Lahontan Basin Area office, Bureau of Reclamation Mid-Pacific Region

Endangered Species

	Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act (Act) {16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.] outlines the procedures for federal interagency cooperation to conserve federally listed species and designated critical habitats. The Act directs that federal agencies should participate in the conservation and recovery of listed threatened and endangered species. In addition, the Act states that each federal agency shall insure that any action they authorize, fund, or carry out is not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of a listed species or result in the destruction or adverse modification of critical habitat.
USFWS employee with cui-ui	click here for larger photo
Lahontan Basin Area Office (LBAO) lands consist of habitats for primarily three federally listed species: bald eagle, Lahontan cutthroat trout (LCT), and cui-ui. Bald eagle, listed as threatened, primarily utilizes stretches of the Carson and Truckee rivers as wintering habitat, and there have been occasional single nesting pairs at Lahontan, Boca and Stampede reservoirs. LBAO management actions have little effect on the primarily migratory bald eagle population in the area.
LCT are listed as threatened and cui-ui are listed as endangered. Both fish species inhabit Pyramid Lake at the terminus of the Truckee River. There is also a river population of LCT residing in the Truckee River and a lake population in Summit Lake in northern Nevada. LCT in both the lake and river are "contemporary strains" of mixed stocks maintained at hatcheries. Recovery of a naturally reproducing population from the wild strain of LCT is currently being pursued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Cui-ui adults live in Pyramid Lake and spawn in the lower Truckee River.

	Reclamation and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service designed and modified an existing fish passage elevator at Pyramid Lake into a lock system to reduce stress and mortality on the migratory fish. Cui-ui and some LCT migrate upstream from Pyramid Lake up into the Truckee River in the spring to spawn. Three miles upstream from the lake, they must pass Reclamation’s Marble Bluff Dam using a fish lock that began operation in 1998. Reclamation and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service designed and modified an existing fish passage elevator into a lock system to reduce stress and mortality on the migratory fish. The fish lock has easily passed over 200,000 fish per day, many times the capacity of the replaced fish elevator previously
Cui-ui at Marble Bluff fish facility
in use. Reclamation also recently constructed a state-of-the-art rock channel fishway at Derby Dam on the Truckee River, allowing fish passage for migrating fish species, including LCT and cui-ui. The fishway is a critically important component in the recovery of LCT and reconnects the riverine ecosystem for the first time in approximately 100 years. click here for larger photo

Many of LBAO’s projects affect the two listed fish species. Currently the primary projects with the greatest potential to provide benefits for cui-ui and LCT are the Truckee River Operating Agreement (TROA) and the Desert Terminal Lakes program. TROA contains procedures designed to make more efficient use of existing Truckee River reservoirs, and to provide multiple benefits which include enhanced conditions for cui-ui and LCT. The goal of the Desert Terminal Lakes program is to provide additional water to Pyramid, Walker and Summit lakes. The additional water would improve water quality and thus fish habitat in the affected lakes and rivers.

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For additional information or assistance, please contact:
Kenneth Parr, Area Manager
705 N. Plaza Street, Room 320
Carson City NV 89701
(775) 882-3436

The Truckee River Basin

Bureau of Reclamation, Mid-Pacific Region

2800 Cottage Way, Sacramento CA 95825-1898
Main (916) 978-5100 | FAX (916) 978-5114 | TDD (916) 978-5608
Reclamation Officials' Telephone Numbers

Last update: January 27, 2009