Rotary_Screw_Trap_-_PWS_Draft_1.pdf

Rotary Screw Trap Data from the American and Stanislaus Rivers Performance Work Statement

1.0 Background

The purpose of this contract is to develop and provide environmental information relevant to the operation of the Central Valley Project (CVP). The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) operates and maintains the Central Valley Project (CVP) for the purposes of navigation and flood control; fish and wildlife mitigation, protection, restoration, and enhancement; agricultural and municipal and industrial water supply; power generation; and recreation. Measuring the response of the ecosystem, including native fish in response to operation of the CVP can assist in meeting these purposes. Monitoring and science objectives can be organized into two categories: (i) real-time operations; and (ii) status and trend monitoring.

Real-Time Operations

Certain information for real-time operations decision making provides a basis for minimizing CVP impacts on fish species of concern. Reclamation needs certain information for real-time operations decision making. In CVP tributaries and the Delta, these surveys observe biotic and abiotic conditions that inform risk assessments, which evaluate how different operations may affect listed species under the ROD on the LTO, including:

1. Flow, Temperature, Turbidity, and Salinity at Certain Locations;

2. Salmon and Steelhead distribution and juvenile production in CVP tributaries and the

Delta.

The effective use of these observations requires timely documentation and delivery to support real-time analysis tools, typically on a weekly or daily basis.

Status and Trend

Status and trend surveys quantify performance measures and viability metrics using survey methods that provides an estimate and measurement of uncertainty.

Reclamation’s need is for status and trend monitoring that supports quantitative modeling and predictive tools, so efforts can be advanced to predict the outcome of future floodplain, riverine, and Delta management scenarios instead of reacting to previous documented observations. The most pertinent of these for this contract is:

1. Juvenile Fish Abundance and Productivity

Reclamation is interested in measures of biomass and composition that are comparable across:

A. Regions, (e.g. per EDSM zones, river reaches, bypasses);

B. Seasons, e.g. different life stages and operational conditions;

C. Years; and D. Equipment Improvements.

Reclamation is interested in sufficient resolution and statistical power to detect differences in operational and physical habitat regimes.

These metrics should be of sufficient resolution and statistical power to detect differences in operational and physical habitat and biological regimes over time.

The monitoring activities included in this project work statement are real time operations and status and trend monitoring deemed necessary in the American and Stanislaus rivers.

2.0 Scope

The purpose of this agreement is to provide real-time operations and status and trend monitoring and reporting to inform decision-makers in implementing management actions and operations that will minimize CVP operations by increasing fish abundance, productivity, and spatial distribution, and improving the life history and genetic diversity of the target species.

3.0 Objectives

• Objective 1- Estimate robust estimates of total annual production and passage of juvenile fall-run Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha and steelhead Oncorhynchus mykiss produced in the American and Stanislaus Rivers, CA, especially as it relates to environmental covariates such as water temperature and flow.

• Objective 2- Compare juvenile production estimates to adult escapement estimates.

• Objective 3- Provide real-time data to various data platforms.

4.0 Tasks

1. Use rotary screw traps on the American River at the Watt Avenue Bridge in Sacramento, CA and Stanislaus River at Caswell State Park in Ripon, CA to estimate juvenile production of Chinook salmon and steelhead during the trap operation period from October to June, which incorporates nearly the entire emigration period for the target species. Operate traps seven (7) days per week during higher emigration periods from November to February. Reduced sampling effort may be implemented randomly during lower emigration periods to avoid biasing estimates.

2. Use trap capture-efficiency trials to develop quantifiable passage estimates for Chinook salmon. Where appropriate and when available, use steelhead juveniles for capture efficiency trials.

3. Operate rotary screw traps to support a juvenile production model following a standard protocol. The recommended juvenile production model is described in Wohner et al (2024) and most recent protocol is the American River Rotary Screw Trap Project protocol. Modification to the protocol shall be document, as necessary.

4. Collect additional biological information (e.g., length, weight, tissue samples) on salmonids. Tissue samples will be provided monthly to the CDFW Central Valley Tissue Archive.

5. Develop RST database enhancements to improve functionality and the accuracy of the data products and outputs.

6. Upon email request by the Contracting Officer Representative (COR) and approval by the COR, Recipient will coordinate its field sampling with special studies that desire collection of additional biological tissues (e.g otoliths).

5.0 Delivery

Deliverables

1. Recipient will produce an RST study plan prior to initiating monitoring. This will document location, capture-efficiency trial methods, and any modification to the Project Protocols.

2. Recipient will produce a technical memorandum for this project that will collate and analyze juvenile Chinook salmon and steelhead abundance estimates by brood year.

The technical memorandum will identify any real-time modifications and deviations from the protocol during the water year’s operation and estimates of passage and production of the Chinook salmon and steelhead. Information on other species observations will be included, when practical. The recipient’s technical memorandum will be completed by September 30 of the year following each survey season which ends June 30th of each year.

3. In accordance with the preservation and reproducibility of scientific data pertaining to the project, coordination and transmission of long-term monitoring and other pertinent data will occur between the project’s data managers (identified by both the Recipient and Reclamation). Recipient data manager will be responsible for preparing the Project’s data documents including a data management plan (aligned with CVPIA data guidance:

https://cvpia-documents.s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/CVPIA-Data-Guidance_Dec- 2020.docx). Information will be provided to Reclamation in the following formats:

a. Daily digital uploads of Chinook salmon abundance estimates for posting to public facing websites (e.g. SacPAS).

b. Monthly data files will be provided to an open access data repository such as https://portal.edirepository.org/nis/home.jsp

c. Monthly data uploads to EDI or similar data portal within 1 week of each month to allow for QC activities can be completed throughout the term of the agreement.

d. One 508/VI compliant electronic copy of the annual technical memorandum through June 30th of each year by September 30th of each year.

e. Annually, provide usable data files in electronic, machine-readable format (not PDF) of all data collected, including metadata and analyses used in technical memorandum preparation (e.g. Data bundles).

f. QA/QC’d project code (e.g., R, Python, etc.) and documentation and/or code annotation will be posted to GitHub or similar online collaborative platform.

Technical memorandum and publications will include references and direct links to QA/QC’d project data and code locations. Open access is required for all journal publications.

4. Science Tracker

a. Recipient will enter a short summary of this project along with the project title, period of performance, milestones, budget, and list of deliverables and due dates into the Delta Science tracker with input from the IATR. Recipient will enter pertinent updates annually. The Delta Science Tracker is an online platform to inventory and summarize science activities in the Delta with the intent of improving communication among the Delta science community, promoting https://cvpia-documents.s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/CVPIA-Data-Guidance_Dec-2020.docx https://cvpia-documents.s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/CVPIA-Data-Guidance_Dec-2020.docx https://portal.edirepository.org/nis/home.jsp opportunities for collaboration, and tracking funding opportunities and expenditures. The Tracker serves as a mechanism for sharing information about scientific activities, highlights opportunities for collaboration, and provides access to related publications and outputs.

5. Take Permitting and Biological Opinion Communication

b. Federal Endangered Species Act (FESA) take requested, granted, and reported for the tasks/project will be identified to Reclamation. Emails for FESA permit consultation and reporting under (USFWS/NMFS) Biological Opinion with RECLAMATION (X-X-XX) will include a cc: to Reclamation’s LTO Manager.

All correspondence regarding (USFWS/NMFS) Biological Opinion with (RECLAMATION/recipient) will include a copy being sent to Reclamations LTO Manager (Reclamation LTO Manager, Bay-Delta Office, 400 I Street Suite 140, Sacramento CA, 95815).

6. Funding Acknowledgement

c. Presentations, technical memoranda, publications, EDI data archive project page, and public outreach documents will acknowledge Reclamation funding and the (contract/agreement) number.

6.0 Government-Furnished Property

Two 8-foot Rotary Screw Traps

7.0 Place of Performance

American River at the Watt Avenue Bridge in Sacramento, CA and Stanislaus River at Caswell State Park in Ripon, CA.

8.0 Period of Performance

Tasks implemented under this contract shall be performed from November 1, 2025 until October 31, 2028, or three years from date of award.