MEMORANDUM

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DATE: March 8, 2016

TO: CVPIA Anadromous Fish Program Staff, State and Federal Partners and Stakeholders

FROM: CVPIA Administrators Cesar Blanco -Service (916) 978-6190 & David Mooney -

Reclamation (916) 978-5190

SUBJECT: Central Valley Project Improvement Act (CVPIA) Fiscal Year 2017 Fish Program 

Priorities and Call for Annual Work Plan (AWP) Charters

BACKGROUND

Enacted in 1992, the CVPIA, Title 34 of Public Law 102-575, added the mitigation, protection, 

restoration, and enhancement of fish and wildlife as authorized purposes of the Central Valley 

Project, CA. The federal agencies responsible for implementing the CVPIA (the U.S. Bureau of 

Reclamation, “Reclamation,” and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, “Service”) began 

undertaking anadromous fish restoration actions in partnership with the U.S. National Marine 

Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the State of California represented by the Department of Fish and 

Wildlife (DFW) and the Department of Water Resources (DWR), collectively an interagency 

“Core Team” and others. A revised effort based on an Adaptive Resource Management (ARM) 

process for the fish provisions will seek to prioritize actions with the highest probability of 

achieving biological objectives for naturally produced populations of native anadromous fish.

A Science Integration Team (SIT) began by working on a Decision Support Model for fall-run 

Chinook Salmon in October 2015, and provided this first set of science-based priorities to the 

Core Team on February 18, 2016. The Core Team added priorities from various Central Valley 

Project Work Teams (PWT) to include winter-run, spring-run, steelhead, and sturgeon to develop 

the following recommendations to guide the development of CVPIA program AWP 

Charters. The Fiscal Year 2017 President’s Budget included approximately $9 million for 

anadromous fish restoration activities. Actual funding will depend upon appropriations and 

collections from CVP water and power customers.

PRIORITIES

Based on coordination with the Core Team, Reclamation and the Service are seeking activities 

that benefit ESA listed species or serve a multi-species benefit that includes listed 

species. Specific priorities include:

• Winter-run Chinook: Based on the priorities submitted by the Winter-run PWT, the Core 

Team recommends that reducing water temperatures and flow fluctuations during egg 

incubation and rearing, reducing pathogens and understanding the factors that influence 

their impacts, reducing predation, improving juvenile fish emigration, increasing rearing 

habitat, and reducing adult entrainment into the Colusa Basin drain are all priorities for 

Winter-run Chinook Salmon in the Sacramento River. Winter-run priorities in the Delta 

include improving rearing and floodplain habitat and improving water operations to 

reduce migration delays and reduce predation losses. Winter-run priorities in Battle 

Creek include: (1) improving fish passage, flow conditions, and water temperatures to 

provide suitable winter-run habitat in the North Fork; and (2) advancing efforts to 

reintroduce winter-run to the North Fork.
MEMORANDUM

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• Spring-run Chinook: Based on the priorities identified by spring-run Chinook salmon 

experts from NMFS and CDFW, the Core Team recommends that improving passage and 

survival for adults and juveniles on Deer, Mill, and Butte Creeks through increased flows 

and barrier reductions are all priorities for Spring-run Chinook Salmon. Improving fish 

passage at Tisdale Weir and Sunset Pumps are identified priorities, along with improving 

adult fish passage on Battle Creek and improving flows on Clear Creek for juvenile 

emigration. Improving rearing habitat on the Yuba River and reducing juvenile 

entrainment in the Upper Sacramento are also Spring-run priorities.

• Green Sturgeon: Based on the priorities identified by the Sturgeon PWT and Sturgeon 

SAIL, the Core Team agrees that improving spawning and rearing habitat, reducing larval 

entrainment, and reducing diversions for adult green sturgeon are priorities for Green 

Sturgeon on the Sacramento, Yuba and Feather Rivers. Improving adult passage is also a 

priority in the Yolo Bypass (Freemont Weir), Sutter Bypass (Tisdale Weir), Feather River 

(Sunset Pumps), Sacramento River (ACID Dam & Jefferson Boulevard Locke), and 

Yuba River (Daguerre Point Dam).

• Steelhead: Based on the priorities identified by the Steelhead PWT, the Core Team agrees 

that understanding the dynamics between resident and anadromous forms and how 

hatchery stocks influence wild stocks are priorities for the American, Battle, Feather, 

Mokelumne, Stanislaus, and Yuba Rivers. Understanding the factors that affect adult 

escapement in the Sacramento, Merced, Tuolumne and Stanislaus Rivers is a priority. 

Collecting baseline habitat data in the San Joaquin and Sacramento Rivers and the Delta 

is also a steelhead priority. Another priority for steelhead is an evaluation of smolt 

survival in the Sacramento River, Mill Creek and Delta. 

• Fall-run Chinook: Based on the priorities identified by the SIT, the Core Team agrees 

that the following are priorities for fall-run Chinook Salmon:

- Improve Juvenile Rearing Habitat - Sacramento, Yuba, Feather, American, 

Calaveras, Mokelumne, Merced, Tuolumne, Stanislaus and San Joaquin Rivers 

and the Delta;

- Reduce Diversions and Juvenile Entrainment - Sacramento, Feather, Cosumnes, 

Calaveras, Mokelumne, Merced and San Joaquin Rivers and the Delta;

- Reduce Predator Encounters - Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers and Delta;

- Improve Water Temperatures during Juvenile Rearing - Sacramento, Feather, 

American, Cosumnes, Calaveras, Mokelumne, Merced, Tuolumne, and Stanislaus 

Rivers;

- Augment Flows during Juvenile Rearing - Sacramento, Yuba, American, 

Cosumnes, Calaveras, Mokelumne, Merced, Tuolumne, Stanislaus and San 

Joaquin Rivers and the Delta;

• White Sturgeon: Based on the priorities identified by the Sturgeon PWT and SAIL teams, 

the Core Team agrees that increasing spawning and rearing habitat in the Sacramento 

River and improving adult passage in the Yolo Bypass are high priorities for White 

Sturgeon. Reducing diversions, reducing entrainment and increasing spawning and 

rearing habitat on the San Joaquin River are also priorities that will benefit White 

Sturgeon.
MEMORANDUM

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The Core Team will consider the following elements in reviewing AWP Charters

1. Watersheds with Identified Priority Actions

2. Benefits to Endangered Species Act (ESA) Listed Species

3. Benefits to Multiple Species

4. Cost-Share

5. Long-Term Partnerships and Coordination with other Restoration Efforts

6. Project that address DSM modules identified as having high uncertainty.

NEXT STEPS

Reclamation and Service staff will be developing Annual Work Plan Charters in coordination 

with our partner agencies and organizations. Project proponents should contact Service or 

Reclamation staff to develop AWP Charters.

For more information or to identify a partnership, please contact Cesar Blanco, (916) 978-6190, 

cesar_blanco@fws.gov or Rodney Wittler, (916) 978-5232, rjwittler@usbr.gov to identify the 

appropriate Service or Reclamation Staff to assist in development.

ATTACHMENTS

1. FY 2017 Call for Fish Program Charters