Authorizations and Permits for Protected Species (APPS)

• ESA Section 10(a)(1)(A) permit (Pacific fish/invertebrate enhancement)

Permit 18181-4R will cover the following monitoring and rescue activities in the Central Valley:
1) Juvenile emigration monitoring in the Sacramento River at Knights Landing (river mile [RM] 88.5), Tisdale Weir (RM 119.5), a Delta Entry site (between RM 62-73), and in the Lower Feather River within the High Flow Channel (HFC) will occur annually from August through June.
2) Adult trapping for the Steelhead Monitoring Program in the Sacramento River between Clarksburg (RM 42) and Knights Landing (RM 93) will occur year-round, as conditions allow.
3) The Upper Sacramento River Restoration Site Monitoring will occur from Keswick Dam (RM 302) downstream to the Red Bluff Diversion Dam (RM 243) annually at restoration sites, as needed.
4) Fish salvage and rescue operations including rescues within bypasses (Yolo and Sutter), agricultural canals and drainages (Wallace Weir, Colusa Basin Drainage Canal), and Upper Sacramento redd dewatering and juvenile stranding surveys.

CDFW proposes to carry out rescues, research, and monitoring activities in California’s Central Valley. Juvenile salmonid emigration monitoring will occur using paired 8-foot rotary screw traps (RSTs) along the Sacramento River at various sites and at one site within the Lower Feather River from August through June of the following year. Data will be collected on the emigration timing, race composition, and abundance of juvenile salmonids entering the lower Sacramento River and Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

The Steelhead Monitoring Program will utilize wire fyke traps to capture, mark, and recapture upstream migrating adult steelhead in order to estimate adult steelhead escapement and migration timing from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. Fyke trapping will occur year-round as conditions allow. 

The Upper Sacramento River Restoration Site Monitoring will involve juvenile presence/absence surveys at a variety of sites on the Upper Sacramento River, upstream of the Red Bluff Diversion Dam. The monitoring will occur year-round and will establish baseline use at proposed restoration sites to help determine the success once restoration projects are implemented. 

CDFW will also assess entrainment of ESA-listed salmonids and green sturgeon resulting from extreme environmental conditions and complex water operations within California's Central Valley. Prior to conducting fish rescue operations, CDFW will assess the conditions leading to stranding and/or entrainment and determine whether rescue and relocation activities are warranted. In some instances (i.e. trapping operations at Wallace Weir Facility), CDFW aims to prevent entrainment by trapping and relocating adult fish species of concern before they encounter inhospitable conditions. Other times, entrainment results from environmental conditions such as flooding or drought.