PUB00136 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

~,...~.o; ~" '.\ the natural variability of its seasonal water-flow patterns, CALFED's plan leaves most of those facilities in place, but proposes to change the way they are operated so that they more closely match the natural flow variability characteristic of the Bay-Delta system, The Sacramento Ri\'ef: above. is the largest source offresh H"Gterj701n'ng into the Delta. delil'ers (l major part of the irrigation \\'ater that sustains California agriculture and support.') foltr salmon runs. It is those potential changes in operation that concern farmers and water districts that rely on Delta water exports for their liveli- hoods and community drinking water supplies. They warn that reducing water exports to satisfy environmental needs could force some farm~ ers to take land out of production or shift to less economically valuable crops. The area potentially affected by the ERP projects covers virtually all of California. CALFED's ecosystem-based management approach focuses on long-term sustainability of ecosystems eVPIA GOALS The need for environmental restoration was recog- nized before the CALF ED process began with enactment in 1992 of the CVPIA, The act reformed federal water policies, pricing, and distribution, and perhaps most important for environmental restora- tion, reallocated some CVP yield to restore Central Valley fisheries. It also established an annual $50 million environmental restoration fund financed by surcharges on CVP water and power sales, and firmed up annual supplies for the Trinity River and Central Valley wildlife refuges. A key part of the CVPIA is the Anadromous Fishery Restoration Program (AFRP), which aims to double by 2002 the natural production of salmon, steelhead, striped bass, American shad, white sturgeon, and green sturgeon from their average population levels that existed between 1967 and 1991. Although hatch- eries built along major rivers have helped sustain fish populations for sport and commercial fishing, 10 with restoration decisions based on desired future states, not an undefinable or unattainable pristine conditions, CALFED will use modeling techniques to assess current ecological conditions and to test alternative restoration approaches based on an understanding that ecosystems are dynamic and that management strategies should adapt to unexpected changes, It recognizes that humans are an integral part of the ecosystems, so management of human activities will be an important part of ecosystem management. CALFED acknowledges that its adaptive manage- ment approach carries with it uncertainties for the Bay-Delta ecosystem and stakeholder about how the Bay-Della ecosystem will respond to some of the restoration or water~management activities. CALFED believes that adaptive management can adjust to those uncertainties and accommodate changing views of stakeholders, The first seven years of the CALF ED action plan will be critical. During that period, CALFED plans to fund hundreds of restoration projects and create an environmental water account, a dedicated water supply for the protection and recovery of fish that it says will help avoid conflicts with other water users. Some of the funding for these programs already is in place following passage of state bond issues in 1996 (Proposition 204) and 2000 (Proposition 13), but it will be augmented by local contributions and a water user fee that requires state legislation. the numbers of many migratory fish species using Central Valley rivers and creeks have declined in recent decades from historic levels. The best known anadromous fish, the salmon, is a special target of restoration efforts, Salmon spend most of their lives in the ocean, but most instinc~ tively return to spawn and then die in the same fresh water creeks and rivers in which they were hatched. Dams, commercial fishing, and pollution have been blamed for declines in many salmon populations, Despite aggressive development of hatchery programs to bolster sagging wild populations, five California salmon runs were listed as endangered in 2000 under the federal ESA, and seven others are listed as threatened, One example of the decline in salmon populations is the endangered winter-run chinook salmon in the Sacramento River. Winter-run counts in the