabuco Trail heading south, they will meet up with other trails in the area and also connect to more of the city’s open space.
Rojas said that he’d heard from the equestrian community that something needed to be done along the trails to help with connectivity. In the past, he said, there have been concerns that wet conditions and the uneven surface of the current creek crossing make it difficult for equestrian crossings.
The new bridge, which has included input from the equestrian community, would have better traction for the horses, officials said.
“This will help with more dry trail crossings,” Rojas said. “During the winter season, (the bridge) will have to be closed with gates during periods of high creek flow.”
Rojas said once the bridge is in place, the city would likely take over its maintenance, but those associated costs will be discussed by the council further down the road as the project gets off the ground, he said.