Green Sturgeon, Longfin Smelt, and Dredging Operations Symposium

The two day symposium was hosted by the San Francisco Estuary Institute, and funded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, for the Long Term Management Strategy for Dredged Materials in San Francisco Bay

California State building
Main auditorium (ground floor
1515 Clay Street, Oakland, Ca 94612

View Agenda
View Report

The symposium focused on the biology, status, and management of the species. The first day covered green sturgeon, and the second day covered longfin smelt. On each day, the morning and early afternoon were dedicated to presentations, and the late afternoon included a roundtable discussion and management synthesis.

Presentations and video footage from the symposia are available for viewing and download below.

Presentations: Green Sturgeon (Day 1)

• Brian Ross (EPA) - Welcome and background on the San Francisco Bay Long Term Management Strategy for Dredged Material (VIDEO)
• Ellen Johnck (Bay Planning Coalition) - Welcome and Introduction to Green Sturgeon Symposium (VIDEO)
• Len Cardoza (Weston Solutions) - Stakeholder perspective (VIDEO)
• David Woodbury (NOAA) - Risk to green sturgeon from dredging activites; an ESA perspective (VIDEO)
• Cynthia Fowler (US Army COE) - Dredging operations in San Francisco Bay
  (note: talk file is 56 mb) (Presentation PDF) (VIDEO)
• Doug Clarke (US Army COE) - Potential dredging impacts on green sturgeon
  (Presentation PDF) (VIDEO)
• Josh Israel (UC Davis) - A conceptual life history model of green sturgeon- stressor and risks.
  Also includes discussion of Doug Clarke's talk (Presentation PDF) (VIDEO)
• Pete Klimley (UC Davis) - Past, present and future studies of green sturgeon movements in the San Francisco Estuary germane to dredge removal and disposal - Part I
  (Presentation PDF parts I, II and III) (VIDEO)
• Alex Hearn (UC Davis) - Past, present and future studies of green sturgeon movements in the San Francisco Estuary germane to dredge removal and disposal - Part II (VIDEO)
• Mike Thomas (UC Davis) - Past, present and future studies of green sturgeon movements in the San Francisco Estuary germane to dredge removal and disposal - Part III (VIDEO)
• Andy Cohen (CRAB) - Indirect impacts on sturgeon through bioinvasions
  (Presentation PDF) (VIDEO)
• Mike Parsley (USGS) - Response of white sturgeon to dredging operations
  in the lower Columbia River (Presentation PDF) (VIDEO)
• Doug Clarke (US Army COE) - Exposure of sturgeon to vessel propellers
  (Presentation PDF) (VIDEO)
• Tracy Collier (NOAA) - Contaminated sediments and fish health: the bad, the good, and the ugly (Presentation PDF) (VIDEO)
• Stephania Bolden (NOAA)- Methods to reduce effects of dredging on sturgeon and their habitat; lessons learned from the U.S. southeast (Presentation PDF) (VIDEO)
• Stakeholder Roundtable Discussion; Science Panel Roundtable Discussion; Management Synthesis (VIDEO)

Presentations: Longfin smelt (Day 2)

• Ellen Johnck (Bay Planning Coalition)- Welcome and introduction to Longfin Smelt Symposium (VIDEO)
• J.T. Wick (Port Sonoma)- Stakeholder perspective (VIDEO)
• Jennifer Deleon (CDFG) - Longfelt Smelt: listing and incidental take regualtions under the California Endangered Species Act (Presentation PDF) (VIDEO)
• Jonathan Rosenfield (The Bay Institute) - Recent history of longfin smelt federal listing petition; Distribution and abundance trends of Longfin smelt in the San Francisco Estuary
  (Presentation PDF) (VIDEO)
• Randy Baxter (CDFG) - Factors affecting abundance and distribution of longfin smelt
  in the San Francisco Estuary (Presentation PDF) (VIDEO)
• Jim Hobbs (UC Davis) - Special studies relevant to dredging impacts on longfin smelt (Presentation PDF) (VIDEO)
• Brian Swedberg (Port Sonoma) and John Zentner (Independent consultant) - Longfin smelt entrainment: Lessons from Port Sonoma (Presentation PDF) (VIDEO)
• Jordan Gold (Mari-Gold Environmental Consulting) - Fish community and dredge entrainment monitoring on the Delta's federal shipping channels (Presentation PDF) (VIDEO)
• Stakeholder Roundtable Discussion ; Science Panel Roundtable Discussion; Management Synthesis (VIDEO)