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Mr. Michael Jewell 10 with location within the project area and the immediate vicinity. Some portions of the project area include heavily armored channels with limited vegetation on levee slopes or in adjacent shallow water. Other parts of the project area have less armoring and more vegetation growing on the levee slopes. Portions of the action area consist of shallow subtidal waters interspersed with emergent marsh vegetation adjacent to the proposed work; this includes fragments throughout the project area, as well as larger habitat blocks on Fourteenmile Slough both east -- and --west of -the -proposed -closure -structure, -on -the lower-Calaveras-River,—and-on-French-Camp-- Slough. Water hyacinth accumulates seasonally in some areas of the project, most notably Smith Canal. 8. CHANGE the following in Effects of the Action, Delta Smelt beginning with the first full paragraph on p. 25, as follows: From: Construction of the two closure structures will directly affect delta smelt in two ways - direct loss of habitat from construction, and effects on the smelt and its critical habitat through gate operations. First, the structures and construction cofferdams needed for their construction at the mouth of Smith Canal and at the location on Fourteenmile Slough will result in a combined permanent loss of 1 acre of SWH and combined temporary loss of 3 acres. Smelt may be affected by construction because the work must occur slightly outside of the seasonal window for complete avoidance. Second, operation of the structures will intermittently prevent tidal flows and reduce the availability and use of 233 acres of SWH in waters isolated by the structures (66 acres east of the Smith Canal structure; 170 acres east of the Fourteenmile Slough Structure 2). To: Construction of the two closure structures will directly affect delta smelt in two ways - direct loss of habitat from construction, and effects on the smelt and its critical habitat through gate operations. First, the structures and construction cofferdams needed for their construction at the mouth of Smith Canal and at the location on Fourteenmile Slough will result in permanent losses of 0.82 acre (Smith Canal gate) and 0.70 acre (Fourteenmile Slough gate) of SWH and combined temporary loss of 3 acres. Smelt may be affected by construction because the work must occur slightly outside of the seasonal window for complete avoidance (i.e., begin before August 1). Second, operation of the structures will intermittently prevent tidal flows and reduce the availability and use of 238 acres of SWII in waters isolated by the structures (68 acres east of the Smith Canal structure; 170 acres east of the Fourteenmile Slough Structure 3). 9. CHANGE the following in Effects of the Action, Delta Smelt beginning with the third full paragraph on p. 26, as follows: Z Service rough estimate based on digitizing of aquatic habitat visible on 2014 NAT imagery overlain by project plan shapefile; this did not consider bathymetry; for the purposes of this discussion it is assumed that all surface water in these eastern channel areas falls within the SWH limits discussed in this section. 3 Estimate for area east of Smith Canal gate from Applicant (See Consultation History, June 13, 2019); Estimate for area east of Fourteemnile Slough gate is a Service -generated estimate based on digitizing of aquatic habitat visible on 2014 NAIP imagery overlain by project plan shapefile; this did not consider bathymetry; for the purposes of this discussion it is assumed that all surface water areas east of both proposed gates falls within the SWH limits discussed in this section.