IEP Stakeholders News

Happy 2024 IEP Stakeholders!

Here is information on our upcoming February 14, 2024 PWT Chair & Stakeholder Group meeting as well as some other announcements on new publications and datasets and the IEP Annual Workshop.

February 14 IEP PWT Chair & Stakeholder Meeting

• February 14 meeting agenda (PDF)

New Publications and Updated Datasets

Several new publications and updates of datasets came out in 2023 along with some recent publications in 2024. Below is a subset of the information. To find more recent publications of interest, check out the monthly refresh of the IEP Home page to see our featured surveys, publications and datasets. If you have any to share with the IEP community, send us an email at iep@wildlife.ca.gov.

• USFWS paper on seventy years of Central Valley hatchery steelhead data
  • Huber, E. R., Ryan, R. E., Johnson, R. C., Sturrock, A. M., Lusardi, R. A., & Carlson, S. M. (2024). Seventy years of diminishing biocomplexity of California Central Valley hatchery steelhead, Oncorhynchus mykiss (PDF). Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences.
• USGS paper "Physics to Fish: Understanding the Factors that Create and Sustain Native Fish Habitat in the San Francisco Estuary"
  • Brown, L.R., Ayers, D.E., Bergamaschi, B., Burau, J.R., Dailey, E.T., Downing, B., Downing-Kunz, M., Feyrer, F.V., Huntsman, B.M., Kraus, T., Morgan, T., Lacy, J.R., Parchaso, F., Ruhl, C.A., Stumpner, E., Stumpner, P., Thompson, J., and Young, M.J., 2024, Physics to fish—Understanding the factors that create and sustain native fish habitat in the San Francisco Estuary: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2023–1087, 150 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20231087.
• USFWS Delta Juvenile Fish Monitoring Program (DJFMP) dataset update on EDI
  • Interagency Ecological Program (IEP), J. Stagg, R. McKenzie, J. Speegle, A. Nanninga, E. Holcombe, A. Arrambide, E. Huber, D. Marcetti, and G. Steinhart. 2023. Interagency Ecological Program: Over four decades of juvenile fish monitoring data from the San Francisco Estuary, collected by the Delta Juvenile Fish Monitoring Program, 1976-2023 ver 12. Environmental Data Initiative.
• USFWS Delta Juvenile Fish Monitoring Program (DJFMP) electrofishing dataset update on EDI
  • Interagency Ecological Program (IEP), J. Stagg, R. McKenzie, J. Speegle, A. Nanninga, E. Holcombe, E. Huber, D. Marcetti, G. Steinhart, and A. Arrambide. 2023. Interagency Ecological Program: USFWS Delta Boat Electrofishing Survey, 2018-2023 ver 4. Environmental Data Initiative.
• NCEAS dataset from the previous year's group study of the links between floodplain connectivity and productivity. The companion analysis and report are in preparation and should be completed later in 2024.
  • Pien, C., E. Stumpner, P. Goertler, R. Peek, D. Chapple, L. Yamane, M. Berglund, and S. Khanna. 2023. Discrete water temperature, flow, solar radiation, chlorophyll-a and inundation, Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, CA, 1999-2019 ver 4. Environmental Data Initiative.
• The Adult Striped Bass Survey ended in 2023. The data is now publicly available on EDI.
  • Stompe, D.K. and J.A. Hobbs. 2024. California Department of Fish and Wildlife Adult Striped Bass Study, Sacramento-San Joaquin Watershed, California, 1969-2022 ver 1. Environmental Data Initiative.
• USGS dataset on the harmful algal blooms in Franks Tract.
  • Bouma-Gregson, K., O'Donnell, K., Uebner, M. Q., Sturgeon, C. L., Cone, Katrina (Kat) M, Jaegge, A. C., Brinkman, J. D., Bergamaschi, B., & Kraus, T. (2023). Water quality, nutrient, and phytoplankton data from Franks Tract, Mildred Island, and neighboring channels in the California Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta: 2022 and 2023 High-resolution mapping surveys [Data set]. U.S. Geological Survey.
• New paper on the multi-year landscape efficacy of fluridone treatment on SAV in the Delta
  • Khanna, S., J. W. Gaeta, J. L. Conrad, & E. S. Gross, Multi-year landscape-scale efficacy analysis of fluridone treatment of invasive submerged aquatic vegetation in the Sacramento – San Joaquin Delta. Biological Invasions, 25(6): 1827-1843. 
• New paper on the harmful algal blooms in Stockton.
  • Preece, E. P., J. Cooke, H. Plaas, A. Sabo, L. Nelson, and H. W. Paerl. 2024. Managing a cyanobacteria harmful algae bloom “hotspot” in the Sacramento – San Joaquin Delta, California. Journal of Environmental Management 351:119606.

IEP Annual Workshop

Save the Dates April 18 and April 23-25, 2024 for the IEP Annual Workshop!

On April 18, IEP will be hosting a remote data training course as part of the IEP Workshop. Then, on April 23-25 the workshop will be held at the California Natural Resources Agency building (715 P Street, Sacramento). The workshop is a free, hybrid event (in-person + virtual). More information on registration and the program can be found on the IEP Annual Workshop page. Updates will be sent to our list subscribers, so make sure to subscribe to get updated information!

Registration for the workshop opens March 15!

Virtual Early Career Luncheon at the IEP Workshop - Looking for Volunteers!

This year we would like to expand the reach of the early career luncheon to our virtual attendees of the annual workshop. Generally, we have an in-person luncheon for a small group of participants during the workshop. We'd like to offer the luncheon to our virtual participants as well this year, but we need volunteers to help run the virtual event. The event will be held on Tuesday, April 23 from 12:25 p.m. to 1:55 p.m. As a volunteer, your participation will primarily involve hosting a Teams or a Zoom meeting with breakout rooms and helping people move between the rooms, as needed.

If interested in volunteering, please contact Kristi Arend at karend@usbr.gov.

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,

Our next IEP PWT Chair & Stakeholder- Group meeting is Wednesday, December 6, 2023 from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

• Meeting Agenda (PDF) - the MS Teams link to join the meeting is included in the agenda

This will be a hybrid meeting (in-person + MS Teams). Meeting location is the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, West Sacramento office (1010 Riverside Parkway, West Sacramento) in the Garibaldi Conference Room.

Note: In-person attendees must sign-in at the front desk. Also, no guest WiFi is available, so bring your own mobile hotspot, if needed.

Send an email to iep@wildlife.ca.gov to let us now if you'll be attending in-person or if you have questions.

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

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 PWT Chair & Stakeholder Group members,

The November 8 PWT Chair & Stakeholder Group is being rescheduled to December 6. See below for the meeting details.

NEW MEETING DETAILS

• What: December IEP PWT Chair & Stakeholder Group Meeting
• When: December 6 (Wednesday) from 1:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
• Where: Hybrid (in-person + TEAMS) meeting
• In-Person portion*: CDFW West Sacramento (Garibaldi Conference Room) 1010 Riverside Parkway, West Sacramento, CA 95605
  *Please let us know if you will be attending in person. Check-in required at the security desk.

MEETING DURATION, FREQUENCY & CONTENT SURVEY
At the August 9 meeting, Steve Culberson and Stephanie Fong presented an item on the schedule and format for future PWT Chair & Stakeholder Group meetings. Attendees requested a survey be sent to solicit input from Group members regarding future meetings. Don’t forget to complete the survey by November 10, 2023. Results will be discussed at the December 6 meeting.

Survey Link: PWT Chair & Stakeholder Questionnaire

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 PWT Chair & Stakeholder Group,

At the August 9, 2023 meeting, Steve Culberson and Stephanie Fong presented an item on the schedule and format for future PWT Chair & Stakeholder Group meetings. Attendees requested a survey be sent to solicit input from Group members regarding future meetings.

Please complete the PWT Chair & Stakeholder Questionnaire by October 20, 2023. Results will be discussed at November 8, 2023 meeting.

Questions regarding the questionnaire can be directed to Steve Culberson at Steve.Culberson@deltacouncil.ca.gov.

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

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