Sacramento Fish & Wildlife Office
External Affairs
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Contacts:
Al Donner (916) 414-6566
al_donner@fws.gov
Steve Martarano (916) 414-6571
steve_martarano@fws.gov
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is hosting a workshop to introduce the stakeholder, agency, and academic community to the Habitat Study Group (HSG) process and progress to date on the draft conceptual model and work plan for a fall flow action to help protect juvenile delta smelt, which is part of the Service's 2008 OCAP Biological Opinion (BO). The workshop on Thursday, June 18, will be held in the CALFED Delta Room, 650 Capitol Mall, Sacramento , from 9 am to 3 pm.
The conceptual model and draft work plan is intended to provide for adaptive management of fall delta smelt habitat quality. Reasonable and Prudent Alternative Component 3, generally called the “Fall Action” in the Service's delta smelt OCAP BO, requires restored flows in the Delta from September through November to improve habitat conditions for juvenile smelt.
However, due to the state's current dry conditions, the fall action will not occur this year because the BO specifies that it can only occur in years that are wetter than average.
The HSG is an independent subgroup of the Pelagic Organism Decline (POD) team within the Interagency Ecological Program (IEP). The HSG focuses on X2 (flow) and its effects on growth, fitness, and survival of juvenile delta smelt. The HSG includes seven Federal and State agencies entrusted with management of Delta habitat, augmented with academic expertise in estuarine community ecology. The HSG posts notes online at http://www.fws.gov/sacramento/Habitat_Study_Group.htm.
The June 18 meeting will introduce the work of the HSG. In September, the HSG plans to hold another public meeting to present the completed draft Work Plan and answer questions and comments from an independent peer review panel. Public comments focusing on technical aspects of the study plan, experimental design, or relevant questions being addressed will be solicited and considered during the process.
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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 544 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national fish hatcheries, 63 fishery resource offices and 81 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.
Last updated: June 12, 2009
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