Feds urge sturgeon protection

A federal agency wants to designate portions of the Yuba, Feather and Sacramento rivers, plus the Sutter Bypass, critical habitat for the green sturgeon.

The National Marine Fisheries Service announced Friday it will accept public comment on the proposed designations before they are made final in 2009.

Under the proposal, NMFS is seeking the designation for:

• 11.5 miles of the lower Yuba between its confluence with the Feather and Daguerre Point Dam.

• 72.7 miles of the Feather from its confluence with the Sacramento to Oroville Dam.

• 241 miles of the Sacramento, from the I Street Bridge in Sacramento to Keswick Dam.

• 23.5 square miles of the Sutter Bypass.

• 112 square miles of the Yolo Bypass.The rivers and the bypasses provide spawning habitat for the threatened Southern distinct population segment of North American green sturgeon, plus migratory areas.

The federal agency is proposing the designation as part of a 2007 settlement of a lawsuit filed by the Center for Biological Diversity to secure critical habitat.

"One of our largest and rarest freshwater fish species may now get the habitat protection it needs for conservation and recovery," Jeff Miller, conservation advocate with the center, said in a statement.

Critical habitat provides an important additional layer of protection for imperiled species beyond listing under the Endangered Species Act, according to the center, which said the estimated abundance of green sturgeon in the Sacramento River plummeted by 95 percent between 2001 and 2006.

After a final designation, federal agencies will be required to consult with the Fisheries Service before they undertake or authorize activities that may affect critical habitat, and they cannot authorize or carry out projects that would destroy or adversely modify critical habitat.

A critical habitat designation only applies when federal projects, permits or funding are involved and does not apply to citizens engaged in activities on private land that do not involve a federal agency.

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NOAA PRESS RELEASE, dated Sept. 5, 2008, FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Jim Milbury, 1-562-980-4006 phone

NOAA Proposes Critical Habitat for Southern Population of North American Green Sturgeon

NOAA’s Fisheries Service is seeking public comment on a proposal that identifies critical habitat for a distinct group of North American green sturgeon that spawn in California’s Sacramento River but migrate along the west coast of Mexico, the United States, and Canada.

In April 2006, NOAA’s Fisheries Service listed what is known as the southern segment of North American green sturgeon as threatened under the Endangered Species Act and sought public input to assist in the identification of critical habitat for the species. The listing was due in part to the degradation of the primary spawning habitat in the Sacramento River and the declining numbers of green sturgeon.

The Endangered Species Act requires a review of critical habitat for designation whenever a species is listed for protection. A critical habitat designation only applies when federal projects, permits or funding are involved and does not apply to citizens engaged in activities on private land that do not involve a federal agency.

Using information previously provided by the public and the agency’s own data, NOAA’s Fisheries Service proposes the following areas as critical habitat:

• Coastal U.S. marine waters within 110 meters (361 feet) depth from and including Monterey Bay, Calif., north to Cape Flattery, Wash., including the Strait of Juan de
Fuca, to the U.S. border with Canada.

• The Sacramento River, lower Feather River, lower Yuba River, the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and Suisun, San Pablo and San Francisco bays in California.

• The lower Columbia River estuary.

• Humboldt Bay, Calif.; Coos Bay, Winchester Bay and Yaquina Bay, Ore.; and Willapa Bay and Grays Harbor, Wash.

The areas proposed for designation comprise approximately 325 miles of freshwater river habitat, 1,058 square miles of estuarine habitat, 11,927 square miles of coastal marine habitat and 136 square miles of habitat within the Yolo and Sutter bypasses, part of the Sacramento River Flood Control Project.

Comments may be submitted for this proposed rule as listed below. All comments received are a part of the public record and will generally be posted to http://www.regulations.gov.

• Electronic: Go to the Federal eRulemaking Portal, http://www.regulations.gov, and follow instructions for submitting comments.

• Fax to 562-980-4027 Attn: Melissa Neuman

• Mail: Chief, Protected Resources Division, Southwest Region, NOAA’s Fisheries Service, 650 Capitol Mall, Sacramento, CA 95814-4706