IEP Stakeholders News

Greetings IEP Stakeholders,

We were kindly requested to share the information below with the IEP community.

---

Register Now!
Review of the Long-Term Operations of the Central Valley Project and State Water Project
Meeting 2, In-person & Virtual

February 28, 2024 | 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. PST
February 29, 2024 | 9:00 a.m.- 2:00 p.m. PST
Hyatt Place UC Davis
173 Old Davis Rd
Davis, CA 95616

REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN!

Along with the State Water Project, the Central Valley Project (CVP)  moves millions of acre-feet of water south from Northern California to a wide variety of water users throughout the state. Join the National Academies Water Science and Technology Board and Ocean Studies Board for the second meeting of the committee reviewing the long-term operations of the CVP on February 28 and 29.

This information-gathering meeting will feature presentations on the operations, monitoring, and modeling relevant to the Delta smelt summer/fall habitat action and Old and Middle River management, a panel of interested stakeholders, and an open mic session. Registrants can join virtually or in-person. To learn more about attending in-person and to obtain the meeting agenda, visit the event page.

Learn More
Learn more about this study by visiting the project page.
If you have a question about this event, email Maya Frey at mfrey@nas.edu.

Greetings IEP Community Members,

The Delta Stewardship Council's Delta Lead Scientist Interview Panel would like for us to share their announcement regarding their upcoming seminars and meet and greet opportunities with the candidates for the Lead Scientist.

---

The Delta Stewardship Council in partnership with the United States Geological Survey and in with consultation from the Delta Independent Science Board (ISB) is recruiting the next Lead Scientist for the Delta Science Program whose term will begin in the summer 2024. Two candidates are currently under consideration for the appointment: Dr. Gary Lamberti (University of Notre Dame) and Dr. Lisamarie Windham-Myers (United States Geological Survey). As part of the selection process, the Delta Lead Scientist Interview Panel (an advisory committee of the Delta ISB) is hosting seminars, and meet and greets with each of the candidates. This will provide an opportunity for the community at large to learn about each of the candidate’s research and experience and how it applies to the position during the seminar, and to ask general questions related to their interest in the position during the meet and greet.

We would like to invite you to attend these seminars and meet and greet opportunities.

• The first seminar will occur on February 22, 2024, at 10:00 AM, at the California Natural Resources Agency where Dr. Lamberti will present a seminar titled “The Past, Present, and Future of Water Science (see agenda for details). If you can’t make it in-person, you can also participate via Zoom.(Zoom registration)
• The second seminar will occur on March 11, 2024, at 10:00 AM, at the California Natural Resources Agency where Dr. Windam-Myers will present a seminar titled “eMerging perspectives of the Land Ocean Aquatic Continuum (LOAC).” (Agenda will be distributed closer to meeting date). If you can't make it in-person, you can participate via Zoom. (Zoom registration)

The seminars/meet and greets will occur on the second floor, and there is no need to check in with security if you use the stairs. The seminar will be webcast and recorded. Additional information about these seminars and meet and greet opportunities, including webcast links and recordings, can be found on the Delta lead scientist webpage.

Please email the Delta Independent Science Board if you have any questions or feedback on the candidates after their seminar/meet and greet.

Greetings IEP Stakeholders,

Below are some general announcements on recent activities within IEP.

• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lifts temporary embargo on Liberty Island data. The data are now published in the EDI Data Repository and are publicly accessible through the EDI Data Portal and should soon be discoverable in DataONE and Google Dataset Search. The citation for data is:
  • Gilbert, M.D., L. Smith, G. Steinhart, and IEP. 2023. Interagency Ecological Program and US Fish and Wildlife Service: Juvenile/Larval Fish and Zooplankton collections at Liberty Island, California 2002-2005 & 2013-2019 ver 2. Environmental Data Initiative.
• IEP Summer Townet Survey fish catch and environmental data has now been published. The dataset is now in the Environmental Data Initiative (EDI) Data Repository and is publicly accessible through the EDI Data Portal and should soon be discoverable in DataONE and Google Dataset Search. The citation for data is:
  • Malinich, T.D., J.R. White, S.B. Slater, S.D. Breining-Aday, and N.K. Ugbah. 2023. Interagency Ecological Program: Summer Townet Survey for Young Pelagic Fishes in the San Francisco Estuary ver 1. Environmental Data Initiative.
• Call for Articles is open for the 2024 Issue 1 (Winter) IEP Newsletter. Articles are due by February 15, 2024. Submissions and questions should be directed to the issue editor, Ted Flynn (DWR). Visit the IEP Publications Guidelines web page for resources on submitting an article for consideration.
• Predation Project Work Team releases their predation project tracker spreadsheet and online project submission form.The tracker lists the current predation-related projects in the region and the online submission form allows members and community members to voluntarily submit their projects. The tracker and submission form can be found on the Predation PWT web page.

If you have additional information to share with the IEP Community, send your information to Steve Culberson (IEP Lead Scientist) and iep@wildlife.ca.gov.

Kind regards,

IEP Program Support Team

Greetings IEP Community Members,

The IEP Workshop Planning Committee is planning a Data Management Workshop for either the same week as the IEP Workshop (April 23-25, 2024), or the week before or after the workshop. The workshop will be remote and approximately 4 hours. We would like to tailor the topics to everyone’s interests and thus are soliciting feedback on which topics we should cover.

Please fill out a short survey by Thursday 11/30/2023: Data Management Workshop Questionnaire.
Please share this survey with your staff or other colleagues who may not be on this distribution list.

Reach out to Catarina Pien (cpien@usbr.gov) or Dave Bosworth (David.Bosworth@water.ca.gov) if you have any questions.

Thanks!
Cat

Catarina Pien (she/her)
Fish Biologist
Science Division | Bay-Delta Office
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Region 10
Email: cpien@usbr.gov

Greetings IEP Community Members,

There are several upcoming workshops, symposiums, and other events focused on the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta that you might be interested in attending.

CNRA Secretary Speaker Series
October 30, 2023

Secretary Crowfoot will be discussing "Where the Rivers Meet: Stewarding California's Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta" on October 30, 2023 from Noon to 1 p.m. The event is public and will be live-streamed on You Tube and recorded for later viewing. Registration is required.

• Registration for the Secretary Speaker Series

Delta-Suisun Tidal Wetland Restoration Symposium: State of the Science and Future Directions
November 1, 2023

The State Water Contractors and California Department of Water Resources are jointly hosting a science symposium to discuss the latest research on tidal wetland restoration for support of native fishes in the Delta and Suisun Marsh.

• This is a hybrid event. In-person attendance is limited to the first 150 registrants.
• Wetland Symposium Registration Form
• View the Flyer (PDF) for more information, including the agenda.

Delta Restoration Forum
November 2, 2023

Join the Delta Plan Interagency Implementation Committee's Restoration Subcommittee at the historic Ryde Hotel in Walnut Grove for the second Delta Restoration Forum. Meet project leads and learn about restoration in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and Suisun Marsh, recent and potential projects, funding programs, and opportunities for landowners to implement wildlife-friendly practices.

• Review the Delta Restoration Forum Flyer (PDF) for more information

Delta Independent Science Board Meeting (Food-webs Workshop)
November 8-9, 2023

The Delta Independent Science Board s hosting a two-day hybrid workshop as part of its food-webs review. A poster session will also be a feature of this event.

• Review the Food-Webs Workshop Flyer (PDF) for more information on the event.
• Register to attend in-person or virtually via Zoom.

Delta Invasive Species Symposium - Making Connections: Understanding Connectivity in an Invaded Estuary
November 30, 2023

Registration is now open for the fifth biennial Delta Invasive Species Symposium at the California Natural Resources Agency headquarters in downtown Sacramento on November 30, 2023, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. and streamed on Zoom. Please register by November 15 to secure your complimentary catered lunch.

• In-Person Registration
• Zoom (virtual attendance) Registration

The biennial Symposium is a forum for Delta managers, researchers, and decision-makers to meet, share and synthesize information, and communicate best practices and lessons learned. The Symposium theme this year is “Making Connections: Understanding Connectivity in an Invaded Estuary.” Presentations will focus on how connections within and among estuaries impact invasive species movement, how connectivity of different types can both help and hinder invasive species control, and how making connections among disciplines, policies, and actors is critical to effective invasive species management.

The Symposium is free to attend and open to anyone interested in the impacts of invasive species in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta region. Talks will be streamed via Zoom. View the preliminary agenda (PDF) and the one-page summary (PDF) of the Symposium concept on the Delta Interagency Invasive Species Coordination (DIISC) Team’s web page.

Greetings IEP Community Members,

The agenda and registration link are now available for the Delta-Suisun Tidal Wetland Restoration Symposium: State of the Science and Future Directions. Don't forget to bookmark your calendar for November 1, 2023. See below for more details.

Registration Required: Wetland Symposium Registration Form

Details:

• Date: November 1, 2023
• Location: Hybrid Event
  • In-person: Capitol Event Center (1020 11th Street, Sacramento). In-person attendance is limited to the first 150 registrants.
  • Online: This will be a hybrid event and virtual attendance information will follow. Online participants will not be able to participate in break-out rooms, but they will be able to contribute through a poll.
• Flyer with Agenda (PDF)

Greetings IEP Community Members,

SAVE THE DATE! NOVEMBER 1, 2023
The State Water Contractors and California Department of Water Resources are jointly hosting a science symposium to discuss the latest research on tidal wetland restoration for support of native fishes in the Delta and Suisun Marsh.

Details:

• Date: November 1, 2023
• Location: Hybrid
• In-person: Capitol Event Center (1020 11th Street, Sacramento)
• Online: This will be a hybrid event and virtual attendance information will follow.
• Save the Date Flyer (PDF)

Workshop Goals:

• Provide a forum for wetland researchers and restoration managers to collaboratively discuss the state of the science.
• Identify high-priority science activities needed to fill knowledge gaps.
• Identify high-priority adaptive management activities needed to maximize effectiveness of wetland restoration.

Full agenda and registration will be available mid-October.

Greetings IEP Stakeholders,

We wanted to share two news announcements with the broader IEP community members.

Call for Experts: National Academies Review of the Long-Term Operations of the Central Valley Project

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine have asked us to spread the word! See the announcement below for committee member nominations for their upcoming Review of the Long-Term Operations of the Central Valley Project. Please distribute widely.

Nominate an Expert!

Review of the Long-Term Operations of the Central Valley Project
Submit nominations by: September 22, 2023

Along with the State Water Project, the Central Valley Project consists of coordinated federal-state water operations that annually move millions of acre-feet of water south from Northern California to a wide variety of water users throughout the state, including municipalities, agriculture, industries and wildlife refuges.

The National Academies are building a committee of approximately 16-18 volunteer experts to evaluate the long-term operations of the Central Valley Project. In addition, nominations will also inform the selection of potential speakers, participants, and peer reviewers for any publications resulting from the activity.

Nominations are requested for individuals with expertise in areas and disciplines such as fisheries science, freshwater and stream ecology, habitat restoration, and water resources management. For a more comprehensive list, view the nomination form.

• More Information: Review of the Long-Term Operations of the Central Valley Project
• Nomination Form: About the Activity & the Call for Experts

If you have a question about this study, email Miles Lansing at mlansing@nas.edu.

New IEP Digital Datasheet Best Practices Document from the IEP DUWG

The Data Utilization Work Group's (DUWG) QA Subcommittee has released a new IEP Digital Datasheet Best Practices (PDF) document. The purpose of this document is to provide guidance and recommendations on development and use of digital data sheets for staff in the IEP. The scope of the document is limited to the development of developing data sheet templates, general use of digital data sheets, quality control, archiving and data reporting. It is intended for users to take the document’s recommendations that are most applicable for use in their respective program and apply as appropriate. Not all recommendations in the document may be applicable or appropriate to every application. The document, which was developed in the Data Utilization Work Group’s (DUWG) QA Subcommittee and reviewed by the DUWG and Science Management Team (SMT), can be found on the IEP website under the DUWG web page below the Templates and Guidelines section.

Kind regards,
IEP Program Support Unit
iep@wildlife.ca.gov

The Delta Science Program has published two new blogs written in coordination by Interagency Ecological Program Lead Scientist Dr. Steve Culberson and Senior Environmental Scientist Tricia Lee. The blogs focus on a growing problem in the San Francisco Estuary, harmful algal blooms, and the urgent need for tracking and monitoring efforts to protect California’s water and public health.

Dive into “Digitizing Data: Tracking Harmful Algal Blooms” by Steve and “Bloom or Bust: Navigating the Wild Waters of Harmful Algal Bloom Monitoring” by Tricia Lee.

Greetings IEP Stakeholders,

The Culture and Supplementation of Smelt (CASS) steering committee has released their annual memo (pdf) to solicit proposals for the use of cultured Delta Smelt originating from the FCCL for the 2024-year class. Please review the annual memo (pdf) to familiarize yourself on the process of how to submit a proposal for CASS review.

Please note the following: there will only be one solicitation for proposals for the 2024 brood year fish. Requests must be submitted to the director of the FCCL, Dr. Tien-Chieh Hung at thung@ucdavis.edu on or before September 30, 2023.

Please share this announcement with others, as appropriate.

Kind regards,
IEP Program Support Unit
iep@wildlife.ca.gov