SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The Bureau of Reclamation, National Marine Fisheries Service and other partnering federal and state agencies will host a webinar on the Shasta Dam Fish Passage Evaluation to provide an update on the status and next steps for pilot studies evaluating reintroduction of winter-run Chinook salmon upstream of Shasta Dam.
The webinar will be held 10 a.m. to noon, Sept. 24, 2015. To register and attend the webinar, please visit the link below:
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/1202838602259814658
Call In: (646) 307-1719/Access Code: 662-104-342
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
Information to be presented during the session will include a status and schedule update for the public release of the evaluation’s Pilot Implementation Plan and its companion Environmental Assessment. Staff will additionally provide an overview of the current condition of Sacramento River salmon populations and a status report on the winter-run Chinook salmon captive broodstock program at the Livingston Stone National Fish Hatchery, located at the foot of the Shasta Dam.
The NMFS and California Department of Fish and Wildlife asked the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to resume the LSNFH broodstock program in 2014, in response to the potential effects of California’s four-year drought on the winter-run Chinook population. The agencies plan to utilize progeny of these fish for pilot studies in lieu of adult fish from the river.
The Shasta Dam Fish Passage Evaluation is a joint effort of Reclamation, NMFS, USFWS, U.S. Forest Service, California Department of Water Resources, CDFW and the State Water Resource Control Board. Reclamation initiated the Shasta Dam Fish Passage Evaluation in response to the NMFS June 4, 2009, issuance of the Biological Opinion on the coordinated long-term operation of the Central Valley Project and State Water Project. The BO concluded, in part, that CVP and SWP operations were likely to jeopardize the continued existence of salmonids protected under the federal Endangered Species Act. The BO outlines a Reasonable and Prudent Alternative action that obligates Reclamation to evaluate the feasibility of reintroducing federally-listed salmonids upstream of Shasta, Folsom and New Melones dams.
For contacts and additional information on the Shasta Dam Fish Passage Evaluation, visit Reclamation’s website at http://www.usbr.gov/mp/BayDeltaOffice/Documents/Shasta_Fish_Passage/
Source: Bureau of Reclamation
