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<br />Soil Investigations for Data Collection in the Delta <br />Initial Study/Proposed Mitigated Negative Declaration 82 <br />approximately 5 miles from any of the Impact Sites. Implementation of Mitigation <br />Measures MM BIO-1 and MM BIO-12 would avoid and minimize adverse impacts <br />to suitable habitat and would reduce potential impacts to molestan blister beetle <br />to: Less than Significant with Mitigation Incorporated. <br />Green Sturgeon (Acipenser medirostris) <br />There are two DPSs of North American green sturgeon: the Northern DPS, which <br />includes fish spawned in the Eel River and northward; and the Southern DPS, <br />which includes all fish spawned south of the Eel River. The Northern DPS <br />currently spawns in the Klamath River in California and the Rogue River in <br />Oregon, and is listed as a Species of Concern (NMFS 2004). Only the Southern <br />DPS, which is listed as a threatened species under FESA, is found in the Delta <br />and the Sacramento River and its tributaries. <br />In its final rule to list the Southern DPS as threatened (NMFS 2006a), NMFS <br />cited threats as concentration of the only known spawning population into a <br />single river (Sacramento River), loss of historical spawning habitat, mounting <br />threats with regard to maintenance of habitat quality and quantity in the Delta and <br />Sacramento River, and an indication of declining abundance based upon salvage <br />data at the State and Federal salvage facilities. Included in the listing are green <br />sturgeon originating from the Sacramento River basin, including the spawning <br />population in the Sacramento River and green sturgeon living in the Sacramento <br />River, the Delta, and the San Francisco Estuary. <br />Adult North American green sturgeon are believed to spawn every 3 to 5 years, <br />but can spawn as frequently as every 2 years (NMFS 2005a) and reach sexual <br />maturity at an age of 15 to 20 years, with males maturing earlier than females. <br />Adult Green Sturgeon enter San Francisco Bay in late winter through early spring <br />and migrate to spawning areas in the Sacramento River primarily from late <br />February through April. Spawning primarily occurs April through late July <br />although late summer and early fall spawning may also occur based on the <br />presence of larvae in the fall (Heublein et al. 2017). Historical and recent <br />information confirms that both green and white sturgeons occasionally range into <br />the Feather, Yuba, and Bear rivers but numbers are low (Beamesderfer et al. <br />2004). It is unknown whether green sturgeon historically spawned in the Feather <br />River either downstream or upstream of Oroville Dam or the Thermalito Afterbay <br />outlet. Spawning is suspected to have occurred in the past due to the continued <br />presence of adult green sturgeon in the river below Fish Barrier Dam. This <br />continued presence of adults below the dam suggests that fish are trying to <br />migrate to upstream spawning areas now blocked by the dam, which was <br />constructed in 1968. <br />Little is known about rearing, migratory behavior, and general emigration patterns <br />of juvenile Southern DPS Green Sturgeon. Based on captures of juveniles in the <br />Sacramento River near Red Bluff, it is likely that juveniles rear near spawning <br />habitat for a few months or more before migrating to the Delta (Heublein et al. <br />2017). Juvenile green sturgeon continue to exhibit nocturnal behavior beyond the