Biological Opinions - Bureau of Reclamation

Because of inflation, as the cost of restoration increases, the proposed $500,000 annual
restoration fund will be able to fund fewer restoration projects in the latter half of the proposed
action duration. The average annual rate of inflation in California over the past 10 years (i.e.,
2003 to 2012) is 2.6 percent (CA Department of Finance 2013). However, NMFS also notes that
the ecological needs of coho salmon will likely continue to be better understood over the 10 year
action period, and that restoration activities are likely to become more effective at benefiting
coho salmon habitat throughout that period. Therefore, the increased understanding of coho
salmon and habitat restoration is likely to approximately offset the effects of inflation with the
result that the restoration benefits to coho salmon are likely to be reasonably similar over the 10
year proposed action period.
11.5 Cumulative Effects
Cumulative effects are those impacts of future State, Tribal, and private actions that are
reasonably certain to occur within the area of the action subject to consultation. Tribal lands are
excluded from the designation of critical habitat for the SONCC coho salmon ESU. Therefore,
for purposes of the analysis of effects on critical habitat, there are no Tribal actions that are
reasonably certain to occur within the area of the action subject to consultation. Future Federal
actions will be subject to the consultation requirements established in Section 7 of the Act, and
therefore are not considered cumulative to the proposed action.
NMFS believes that SONCC coho salmon ESU critical habitat may be affected by numerous
future actions by State, local, or private entities that are reasonably certain to occur in, adjacent,
or upslope of the action area, as described below and in the Environmental Baseline section.
Many activities described in the Environmental Baseline section are reasonably certain to
continue in the future even though NMFS lacks definitive information on the extent or location
of many of these categories of actions. The effects of those future non-Federal actions on
SONCC coho salmon ESU critical habitat are likely to be similar to those discussed in the
Environmental Baseline.
11.5.1 Control of Wildland Fires on Non-Federal Lands
Control of wildland fires may include the removal or modification of vegetation due to the
construction of firebreaks or setting of backfires to control the spread of fire. This removal of
vegetation can trigger post-fire landslides as well as chronic sediment erosion that can negatively
affect downstream coho salmon habitat. Also, the use of fire retardants may adversely affect
salmonid habitat if used in a manner that does not sufficiently protect streams causing the
potential for coho salmon to be exposed to lethal amounts of the retardant. This exposure is most
likely to affect summer rearing juvenile coho salmon. As wildfires are unpredictable events,
NMFS cannot determine the extent to which suitable coho salmon habitat may be degraded or
modified by these activities.
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