CRITFC appreciates this opportunity to comment on NOAA Fisheries’ September 8, 2004 draft Biological Opinion for Operation of the Federal Columbia River Power System including 19 Bureau of Reclamation Projects in the Columbia Basin (“Draft BiOp”). CRITFC has reviewed the Draft BiOp and provides the following general and specific comments in response. We have also reviewed the Updated Proposed Action (UPA) of the Action Agencies, and submit these comments to those agencies as comments on the UPA as well.

Had additional time been available, CRITFC would have provided additional substantive technical comments.

Below is the complete comments, appendices, and attachments submitted. Note attachments 17 and 18, due to publication restrictions, are separate downloads.

• Complete Remand Comments - (73.98 MB)
• Attachment 17: Deriso, Marmorek, Parnell-Spring/Summer Chinook Differential Mortality (excerpt from the Candian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Science) - (244 kB)
• Attachment 18: Schaller et al., Productivity and Survival Rates (excerpt from the Candian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Science) - (315 kB)

Due to the volume of comments presented, below are the individual comments' appendices and attachments for individual download:

• Cover letter - (30 kB)
• Appendix A: CRITFC’s General and Section by Section comments - (279 kB)
• Appendix B: CRITFC’s Review of Framework Analysis - (51 kB)
• Appendix C: CRITFC Comments on Ocean Conditions and Flows, Kyle Martin 9/27/04 - (50 kB)
• Appendix D: CRITFC Review of “Evaluating the Potential for Improvements to Habitat Condition to Improve Population Status for Eight Salmon and Steelhead ESUs in the Columbia Basin”, Dale McCullough 10/8/04 - (43 kB)
• Appendix E: CRITFC Review of PAH Impacts to Salmon, Patti Howard - (13 kB)
• Attachments 1-5: - (3.21 MB)
  • 1: Fish Passage Center Comments (with CSS comments attached)
  • 2: Fish Passage Center 4/16/04 Memo SAR Transport
  • 3: Joint Technical Staff 2/20/04 Cover Letter and Comments re Summer Spill Analyses
  • 4: Joint Technical Staff 4/9/04 Spill Comments
  • 5: Joint Technical Staff 6/14/04 Spill Comments
• Attachment 6: Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Authority Columbia River Fish & Wildlife
  Program-Rolling Provincial Review Implementation 2001-2003 - (59.95 MB)
• Attachments 7-10: - (4.62 MB)
  • 7: Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Authority 3/26/04 Letter to Northwest Power and Conservation Council
  • 8: University of Idaho/Idaho Cooperative Fish & Wildlife Research Unit Report
  • 9: Phaedra Budy, Gary Thiede, et al. Report
  • 10: PATH Final Report FY 1998
• Attachment 11: CRFM Budget Spreadsheet through 2010 - (31 kB)
• Attachment 12: 12/15/00 Analysis of All-H Actions (Marmorek et al. 2000) - (1.95 MB)
• Attachment 13: 7/21/98 Department of Commerce Letter - (105 kB)
• Attachment 14: PATH Weight of Evidence Report - (732 kB)
• Attachment 15: 7/1/04 Findings Report on Action Agencies 2004/2004-2008 Implementation Plan - (1.97 MB)
• Attachment 16: Henry Yuen, Rishi Sharma Report - (1.21 MB)
• Attachment 17: Deriso, Marmorek, Parnell-Spring/Summer Chinook Differential Mortality (excerpt from the Candian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Science) - (244 kB)
• Attachment 18: Schaller et al., Productivity and Survival Rates (excerpt from the Candian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Science) - (315 kB)
• Attachment 19: Letter from Donald Sampson, CRITFC to Jeff Blackwood, USFS December 2/16/2000 - (78 kB)