8009

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 8009
• Author: Natural Resources Law Center.
• Title: Restoring the Waters.
• USFW Year: 1997.
• USFW - Doc Type: Boulder, CO.
• Copyright Material: YES

Additional Water for Wildlife: Purchases Under the
CVPIA Water Acquisition Program
Los Banos Wildlife
Management Unit
Two nests located in one 180-acre
unit under nonirrigated conditions;
78 nests found the year after
irrigation
Grassland Resource
Conservation District
Waterfowl and other waterbird
production habitat increased 400%
since 1992
Grey Lodge Wildlife
Management Area
Waterfowl production increased over
20% since 1992; waterfowl use days
increased by 18 million
Year Purpose Total Amount Transferred Cost (U.S. dollars)
1997 San Joaquin Valley Refuges 37,150 of 1,535,710
1996 San Joaquin Valley Refuges 25,000 of 1,000,000
Kern Wildlife Refuge 5,200 of 130,000
1995 Sacramento and San Joaquin Valley Refuges 70,042 of 2,689,512
1994 San Joaquin Valley Refuges 32,526 of 440,164
controlled by the project. Commercial,
sport and tribal fisheries suffered as a
result of decimated Central Valley fish
populations.
A central purpose of the Improvement Act
is to restore the Central Valley's once
vibrant anadromous fish populations.
Critical to this effort are provisions
dedicating water to instream use for Eish
and wildlife..
Because of the Improvement Act's dedi-
cated yield provision, Department of the
Interior biologists have been able to secure
flow improvements for salmon and other
fish in major Central Valley rivers since
1993. It is difficult to quantify the benefits
to the fish, given the length of the salmon's
life cycle and the numerous variables in
salmon survival, such as hydrology and
ocean conditions. But initial results seem
promising. For example, in 1995, the
Sacramento River fall run of chinook
salmon was strong, with almost 2.68,000
returning spawners, the highest number in
over 25 years. On one stream in particular,
Clear Creek, returning chinook salmon
spawners increased from roughly 1,000
fish to 7,000-9,000 fish in 1995 and 1996.
Department of the Interior a unique
opportunity to mitigate past harms and
restore fish and wildlife and their associ-
ated habitats. The new law's early suc-
cesses are a strong indication that legisla-
tive efforts to reallocate water to instream
and wetland uses are worthwhile.
For More Information Contact:
Wendy Pulling
Natural Resources Defense Council
71 Stevenson Street
San Francisco, CA 94105
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]
Roger Guinee or Joel Miller
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
3310 EI Camino Avenue, Suite 130
Sacramento, CA 95821-6340
Phone: [phone]
Success Through Legislation
The Bureau of Reclamation is the largest
water provider in the West and the Central
Valley Project is its largest project. The
Improvement Act gives the Bureau and the
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