Agencies Announce Near-Term Strategy on Biological Opinions

A joint agency task force today announced a near-term science strategy to support water operations in the Delta and a preliminary strategy for completing an integrated biological opinion covering the Bay-Delta Conservation Plan and water project operations.

The first strategy identifies an initial list of near-term scientific research issues arising from a recent National Academy of Sciences report on alternatives for reducing water project impacts on threatened and endangered fish species. Activities outlined in the strategy could be used to inform water project operations for the 2011 water year.

The second strategy outlines analytical tools to help assess management of the Delta ecosystem and water supply, a path to obtain new information to decrease uncertainty, and a general approach to completing the new biological opinion. Some of the unresolved scientific issues that will be further examined as part of the strategy include fish mortality at the water projects, Delta contaminants, food web dynamics, predation, benefits of habitat restoration, and anadromous fish migration studies.

Both strategies stem from a commitment made by the Interior Department and the Commerce Department in May 2010 to develop a single, integrated biological opinion to address the BDCP and water project operations. The effort has been coordinated through a task force composed of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Marine Fisheries Service, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, and the U.S. Geological Survey.

The Near-Term Science Strategy and the Integrated BDCP BiOp Strategy can be found at here. The strategies will be revised as new information becomes available.