Steelhead are found in creeks along the west coast, as well as nearby in Alameda Creek. These native fish are a testament to the vitality of the creek and a compelling reason for our ongoing conservation work. Here, hatchlings grow into juveniles before heading to the Bay and Pacific Ocean. Efforts are underway to ensure cool, clear water, for spawning, and for sustaining thriving populations.
These watershed lands sustain many different animals. While lamprey and other fish, amphibians, and western pond turtles are found in Alameda Creek and its tributaries, other animals take to the woodlands, grasslands, or the air. Animals such as bobcats, deer, jackrabbits, snakes, and raptors. Whether predator or prey, these animals rely on water, and face the daily challenge of securing food, without becoming it.
The Muwekma Ohlone have inhabited this watershed for thousands of years. Their connection to these lands, including this site, is strong and enduring, despite centuries of marginalization, cultural disruption, and loss of life and territory. Today, the Ohlone remain committed to reviving their sacred traditions and languages. A testament to their unity, they strive to preserve their identity and safeguard ancestral heritage sites.
An ancestral Ohlone heritage site was discovered not far from here, near the Arroyo de la Laguna. The name Rummey Ta Kuččuwiš Tiprectak, means 'Place of the Stream on the Lagoon Site,' It honors the land's cultural roots and ties, to the Muwekma Ohlone. Recovered artifacts, such as, mortars and charmstones, speak to the Ohlone's reverence for the ancestors they’ve buried here over the millennia.