Final Biological Assessment and Essential Fish Habitat Determination on the Proposed Removal of Four Dams on the Klamath River

This Biological Assessment (BA) and Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) Determination for the Proposed Removal of Four Dams on the Kamath River has been revised from the October 3, 2011 version due to new information being made available, clarification of the proposed federal action, and recommended edits from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). More specifically, the main revisions made to this BA include: 1) clarification that the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement (KBRA) is not a part of the Proposed Action and therefore, is not analyzed as such in this BA; 2) include section on Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and Best Management Practices (BMPs); 3) include information from the May 24, 2012 Technical Memorandum for the Evaluation of Dam Removal and Restoration (EDRRA) model runs on Klamath Chinook abundance forecast and subsequent revisions to Steller sea lion and Southern Resident Distinct Population Segment (DPS) killer whale analysis; 4) revision of determination of effects analysis on marbled murrelet; 5) revisions to Southern DPS eulachon, bull trout, and shortnose and Lost River suckers effects analysis; and 6) add language for proposed revision of northern spotted owl critical habitat.