Adult steelhead returning to lower Mission Creek are blocked by highway and flood control related migration barriers that prevent access to all adequate spawning and rearing habitat found upstream. Several fish passage improvement projects are now being planned for Mission Creek.

Questa Engineering hired Stoecker Ecological to compiled existing fisheries data for City of Santa Barbara Watersheds and conduct habitat and migration barrier surveys of streams where data was lacking or inconclusive. The completed report constitutes the fisheries section of the larger existing conditions report that was produced. The report identifies a large quantity of high quality salmonid habitat, a diversity of native fish species present, and numerous restoration opportunities to preserve and restore fisheries resources within the city.

Boulder step-pool habitat in upper Sycamore Creek.	Sycamore Creek lagoon and sandbar.
Mission Creek meets the blue of the Santa Barbara Channel.	Mission Creek downstream of the impassable concrete channelized reach.