Central Valley Project Habitat & Facility Improvements

The rivers of the Central Valley of California support populations of Fall Run Chinook, Spring Run Chinook, and Winter Run Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and Steelhead Trout (O. Mykiss). Water resources development, stream channel manipulations, and other anthropogenic actions have reduced and modified historical salmonid habitats. Gravel is regularly transported from spawning sites on the river and there is less utilizable rearing habitat. Infrastructure entrains juveniles, impairs passage, and increases susceptibility to predation. Relevant purposes of the Central Valley Project Improvement Act (CVPIA) include: To protect, restore, and enhance fish, wildlife, and associated habitats in the Central Valley and Trinity River basins of California; To address impacts of the Central Valley Project (CVP) on fish, wildlife and associated habitats; To improve the operational flexibility of the CVP; To achieve a reasonable balance among competing demands for use of CVP water, including the requirements of fish and wildlife, agricultural, municipal and industrial and power contractors.