U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office
External Affairs Program

Site Search
Home
Graphic Version

02-21
Contact:
Patricia Foulk - 916/414-6566

**CORRECTION** NEW STATISTICAL ANALYSIS AVAILABLE FOR SACRAMENTO SPLITTAIL
Listing decision postponed to allow public review of data

SACRAMENTO, Calif.– The public and scientific community will have until May 20, 2002 to comment on a new statistical study on the threatened Sacramento splittail, which was developed as a result of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s court-ordered re-analysis of the fish’s 1999 Endangered Species Act listing.

A Federal Register notice and news release, published on March 21, 2002, erroneously stated the last day for commenting on this study as October 15, 2002, which is actually the court-ordered date by which the Service has to deliver the Sacramento splittail final rule to Federal Judge Oliver Wanger.

The Sacramento splittail is found only in California’s Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, streams of the Central Valley, and the Napa and Petaluma rivers. This native fish received protection as a threatened species in February 1999.

Since then, however, the listing decision has been litigated by the San Luis and Delta-Mendota Water Authority and the State Water Contractors. Ultimately, Federal Judge Oliver Wanger of the Eastern District Court of California decided the case in favor of the water user plaintiffs and ordered the Service to re-evaluate the listing determination by March 22, 2001. However, the Judge did allow the listing to stand so that the fish would continue to be protected by the Endangered Species Act while the Service complied with his order. Judge Wanger later granted several extensions to enable the Service to acquire new information on the species.

In August 2001, the Service once again sought public review of the splittail listing–this time by soliciting comments on a new statistical approach the Service had developed to analyze spittail abundance indices. In the course of that review scientists from the California Department of Fish and Game and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation developed an alternative statistical approach, which the Service believes is superior. The Service is now proposing to adopt this approach and is once again seeking scientific review of this proposal.

"Keeping tabs on the population of fish like the Sacramento splittail is no easy task since they aren’t funneled through fish ladders or other places that make them easy to count ," said Steve Thompson, Manager of the Service’s California-Nevada Operations Office. "Consequently, we must rely on statistics to help assess their status."

A silvery-gold member of the minnow family, the splittail can grow up to 16 inches long and live up to 9 years. The upper part of the tail is enlarged and appears to be split, hence its common name. Historically, the splittail occurred in the Sacramento River as far north as Redding, as far south in the San Joaquin River as Friant Dam near Fresno, and as far west as the Petaluma River. Splittail populations have declined as dams and diversions prevented fish from access to upstream areas of large rivers. Reclamation and modification of flood basins also have reduced the species’ spawning grounds.

Copies of the analysis are available from the Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office at the address below. The Service welcomes comments on the Sacramento splittail until May 20, 2002. Information should be sent to the Field Supervisor, Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2800 Cottage Way, Suite W-2605, Sacramento, California 95825.

Background information on the 1999 listing of the Sacramento splittail and subsequent public comment periods can be found in the following editions of the Federal Register: the 1999 listing (64 FR 5963); the January 12, 2001 to February 12, 2001 comment period (66 FR 2828); the May 7, 2001, to June 7, 2001 comment period (66 FR 23181) August 17, 2001 to October 1, 2001 comment period (66 FR 43145).

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System which encompasses nearly 540 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas.It also operates 70 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resource offices and 78 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces Federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Aid program that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to State fish and wildlife agencies.

Previous News Release (3/21/02)
Federal Register Notice (text)
Federal Register Notice (pdf)

Top of Page

Home Page for News Releases