Jan. 10, 2014: The Action Agencies today released the final 2013 Comprehensive Evaluation of the first five years of progress in implementing NOAA Fisheries' Biological Opinion for operation of the FCRPS for ESA-listed salmon and steelhead. The draft CE reviews accomplishments in dam passage improvements, habitat restoration, hatchery reform and predator management as well as the status of the fish. Below are some findings. HYDRO SYSTEM IMPROVEMENTS: Scientifically designed tests in 2010, 2011 and 2012 estimated progress toward meeting the BiOp performance standards for juvenile dam passage survival. To date, performance testing indicates that all projects are on track to meet the BiOp performance standards of 96 percent survival for spring migrating fish and 93 percent survival for summer migrants. (For a given dam to achieve the performance standards requires two years of testing with survival meeting or exceeding the performance standard each year.) Read more about hydro results under the BiOp in this new paper. |