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Biological Assessments and Comprehensive Analysis
Under the Endangered Species Act, a federal agency whose proposed actions may affect a species (or its habitat) listed as threatened or endangered Act must assess the potential impacts of its actions in a document called a biological assessment or BA.
As part of the remands of the 2004 FCRPS Biological Opinion and the 2005 Upper Snake Biological Opinion the agencies submitted two BAs to NOAA Fisheries on August 21, 2007. NOAA Fisheries will use these documents to do an independent analysis and develop new BiOps for the operation of these dams for listed fish.
The action agencies have prepared some materials to explain these submittals.
Audio interviews of federal executives
- Audio interview with Steve Wright of BPA and Witt Anderson of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers about the importance of Columbia River Basin BA documents.
Full nine minute interview segment with both executives.
Wright answers the following questions:
- What's the significance of the agencies' filing with NOAA Fisheries? If you're a citizen of the Northwest, why should this matter? (Answer)
- The federal courts rejected the previous plans - what did you do to respond to the court with this proposed plan? (Answer)
- When the whole thing is said and done, do you think the federal agencies will produce a plan that the judge can support? (Answer)
Anderson answers the following questions:
- Give some concrete examples of how these proposals are "different" from past proposals? (Answer)
- What are the next steps from here? (Answer)
- Meanwhile, with the development of plans and lots of attention on that matter, what's happening out in the river with fish recovery efforts? (Answer)
Additional closing perspective from both Wright and Anderson
- Audio interview with Bill McDonald of the Bureau of Reclamation about the Upper Snake River BA.
- What are you proposing to do in the new Upper Snake Biological Assessment? (Answer)
- How does the Upper Snake BA fit into the FCRPS BA? (Answer)
- What are the benefits of flow augmentation? (Answer)
- If the lower Snake River Dams were removed, would you still do flow augmentation? (Answer)
- How does the Nez Perce water rights settlement fit in? (Answer)
- Transcript of Wright and Anderson audio interviews
- Transcript of McDonald audio interview
- Citizens Update (8 pp.)
An illustrated citizens' guide to the contents of the Proposed Action, Biological Assessments, and comprehensive analysis.
- Overview (27 pp.)
This document describes the history, development, and the merits of these documents. It tells the story of where we have been, what we have accomplished, and the steps we took along with the region to be able to present the BA and accompanying documents to NOAA Fisheries.
- Slide show (14 slides)
Overview of the contents of the documents, formatted for group presentations.
The technical documents (approx. 1800 pages), completed as part of the action agencies' ESA requirements and responding the Court's rulings, are:
- Executive Summary (26 pp.) with a chapter-by-chapter synopsis of the document.
- FCRPS BA and Appendices
- Upper Snake BA
- Comprehensive Analysis. In the remand of the Upper Snake BiOp, Judge Redden ruled that the analysis of effects in the 2004 FCRPS BiOp remand be integrated with the analysis of effects for the Upper Snake River BiOp remand, resulting in a "comprehensive analysis" of the effects of the two actions on the listed species and designated critical habitat.
This is a thorough lifecycle survival analysis that looks at the status of each of the listed stocks and the factors that have contributed to their decline, assesses the impact of the federal agencies proposed actions and makes a determination of whether those actions and the actions of others will contribute to the recovery of these fish.
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