[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 223 (Monday, November 21, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-28682]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: November 21, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 227

[Docket No. 941095-4295; I.D. 090894A]

 

Endangered and Threatened Species; Deer Creek Summer Steelhead

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of determination.

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SUMMARY: NMFS has determined that Deer Creek summer steelhead in 
Washington do not constitute a ``species'' under the Endangered Species 
Act of 1973, as amended, (ESA) and, therefore, do not qualify for 
listing under the ESA at this time. However, Deer Creek summer 
steelhead are part of a larger evolutionarily significant unit (ESU) 
that may warrant listing under the ESA, and for which a status review 
is currently underway.

ADDRESSES: Environmental and Technical Services Division, NMFS, 
Northwest Region, 911 NE. 11th Avenue, Suite 620, Portland, OR 97232.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Garth Griffin, Environmental and 
Technical Services Division, 503/230-5430, or Marta Nammack, Endangered 
Species Division, 301/713-2322.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Petition Background

    On September 21, 1993, NMFS received a petition from Washington 
Trout to list indigenous, naturally-spawning Deer Creek summer 
steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) as an endangered species and to 
designate critical habitat under the ESA. NMFS published a notice on 
December 23, 1993 (58 FR 68108), that the petition presented 
substantial information indicating that the listing may be warranted. 
To ensure a comprehensive status review, NMFS solicited information and 
data concerning the present and historic status of the Deer Creek 
summer steelhead population and whether this population qualifies as a 
``species'' under the ESA. NMFS also requested information on areas 
that may qualify as critical habitat for Deer Creek summer steelhead. 
NMFS also initiated an expanded status review for all coastal steelhead 
in California, Oregon, and Washington. This status review was expanded 
to include Idaho in response to a petition submitted by the Oregon 
Natural Resources Council and 15 co-petitioners. NMFS initiated the 
status review for steelhead throughout its range in the four states on 
May 27, 1994 (59 FR 27527).

Biological Background

    The NMFS Northwest Fisheries Science Center Biological Review Team 
has conducted a status review and prepared an administrative report 
summarizing the conclusions of the status review, ``Conclusions of the 
Northwest Fisheries Science Center's Review of a Petition to List Deer 
Creek Summer Steelhead (North Fork Stillaguamish River, Washington) 
under the U.S. Endangered Species Act,'' which provides more detailed 
information, discussion, and references. This report is available upon 
request (see ADDRESSES) and is summarized below.
    Deer Creek is a tributary of the North Fork Stillaguamish River in 
Washington. The Deer Creek Watershed covers 177 km2 in the North 
Cascade Mountains of Washington. Deer Creek and its steelhead fishery 
have been the subject of many sporting journal articles and popular 
literature. Logging in the Deer Creek Basin began in the 1920s. Timber 
harvest activities accelerated in the early 1950s, and approximately 48 
percent of the basin was clear-cut between 1952 and 1985. In 1984, a 
large landslide, which remains active despite restoration efforts, 
introduced a tremendous amount of sediment into Deer Creek. The 1984 
landslide reduced viable spawning and rearing habitat for the summer 
steelhead population, which was already in decline.
    The name steelhead refers to the anadromous form of rainbow trout. 
Recently, the scientific name for the biological species that includes 
both steelhead and rainbow trout was changed from Salmo gairdneri to 
Oncorhynchus mykiss. This change reflects a belief that all trouts from 
western North America share a common lineage with Pacific salmon. The 
present endemic distribution of steelhead extends from the Kamchatka 
Peninsula, Asia, east and south, along the Pacific coast of North 
America, to Malibu Creek in southern California.
    Steelhead exhibit a wide variety of life history strategies. In 
general, steelhead migrate to sea after spending 2 years in fresh water 
and then spend 2 years in the ocean prior to returning to fresh water 
to spawn. Deviations from this basic pattern are common. Some spawners 
survive and return to the ocean for 1 or more years between spawning 
migrations.
    Steelhead exhibit two spawning migration strategies. ``Summer 
steelhead'' enter fresh water between May and October, and begin their 
spawning migration in a sexually immature state. After several months 
in fresh water, summer steelhead mature and spawn. ``Winter steelhead'' 
enter fresh water between November and April with well developed 
gonads. In drainages with sympatric populations of summer and winter 
steelhead, there may or may not be temporal or spatial separation of 
spawning.

Consideration as a ``Species'' Under the ESA

    To qualify for listing as a threatened or endangered species, Deer 
Creek summer steelhead would have to be a ``species'' under the ESA. 
The ESA defines a ``species'' to include any ``distinct population 
segment of any species of vertebrate *** which interbreeds when 
mature.'' NMFS published a policy (56 FR 58612, November 20, 1991) on 
how it will apply the ESA ``species'' definition to Pacific salmonid 
species, including steelhead. This policy provides that a salmon 
population will be considered distinct, and hence a species under the 
ESA, if it represents an evolutionarily significant unit (ESU) of the 
biological species. The population must satisfy two criteria to be 
considered an ESU: (1) It must be substantially reproductively isolated 
from other conspecific population units and (2) it must represent an 
important component in the evolutionary legacy of the biological 
species. The first criterion, reproductive isolation, need not be 
absolute, but must be strong enough to permit evolutionarily important 
differences to accrue in different population units. The second 
criterion is met if the population contributes substantially to the 
ecological/genetic diversity of the species as a whole. Further 
guidance on the application of this policy is contained in ``Pacific 
salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) and the Definition of Species under the 
Endangered Species Act,'' which is available upon request (see 
ADDRESSES).

Reproductive Isolation

    In the Stillaguamish River Basin, three summer-run stocks and one 
winter-run steelhead stock are recognized. Run timing is similar among 
the Stillaguamish River Basin summer steelhead stocks; however, spawn 
timing appears to be later for Deer Creek summer steelhead than for 
other summer steelhead populations within the basin. Although run 
timing differs between the Stillaguamish River summer and winter 
steelhead stocks, there is substantial overlap in the time of spawning 
of the two run types.
    It was commonly thought that the high gradient reach of Deer Creek 
between approximately river kilometer 2.4 and 7.2 comprised a 
``cumulative velocity barrier'' to winter steelhead (C. Kramer, Area 
Fish Biologist, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), 
pers. comm., May and July 1994). However, other evidence suggests that 
this barrier may not be permanent, and recent flooding may have shifted 
the Deer Creek bedload sufficiently to facilitate passage of winter 
steelhead, thereby allowing for the possibility that summer steelhead 
are not reproductively isolated from winter steelhead.
    In general, genetic studies of coastal steelhead populations have 
demonstrated that summer and winter steelhead from the same stream tend 
to resemble one another genetically more than they resemble populations 
with similar run timing from different drainages. These results suggest 
that summer and winter steelhead do not represent two independent 
monophyletic units. Allendorf (1975) reported that coastal summer 
steelhead, including the Deer Creek population, were ``genetically 
indistinguishable from the coastal winter run populations.'' A more 
recent study (Phelps et al., in press) involving a larger set of gene 
loci found some evidence of differentiation between summer and winter 
steelhead in the Puget Sound region. The later study also found that 
Deer Creek summer steelhead are ``relatively distinct'' from other 
Puget Sound steelhead and show a higher degree of genetic similarity to 
winter steelhead from the Stillaguamish and Skykomish rivers than to 
other summer steelhead populations.
    A variety of out-of-basin steelhead stocks have been released in 
the Puget Sound area, and summer steelhead of Columbia River (Skamania 
stock) origin have been released in the North Fork Stillaguamish River 
since the 1960s (C. Kramer, WDFW, pers. comm., May and July 1994). 
However, recent genetic data (Phelps et al. in press) found no evidence 
that Deer Creek summer steelhead have been substantially affected by 
these releases.

Ecological/Genetic Diversity

    In Oregon, only three coastal basins have naturally-occurring 
summer steelhead (Siletz, Umpqua, and Rogue basins). In contrast, all 
major river basins in the North Puget Sound region (Nooksack/Samish, 
Skagit, Stillaguamish, and Snohomish basins) are known to have 
naturally-occurring summer steelhead. The discontinuous range of 
coastal summer steelhead is consistent with the polyphyletic origin of 
this life history inferred from genetic data. However, the Puget Sound 
region is (or was) conducive to the development of the summer steelhead 
life history, and within the Puget Sound region, Deer Creek is not 
unique, or even unusual, in supporting summer-run steelhead.
    The most common age structure for coastal steelhead from British 
Columbia to California is 2/2 (2 years of freshwater residence followed 
by 2 years in the ocean). Specific information about the age structure 
of steelhead in the Puget Sound region is limited. Based on scale 
samples from fish caught by anglers, Deer Creek summer steelhead are 
reported to be primarily (95 percent) 2/1, with the remainder being 3/1 
(C. Kramer, WDFW, pers. comm., May and July 1994). Other Puget Sound 
steelhead, both summer- and winter-run, also have the 2/1 life history, 
but sampling has not been sufficient to quantitatively describe age 
structure in these populations. According to anecdotal information, the 
adult size at spawning of other summer steelhead stocks (South Fork 
Nooksack, Finney Creek, Sauk River, and Canyon Creek) is similar to 
Deer Creek summer steelhead, and this suggests that other steelhead 
populations in the Puget Sound region share the same adult body size 
and other life history features with Deer Creek summer steelhead.

Determination

    Deer Creek summer steelhead appear to be temporally and spatially 
isolated from other populations of summer steelhead in the 
Stillaguamish River Basin. Genetic data support the hypothesis that 
Deer Creek summer steelhead are isolated from other Puget Sound 
steelhead populations for which data are available. However, some 
uncertainty remains regarding the relationship between Deer Creek 
summer steelhead and nearby winter-run populations, both in the 
Stillaguamish River and, perhaps, in upper Deer Creek. Despite this 
uncertainty, NMFS has concluded, based on all available information, 
that Deer Creek summer steelhead probably meet the first criterion to 
be an ESU--that is, substantial reproductive isolation from other 
conspecific populations.
    Although the genetic data show that Deer Creek summer steelhead are 
relatively distinct from other Puget Sound steelhead, the genetic 
differences are not large in an absolute sense. Therefore, these 
genetic differences provide little insight into the second ESU 
criterion, contribution to ecological/genetic diversity of the species 
as a whole. Deer Creek summer steelhead differ from many other coastal 
steelhead populations in that most of the adults return after only 1 
year in the ocean, but the limited available information indicates that 
this is also observed in other Puget Sound steelhead populations. NMFS 
found no other phenotypic or life history traits, or habitat features, 
that distinguish the Deer Creek summer steelhead population from those 
in adjacent areas. Therefore, NMFS concludes that Deer Creek summer 
steelhead do not meet the second criterion to be considered an ESU and 
are not, by themselves, a ``species'' under the ESA. Therefore, a 
proposal to list Deer Creek summer steelhead under the ESA is not 
warranted at this time.
    However, Deer Creek summer steelhead are undoubtedly part of a 
larger ESU that may warrant listing under the ESA, and NMFS will 
identify the extent of this ESU during its current Washington, Oregon, 
Idaho, and California steelhead status review (59 FR 27527, May 27, 
1994). Detailed information provided in the petition for Deer Creek 
steelhead will be considered during this expanded status review.

    Dated: November 14, 1994.
Gary Matlock,
Program Management Officer, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 94-28682 Filed 11-18-94; 8:45 am]
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