‘Save-the-Trout’ Ideas Need Scrutiny

Two articles in the Aug. 12 edition of The Times report that steelhead trout have been listed as endangered in Southern California, including the Santa Clara and Ventura rivers.

Taxpayers should follow this matter closely to see if their governmental agencies squander millions of dollars in ill-conceived “save-the-trout” projects or if they inject stringent cost-benefit principles into their studies.

Two projects mentioned in these articles bear close scrutiny by taxpayers. The installation of a fish ladder at Robles Dam in the Ojai Valley is estimated to cost between $2 million and $5 million. Before government reaches for taxpayers’ wallets, it should fully report on the success, or lack thereof, of the fish ladder constructed on the Santa Clara River in 1991.

Another plan, studied now for 10 or more years by many government agencies, is the tearing down of the Rindge Dam in Malibu Canyon--a Los Angeles County “save-the-trout” project estimated to cost $10 million to $20 million of taxpayer funds. The waste of money on this project would likely be an egregious blunder. A productive option might be to reactivate this multimillion-dollar taxpayer asset as a reservoir to protect lives and property in this fire-prone area.

Taxpayer funds are limited. Ventura County “save-the-trout” advocates must have solid facts (not theories) to support multimillion-dollar fish ladders. They should also vigorously compete for scarce dollars by showing how their Ventura County trout projects have greater chances of success than expensive projects in other locales.

RONALD L. RINDGE

Moorpark