Stevens Creek Trail
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Stevens Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
, accessed March 15, 2011
stream in
Santa Clara County, California Santa Clara County, officially the County of Santa Clara, is the sixth-most populous county in the U.S. state of California, with a population of 1,936,259 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Santa Clara County and neighboring Sa ...
. The creek originates in the
Santa Cruz Mountains The Santa Cruz Mountains ( Mutsun Ohlone: Mak-sah-re-jah, "Sharp Ridged Mountain of the Eagle" or "People of the Eagle Mountain") are a mountain range in central and Northern California, United States, constituting a part of the Pacific Coast R ...
on the western flank of Black Mountain in the
Monte Bello Open Space Preserve Monte Bello Open Space Preserve is a open space reserve, open space preserve, located near Palo Alto, California, Palo Alto in the Santa Cruz Mountains, in San Mateo County, California, San Mateo and Santa Clara County, California, Santa Clara C ...
near the terminus of
Page Mill Road There are 21 routes assigned to the "G" zone of the California Route Marker Program, which designates county routes in California. The "G" zone includes county highways in Monterey, San Benito, San Luis Obispo, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz co ...
at
Skyline Boulevard A skyline is the outline or shape viewed near the horizon. It can be created by a city's overall structure, or by human intervention in a rural setting, or in nature that is formed where the sky meets buildings or the land. City skylines serv ...
. It flows southeasterly through the Stevens Creek County Park before turning northeast into
Stevens Creek Reservoir Stevens Creek Reservoir is an artificial lake located in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains near Cupertino, California. A county park surrounds the reservoir and provides limited fishing ("catch and release"), picnicking, hiking, and hors ...
. It then continues north for through
Cupertino Cupertino ( ) is a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States, directly west of San Jose on the western edge of the Santa Clara Valley with portions extending into the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains. The population was 60,38 ...
, Los Altos,
Sunnyvale Sunnyvale () is a city located in the Santa Clara Valley in northwestern Santa Clara County, California, United States. Sunnyvale lies along the historic El Camino Real and Highway 101 and is bordered by portions of San Jose to the north, ...
and Mountain View before emptying into the
San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay (Chochenyo language, Chochenyo: 'ommu) is a large tidal estuary in the United States, U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the cities of San Francisco, California, San ...
at the Whisman Slough, near Google's main campus.


History

The creek was originally named Arroyo San José de Cupertino (
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...
for ''
Saint Joseph of Cupertino Joseph of Cupertino (Copertino), OFM Conv. (; 17 June 1603 – 18 September 1663) was an Italian Conventual Franciscan friar who is honored as a Christian mystic and saint. According to traditional Franciscan accounts, he was "remarkably uncleve ...
Creek'') by
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...
explorer
Juan Bautista de Anza Juan Bautista de Anza Bezerra Nieto (July 6 or 7, 1736 – December 19, 1788) was a Novohispanic/Mexican expeditionary leader, military officer, and politician primarily in California and New Mexico under the Spanish Empire. He is credited as on ...
, who camped along the creek on his expedition from Monterey to San Francisco. De Anza completed the first overland route to
San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay (Chochenyo language, Chochenyo: 'ommu) is a large tidal estuary in the United States, U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the cities of San Francisco, California, San ...
when he and Father Pedro Font sighted the bay from a prominent knoll near the entry of
Rancho San Antonio County Park Rancho San Antonio County Park and Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve are a conjoined public recreational area in the Santa Cruz Mountains, in the northwest quadrant of Santa Clara County, California, Santa Clara County, California. The Count ...
. In de Anza's diary on March 25, 1776, he states that he "arrived at the "Arroyo San José de Cupertino", which is useful only for travelers. Here we halted for the night, having come eight leagues in seven and a half hours. From this place we have seen at our right the estuary which runs from the port of San Francisco." The Diocese of San Jose recently dedicated ''de Anza's Knoll'' as permanent public open space. The Saint Joseph of Cupertino place name is preserved today in the city of
Cupertino Cupertino ( ) is a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States, directly west of San Jose on the western edge of the Santa Clara Valley with portions extending into the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains. The population was 60,38 ...
to the east and in the
Saint Joseph of Cupertino Parish In Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Anglican, Oriental Ortho ...
Catholic church in the city. The Arroyo San José de Cupertino became Cupertino Creek sometime before 1866, but was later re-named for
Elijah Stephens Elijah Stephens also spelled Elisha Stevens was a blacksmith and trapper who was born in South Carolina. In 1844, he left Council Bluffs, Iowa as the captain of the Stephens-Townsend-Murphy Party, the first wagon train to cross the Sierra Nevada ...
(how his name was misspelled is unknown), a
South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...
-born blacksmith and trapper who settled on Cupertino Creek in 1848. Stephens renamed his property at the base of Black Mountain "Blackberry Farm". Stephens is notable for being the captain of the
Stephens–Townsend–Murphy Party The Stephens–Townsend–Murphy Party consisted of ten families who migrated from Iowa to California prior to the Mexican–American War and the California Gold Rush. The Stephens Party is significant in California history because they were the ...
, the first wagon train to cross the
Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada ( ) is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primari ...
(two years before the ill-fated
Donner Party The Donner Party, sometimes called the Donner–Reed Party, was a group of American pioneers who migrated to California interim government, 1846-1850, California in a wagon train from the Midwest. Delayed by a multitude of mishaps, they spent ...
).


Watershed

Stevens Creek enters the San Francisco Estuary near Long Point, north of Moffett Field Naval Air Station, at Whisman Slough between Mountain View's Shoreline Park and Stevens Creek Shoreline Nature Study Area. It drains a watershed of about . There is one major impoundment (dam),
Stevens Creek Reservoir Stevens Creek Reservoir is an artificial lake located in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains near Cupertino, California. A county park surrounds the reservoir and provides limited fishing ("catch and release"), picnicking, hiking, and hors ...
at of elevation. The reservoir was constructed in 1935 to provide storage capacity of winter runoff that could be used to recharge the Santa Clara valley aquifer. The reservoir is managed by the
Santa Clara Valley Water District The Santa Clara Valley Water District (also known as Valley Water) provides stream stewardship, wholesale water supply and flood protection for Santa Clara County, California, in the southern San Francisco Bay Area. The district encompasses all ...
(SCVWD) and has a current capacity of of water. As currently managed by the SCVWD, flows are released during summer months which result in maintaining a wet channel for approximately downstream of the Reservoir (to Fremont Avenue) in order to preserve
steelhead Steelhead, or occasionally steelhead trout, is the Fish migration#Classification, anadromous form of the coastal rainbow trout or Columbia River redband trout (''O. m. gairdneri'', also called redband steelhead). Steelhead are native to cold-wa ...
. Tributaries above the Stevens Creek Reservoir include Indian Creek, Bay Creek, Gold Mine Creek, Swiss Creek and Montebello Creek. One tributary, Heney Creek, joins the mainstem below the Reservoir. Additionally, a diversion channel from Permanente Creek (constructed in 1959) sends winter storm flows into Stevens Creek approximately below the reservoir.


Stevens Creek Trail

The Stevens Creek Trail is a long bicycle and pedestrian path that runs south continuously from Shoreline Park to Heatherstone Way in Mountain View. Cupertino has completed an approximately section of trail that runs north along the creek from McClellan Road to Stevens Creek Blvd., passing the 4-H farm and community gardens in
McClellan Ranch Park McClellan Ranch Preserve is a public preserve located in the Monta Vista neighborhood of Cupertino that still retains its rural ranch look. It used to be a horse ranch owed by the McClellan family in the 1930s, and still preserves the original ...
nature preserve, and the Blackberry Farm Park. The trail is entirely separated from vehicular traffic, using numerous overcrossings and underpasses. The four cities of Sunnyvale, Cupertino, Los Altos, and Mountain View cooperated on potential trail alignments with the goal of a completed trail from the Bay to the Santa Cruz Mountains; they produced a recommendation, which was approved by all four cities, and then disbanded their joint city working team.


Habitat and conservation


Steelhead trout

Stevens Creek was one of the prime
steelhead Steelhead, or occasionally steelhead trout, is the Fish migration#Classification, anadromous form of the coastal rainbow trout or Columbia River redband trout (''O. m. gairdneri'', also called redband steelhead). Steelhead are native to cold-wa ...
(coastal rainbow trout) (''Oncorhynchus mykiss irideus'') habitats within the county. The Sportsman Gazetteer in 1877 touted Stevens Creek as a trout fishing destination. Six physical specimens were collected in 1893 by Stanford Biology Professor W. W. Thoburn and are in the California Academy of Sciences collection. In 1898
John Otterbein Snyder John Otterbein Snyder (August 14, 1867 – August 19, 1943) was an American ichthyologist and professor of zoology at Stanford University. History As a student he met David Starr Jordan who inspired him to enter zoology. He eventually became a zoo ...
collected steelhead trout specimens in Stevens Creek. Leidy reviewed numerous historical observer and sampling records of steelhead trout in Stevens Creek throughout the twentieth century and noted that hatchery stock planted in the creek did not seem to survive like the native, wild trout did. In a genetic study of fish from Santa Clara Valley streams, Stevens Creek and other trout had coastal steelhead ancestry and no substantial introgression of hatchery trout. The Stevens Creek fish were closely related to the steelhead trout in nearby basins. However, there are significant barriers for
anadromous Fish migration is mass relocation by fish from one area or body of water to another. Many types of fish migrate on a regular basis, on time scales ranging from daily to annually or longer, and over distances ranging from a few metres to thousa ...
steelhead to run up Stevens Creek to spawn. In a 1994 study, the
Santa Clara Valley Water District The Santa Clara Valley Water District (also known as Valley Water) provides stream stewardship, wholesale water supply and flood protection for Santa Clara County, California, in the southern San Francisco Bay Area. The district encompasses all ...
(SCVWD) found
fish ladder A fish ladder, also known as a fishway, fish pass, fish steps, or fish cannon, is a structure on or around artificial and natural barriers (such as dams, locks and waterfalls) to facilitate diadromous fishes' natural migration as well as mov ...
s at the Central Expressway and
U.S. Route 101 U.S. Route 101, or U.S. Highway 101 (US 101), is a major north–south highway that traverses the states of California, Oregon, and Washington on the West Coast of the United States. It is part of the United States Numbered Highway Syst ...
often had insufficient flow and/or were clogged with debris and sediment. In addition, the drop structure at L'Avenida Avenue was impassable in all five years of the study. In August, 2003 the Stevens & Permanente Creeks Watershed Council was officially formed to support stewardship of the watersheds. The SCVWD's Fish and Aquatic Habitat Collaborative Effort (FAHCE), has recommended removal of the Denil-type fish ladders at Fremont Avenue, Evelyn Avenue, and Moffett Boulevard which tend to clog with debris and are now classified as partial barriers by the
California Department of Fish and Game The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), formerly known as the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG), is an American state agency under the California Natural Resources Agency. The Department of Fish and Wildlife manages ...
(CDFG). Adjacent to the fish ladder at Moffett Boulevard is a concrete drop structure built in the 1980s which is another obstacle to salmonid passage. The existing concrete-lined channel extending further downstream to Highway 101 (a distance of ) is flat and low flows cross it as a thin sheet of water over the concrete bottom. At least depth of flow is required for adequate fish passage. Although steelhead continue to spawn in lower Stevens Creek, it is doubtful whether young trout can oversummer for one to two years in its drier, hotter lower reaches. In a 2004 report of factors limiting steelhead trout survival, the key recommendation was to improve access for spawning steelhead in the lower reaches of the creek (which gets very warm or even dry in summer) to the upper reaches of Stevens Creek which have perennial flows of colder water. In addition, if the Permanente Creek Diversion Channel could be modified to accommodate steelhead trout in-migration, then potentially of upper Permanente Creek, which currently holds a population of resident coastal rainbow trout, would be available for spawning. A NOAA/National Marine Fisheries Service report on the Stevens Creek steelhead trout population in April 2013 found a high density of spawning
Redds Spawn is the eggs and sperm released or deposited into water by aquatic animals. As a verb, ''to spawn'' refers to the process of freely releasing eggs and sperm into a body of water (fresh or marine); the physical act is known as spawning. The ...
below the Evelyn Avenue fish ladder and grade control structure, but that this barrier was forcing most of the steelhead to spawn in the undesirable lower reaches of the stream, and that it has been a significant barrier to upstream spawning runs for at least the past four years. Under the water district's Fish and Aquatic Habitat Collaborative Effort (FAHCE), Stevens Creek has been identified as one of the prime steelhead habitats within Santa Clara County and plans are underway to remove three barriers to fish passage in the lower creek: at Moffett Boulevard, Evelyn Avenue and Fremont Avenue. Stevens Creek Dam blocks of potential anadromous steelhead trout spawning habitat further upstream.


Red-bellied newt

The red-bellied newt (''Taricha rivularis'') was thought to occur only in
coast redwood ''Sequoia sempervirens'' ()''Sunset Western Garden Book,'' 1995: 606–607 is the sole living species of the genus '' Sequoia'' in the cypress family Cupressaceae (formerly treated in Taxodiaceae). Common names include coast redwood, coast ...
(''Sequoia sempervirens'') forests north of Stevens Creek in
Sonoma County, California Sonoma County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 488,863. Its seat of government and largest city is Santa Rosa. Sonoma County comprises the Santa Rosa-Petaluma ...
, however a disjunct population was discovered in the upper watershed of Stevens Creek that is genetically identical to the Sonoma County population. Whether the Stevens Creek newts were introduced or are a relict population is unclear.


Western burrowing owl

The western burrowing owl (''Athene cunicularia'') nests at Shoreline Park near the mouth of Stevens Creek. In 2008, Mountain View evicted a pair of burrowing owls so that it could sell a parcel of land to
Google Google LLC (, ) is an American multinational corporation and technology company focusing on online advertising, search engine technology, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, consumer electronics, and artificial ...
to build a hotel at Shoreline Boulevard and Charleston Road. Eviction of the owls is controversial because the birds regularly reuse burrows for years, and there is no requirement that suitable new habitat be found for the owls. Despite being listed in 1979 as a Species of Special Concern (a pre-listing category under the
Endangered Species Act The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA; 16 U.S.C. § 1531 et seq.) is the primary law in the United States for protecting and conserving imperiled species. Designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction as a "consequence of e ...
) by the
California Department of Fish and Game The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), formerly known as the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG), is an American state agency under the California Natural Resources Agency. The Department of Fish and Wildlife manages ...
, California's population declined 60% from the 1980s to the early 1990s, and continues to decline at roughly 8% per year. In 1994, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service nominated the Western Burrowing Owl as a Federal Category 2 candidate for listing as endangered or threatened, but loss of habitat continues due to development of the flat, grassy lands used by the owl. According to The Institute for Bird Populations at Point Reyes, there has been a 50 percent decline in burrowing owl populations in the Bay Area in the last 10 to 15 years. Their status protects them from disturbance during nesting season or killing at any time, but does not guarantee them a permanent home, as outside of breeding season, owls can be evicted from their homes. A 1992–93 survey reported no breeding burrowing owls in Napa, Marin, and
San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
counties, and only a few in San Mateo and Sonoma. The
Santa Clara County Santa Clara County, officially the County of Santa Clara, is the sixth-most populous county in the U.S. state of California, with a population of 1,936,259 as of the 2020 census. Santa Clara County and neighboring San Benito County form the ...
population is declining and restricted to a few breeding locations, leaving only
Alameda An alameda is a street or path lined with trees () and may refer to: Places Canada * Alameda, Saskatchewan, town in Saskatchewan ** Grant Devine Dam, formerly ''Alameda Dam'', a dam and reservoir in southern Saskatchewan Chile * Alameda (Santi ...
, Contra Costa, and Solano counties as the remnant breeding range.


Landmark status

On December 23, 1964, the Office of Historic Preservation designated Arroyo de San José Cupertino as a California historical landmark #800. A description on the commemorative plaque reads: "This arroyo honoring San Joseph, patron saint of flight and students, was first discovered and traversed by Spanish explorers in 1769. On March 25-26, 1776, Colonel Juan Bautista de Anza made it his encampment No. 93, as mapped by his cartographer, Padre Pedro Font, on his journey to the San Francisco Bay area where he initiated a colony, a mission, and a presidio."


See also

*
List of watercourses in the San Francisco Bay Area These watercourses (rivers, creeks, sloughs, etc.) in the San Francisco Bay Area are grouped according to the bodies of water they flow into. Tributaries are listed under the watercourses they feed, sorted by the elevation of the confluence so th ...
*
California Historical Landmarks in Santa Clara County List table of the properties and districts listed as California Historical Landmarks within Santa Clara County, California. :*Note: ''Click the "Map of all coordinates" link to the right to view a Google map of all properties and districts with l ...


References


External links


Stevens Creek and Permanente Creek Watershed Council

Friends of Stevens Creek Trail
* Nearb
Hiking Trails in Santa Clara County - San Jose Wiki

Santa Clara County Creeks Coalition


* * ttp://scv-habitatplan.org/www/site/alias__default/home_species_of_the_month/296/species_of_the_month.aspx Species of the Month - Santa Clara Valley Habitat Conservation Plan
Protecting the Western Burrowing Owl, City of Mountain View, CA
{{Los Altos, California Rivers of Santa Clara County, California Santa Cruz Mountains Los Altos, California Mountain View, California Rivers of Northern California Tributaries of San Francisco Bay