Steelhead Trout are the litmus test when conducting environmental monitoring to assess the health of San Luis Obispo (SLO) County’s watershed. Without doubt, the depletion of the trout foreshadows broader wildlife threats. Field biologist, Freddy Otte, spearheads municipal environmental compliance and monitoring work through the city’s Natural Resource Department (SLO NRD). His primary goal, amidst a host of water pollution challenges, is ecological restoration and an increase in salmonid populations.
The leading cause of water pollution, Otte explains, is storm-water runoff. The regulations set out in the Storm Water Pollution Prevention Program (SWPPP) were created to mitigate this effect. Simultaneously, the county is running the Steelhead Monitoring Project (SMP), a program for preserving our shared environment. The combination of these two programs—one regulatory and the other preservation based—enables Otte to focus his passion for saving fish through protection of their environment.
“I want the people to understand why we do what we do.” Otte acknowledges the importance of locals knowing regulatory authorities are committed to preserving and restoring the community’s environmental resources.