Endangered Species

During the past 15 years, the population of winter-run chinook salmon returning to spawn in the Sacramento River has declined by 99 percent. The salmon was classified as an endangered species in January 1994. As a result of this listing, the National Marine Fisheries Services must advise federal agencies on how to modify actions that could harm the salmon and must enforce the Endangered Species Act's provisions prohibiting the "taking" of salmon. This report identifies major actions that the Service has taken to protect the salmon. These actions affected the Central Valley Project and nonfederal irrigation districts that divert water from the Sacramento River.

GAO found that: (1) in 1992, NMFS advised the Bureau of Reclamation of needed changes in its CVP operations to minimize the project's impact on salmon; (2) CVP changes included setting requirements for storing cold water in upriver reservoirs, managing the water temperature in salmon spawning areas, removing barriers to the salmon's upstream passage, and adjusting operations to reduce the diversion of juvenile salmon into inappropriate waterways; (3) because of unforeseen problems and unclear guidance, NMFS revised its requirements and clarified operational changes that were needed for 1993 operations; (4) NMFS has enforced the Endangered Species Act's prohibiton on the taking of salmon against two California irrigation districts; (5) NMFS obtained an injunction against one district to prohibit it from pumping water during salmon migration because its fish screens were ineffective in diverting salmon from its pumps; (6) NMFS fined the other district $50,000 because it failed to install a fish screen; (7) both districts have reached agreement with NMFS on actions needed to prevent further infractions; and (8) in 1992, NMFS fined two private fishermen for illegally taking salmon from the river.