Biological Opinion and Conference Opinion on the Long-Term Operations of the Central Valley Project and State Water Project

The purpose of this document is to present NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service’s (NMFS) biological and conference opinion (Opinion), about whether the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s (Reclamation) proposed long-term operations of the Central Valley Project (CVP), operated in coordination with the State Water Project (SWP; hereafter referred to as CVP/SWP operations, the proposed action, or the project), is likely to jeopardize the continued existence of the following species 

• • • • Endangered Sacramento River winter-run Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, hereafter referred to as winter-run) 
      • Threatened Central Valley spring-run Chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha, hereafter referred to as spring-run) 
      • Threatened Central Valley (CV) steelhead (O. mykiss) 
      • Threatened Central California Coast (CCC) steelhead (O. mykiss) 
      • Threatened Southern Distinct Population Segment (DPS) of North American green sturgeon (Acipenser medirostris, hereafter referred to as Southern DPS of green sturgeon) 
      • Endangered Southern Resident killer whales (Orcinus orca, hereafter referred to as Southern Residents) 

or destroy or adversely modify the designated critical habitat of the above salmon and steelhead species, or proposed critical habitat for Southern DPS of green sturgeon. This Opinion is based on the best scientific and commercial information available.