ESWR page - Endangered Species & Wetlands Report

presented in this petition includes: record low population abundance in the last two years;
current population levels below the “effective population size” for the species cited by
USFWS in their most recent 5-year review (USFWS 2004b); evidence for a significant
stock recruitment relationship for the species; population viability and extinction risk
analyses that indicate that the species is at high risk of extinction (Bennett 2003, 2005);
and new information regarding the effects of Delta water exports on delta smelt
population abundance. Due to this extreme situation, the threats documented in this
petition constitute an emergency.
Because the delta smelt is primarily a freshwater fish, the USFWS has jurisdiction over
this petition. A Memorandum of Understanding between the USFWS and the National
Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) signed in 1974, regarding jurisdiction over listed
species, clearly places jurisdiction for the delta smelt with the USFWS (NMFS and
USFWS 1974). The USFWS first proposed a threatened listing for the delta smelt on
October 3, 1991 (56 FR 50075-50084) and has retained jurisdiction over the species since
that time.
The Center for Biological Diversity is a nonprofit, science-based environmental advocacy
organization that works to protect endangered species and wild places throughout the
world through science, policy, education, citizen activism and environmental law. The
Bay Institute is a non-profit organization that works to protect and restore the ecosystems
of San Francisco Bay, the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, and the rivers, streams, and
watersheds tributary to the Estuary, using a combination of scientific research, public
education, and advocacy. Natural Resources Defense Council is a nonprofit,
environmental organization that works to restore the integrity of the elements that sustain
life – air, land and water – and to defend endangered natural places. The Center for
Biological Diversity, The Bay Institute and Natural Resources Defense Council submit
this petition on their own behalf and on behalf of their members and staff, with an interest
in protecting the delta smelt and its habitat.
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