Independent Review Panel (IRP) Report for the 2015 Long-Term Operations Biological Opinions (LOBO) Annual Science Review

Delta Stewardship Council (Delta Council) | December 1st, 2015

This report presents findings and opinions of the Independent Review Panel (IRP) assembled by the Delta Science Program to inform the National Marine Fisheries Service (N

This report presents findings and opinions of the Independent Review Panel (IRP) assembled by the Delta Science Program to inform the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) as to the efficacy of water operations and certain regulatory actions prescribed by their respective Long-term Operations Biological Opinions’ (LOBO) Reasonable and Prudent Alternative Actions (RPAs) as applied from October 1, 2014 through September 30, 2015 (Water Year 2015).  This year’s annual review focused primarily on: (1) Shasta Reservoir and Sacramento River temperature monitoring, modeling, and management, (2) the River Assessment for Forecasting Temperature (RAFT) decision support tool (model), (3) an Enhanced Particle Tracking Model (E-PTM), and (4) a USFWS report on past, present, and future approaches to incidental take of Delta Smelt.  After reviewing a required set of written documents (Appendix 1), the IRP convened at a public workshop in Sacramento, CA on 5-6 November 2015. The first day of the 2-day workshop included agency presentations and provided a forum for the IRP to interact and consider information presented on water operations, temperature modeling, monitoring and RPA Actions as implemented in yet another critically dry 2015 water year. On the second day, the IRP deliberated in a private session beginning at 9:00 a.m. in order to prepare and present their initial findings at the public workshop at 2:00 p.m., after which there was an opportunity for agency representatives, members of the public, and the IRP members to comment and otherwise exchange impressions and information. Subsequent IRP communication and deliberations were conducted via email and conference calls in the course of drafting this final report. Click here for federal agency response letter

Independent Review Panel (IRP) Report for the 2017 Long-term Operations Biological Opinions (LOBO) Biennial Science Review (January 24, 2018)

Delta Stewardship Council (Delta Council) | January 31st, 2018

Initial Alternatives Information Report for the North/Central Delta Improvement Study (Delta Cross Channel, Franks Tract, and Through- Delta Facility Evaluation)

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) | March 17th, 2010

The U.S. Department of the Interior (Interior) Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) and the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) are evaluating the feasibility o

The U.S. Department of the Interior (Interior) Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) and the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) are evaluating the feasibility of using conveyance and operations actions in the north and central region of the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta (Delta) to improve water quality and fish conditions. Specifically, Reclamation is evaluating the feasibility of these actions in the North/Central Delta Improvement Study (NoCDIS or Study). The Initial Alternatives Information Report (IAIR) identifies, discusses, and screens measures to address the problems and opportunities. These measures are used to develop initial alternatives. Initial alternatives from the IAIR will be incorporated into and refined in the subsequent Plan Formulation Report (PFR). Subject to continued appropriations and a determination of federal interest, the Study should culminate in an Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report (EIS/EIR) and a Feasibility Report. Reclamation is the federal lead agency for National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) compliance, and DWR is the state lead agency for California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) compliance.

Inter-population differences in salinity tolerance of adult wild Sacramento splittail: osmoregulatory and metabolic responses to salinity

Conservation Physiology (Society of Experimental Biology) | December 10th, 2020

The Sacramento splittail (Pogonichthys macrolepidotus) is composed of two genetically distinct populations endemic to the San Francisco Estuary (SFE). The allop

The Sacramento splittail (Pogonichthys macrolepidotus) is composed of two genetically distinct populations endemic to the San Francisco Estuary (SFE). The allopatric upstream spawning habitat of the Central Valley (CV) population connects with the sympatric rearing grounds via relatively low salinity waters, whereas the San Pablo (SP) population must pass through the relatively high-salinity Upper SFE to reach its allopatric downstream spawning habitat. We hypothesize that if migration through SFE salinities to SP spawning grounds is more challenging for adult CV than SP splittail, then salinity tolerance, osmoregulatory capacity, and metabolic responses to salinity will differ between populations. Osmoregulatory disturbances, assessed by measuring plasma osmolality and ions, muscle moisture and Na+-K+-ATPase activity after 168 to 336 h at 11 salinity, showed evidence for a more robust osmoregulatory capacity in adult SP relative to CV splittail. While both resting and maximum metabolic rates were elevated in SP splittail in response to increased salinity, CV splittail metabolic rates were unaffected by salinity. Further, the calculated difference between resting and maximum metabolic values, aerobic scope, did not differ significantly between populations. Therefore, improved osmoregulation came at a metabolic cost for SP splittail but was not associated with negative impacts on scope for aerobic metabolism. These results suggest that SP splittail may be physiologically adjusted to allow for migration through higher-salinity waters. The trends in interpopulation variation in osmoregulatory and metabolic responses to salinity exposures support our hypothesis of greater salinity-related challenges to adult CV than SP splittail migration and are consistent with our previous findings for juvenile splittail populations, further supporting our recommendation of population-specific management.

Interagency Fish Passage Steering Committee 2014 Annual Report Focusing on the Shasta Dam Fish Passage Evaluation

Delta Stewardship Council (Delta Council) | July 1st, 2014

Interim instream flow criteria for the protection of fishery resources in the Scott River watershed, Siskiyou County

California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) | February 6th, 2017

This document describes the methods and results of an analysis using historical flow data and regional regression relationships to develop interim instream flow criteria

This document describes the methods and results of an analysis using historical flow data and regional regression relationships to develop interim instream flow criteria suitable for anadromous fish in the Scott River watershed in Siskiyou County. The Scott River watershed provides aquatic habitat for four species of anadromous fish; Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), Coho Salmon (O. kisutch), steelhead trout (O. mykiss), and Pacific Lamprey (Lampetra tridentata). Specifically, the Scott River is one of the most important Coho Salmon spawning and rearing tributaries in the Klamath River watershed. Instream flow requirements can be generated from flow standard setting techniques or from the results of site specific studies. The interim instream flow criteria presented for the Scott River were developed using flow standard setting techniques. Stream flow standards derived from standard setting techniques are designed to identify the environmental resource in need of flow protection, identify biologically significant criterion that can be used to measure potential flow related impacts, and specify the amount of flow required to protect the resource. Most individual standards evaluate only one or more, but not all the criterion needed to fully evaluate the flow needs of an aquatic species. This limitation can lead to prescribing a single minimum threshold or “flat-line” affect (Poff et al. 1997). The seasonal and inter-annual variability in the hydrograph must be maintained to protect stream ecology and provide an ecosystem based standard (Annear 2004). To account for the seasonal and the inter-annual hydrologic variability of the Scott River, the Department applied a detailed hydrologic analysis along with application of three standard setting methods to evaluate the life history flow needs of salmonids in the Scott River near Fort Jones. Adult fish passage was estimated using the equation developed by R2 Resources (R2 2008) for the State Water Resources Control Board’s (SWRCB) North Coast Instream Flow Policy (SWRCB 2014), spawning and juvenile rearing were evaluated using the Hatfield and Bruce regional equations (Hatfield and Bruce 2000), and the results were adjusted monthly based on estimates of unimpaired hydrology using Tessmann’s adaptation (Tessmann 1980) of the Tennant or Montana Method (Tennant 1975).

Issue Paper for the San Joaquin River spring-run Chinook experimental population – Delta impacts

National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) | July 23rd, 2013

Juvenile Production Estimate (JPE) Calculation and Use/Application of Survival Data from Acoustically-tagged Chinook Salmon Releases Report

Delta Stewardship Council (Delta Council) | February 21st, 2014

Each year, NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) estimates the number of juvenile winter-run Chinook salmon expected to enter the Delta. NMFS’ June 4, 2009

Each year, NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) estimates the number of juvenile winter-run Chinook salmon expected to enter the Delta. NMFS’ June 4, 2009, biological and conference opinion on the long-term operation of the Central Valley Project and State Water Project provides an incidental take limit on natural juvenile winter-run based on the juvenile production estimate.

Klamath River Basin Issues: An Overview of Water Use Conflicts

Congressional Research Service (CRS) | June 13th, 2002

Severe drought in 2001 affected the Klamath River Basin, an area on the California-Oregon border, exacerbating competition for scarce water resources and generating confl

Severe drought in 2001 affected the Klamath River Basin, an area on the California-Oregon border, exacerbating competition for scarce water resources and generating conflict among several interests – farmers, municipal and industrial users, commercial and sport fishermen, other recreationists, federal wildlife refuges, environmental groups, and Indian Tribes. The conflicts over water distribution and allocation are physically and legally complex, reflecting the varied and sometimes competing uses of limited water supplies in the Upper Basin. On April 6, 2001, the Bureau of Reclamation (Bureau), which has supplied water to farms in the Upper Basin for nearly 100 years, announced that “no water [would] be available” for farms normally receiving water from the Upper Klamath Lake, so that scarce water could be used to protect species listed as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Water was available to some farmers from other sources (e.g., wells and other Bureau sources); however, many farmers were not able to plant or harvest crops due to severe cutbacks in water supplies. Emotions ran high on all sides of the issues, and the water control gates were unlawfully opened by protesters. Although the Basin has received significantly more precipitation in 2002, many issues remain in dispute. In addition, several judicial decisions have affected the issues with respect to the listed species as well as tribal rights. On May 31, 2002, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service both issued Final Biological Opinions on the Bureau’s 10-year Operation Plan for the Klamath Project. The agencies found that the Bureau’s proposed action is likely to jeopardize the continued existence of the two listed suckers and coho salmon, as well as result in the adverse modification of proposed critical habitat; however, both Opinions also included “reasonable and prudent alternatives” for operating the Project that would remove the jeopardizing effects of the proposed action. However, on June 3, 2002, the Bureau formally rejected both Final Biological Opinions, but opted instead to operate under a one-year plan that it asserts complies with the Opinions. Independently, in March 2002, the President appointed a high-level working group to develop solutions. Congress has responded to the controversy in a number of ways, including holding several oversight hearings and appropriating funds for water conservation activities in the area. This report provides background on the geographic, historic, and legal underpinnings of the current conflicts. Because the report focuses on the current conflicts, it deals primarily with Klamath Project operations in the Upper Klamath Basin and effects associated with water releases from Upper Klamath Lake.

Left Out in Drought: California Fish Impacts of the California Drought on Freshwater Ecosystems

Pacific Institute | September 7th, 2022

California is deep into the third year of another major drought. Rural and urban areas again face water use restrictions and financial losses. Less water and hotter tempe

California is deep into the third year of another major drought. Rural and urban areas again face water use restrictions and financial losses. Less water and hotter temperatures also stress ecosystems, increasing the prevalence of wildfires, air pollution, dry streambeds, and loss of wildlife. Impacts to rural and urban areas frequently mask the disproportionate ecological impacts of the drought and the related policy and management responses that have exacerbated those impacts. The lack of acknowledgement and de- prioritization of ecosystem water needs during drought has led to insufficient actions taken to protect the natural systems on which we all depend.