Yuba River Flow Effects Modeling Understanding the Relationships of Habitat and Salmonid Life History in the Yuba

Task 1 The amount of rearing habitat available to fall- and spring-run Chinook salmon, as well as steelhead, in the Yuba in different water years and Accord flow schedules is currently unknown and highly disputed. This study will build on previous work to quantify seasonal juvenile rearing habitat for Chinook that meets depth, velocity, cover, and inundation duration criteria. Such a study would estimate juvenile habitat available with different flows and directly inform adaptive management to maximize salmonid production in the Yuba. Obtaining more reliable habitat estimates was considered a high priority for future improvements to the Central Valley wide DSM. Task 1 Deliverable: "Rearing habitat availability and deficit on the lower Yuba River" report, completed September 30th, 2019. plus 3 other tasks , see the NOFO