[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 152 (Tuesday, August 8, 1995)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 40339-40340]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-19550]



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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 17


Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 90-Day Finding for 
a Petition to List the Kootenai River Population of the Interior 
Redband Trout as Threatened or Endangered

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of 90-day petition finding.

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SUMMARY: The Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) announces a 90-day 
finding for a petition to list the Kootenai River population of the 
interior redband trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss gairdneri) under the 
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended. The Service finds that the 
petition did not present substantial scientific or commercial 
information indicating that the petitioned actions may be warranted, 
because it fails to substantiate that the interior redband trout of the 
Kootenai River are a distinct population segment.

DATES: The finding announced in this document was made on July 11, 
1995.

ADDRESSES: Data, information, comments, or questions concerning this 
petition should be submitted to the Field Supervisor, U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service, 4696 Overland Road, Room 576, Boise, Idaho, 83705. 
The petition, finding, and supporting data are available for public 
inspection, by appointment, during normal business hours at the above 
address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Patricia Klahr, staff biologist (refer 
to ADDRESSES section or telephone 208-334-1931).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Section 4(b)(3)(A) of the Endangered Species Act (Act) of 1973, as 
amended (16 U. S. C. 1531 et seq.), requires that the Service make a 
finding on whether a petition to list, delist, or reclassify a species 
presents substantial scientific or commercial information to indicate 
that the petitioned action may be warranted. This finding is to be 
based on all information available to the Service at the time the 
finding is made. To the maximum extent practicable, this finding is to 
be made within 90 days of the date the petition was received, and the 
finding is to be published promptly in the Federal Register.
    The Service has made a 90-day finding on a petition to list the 
Kootenai River population of the interior redband trout (Oncorhynchus 
mykiss gairdneri). The petition, dated April 4, 1994, was submitted by 
Brendan M. McManus of the Biodiversity Legal Foundation of Boulder, 
Colorado, and Donald Kern of Kalispell, Montana, and was received by 
the Service on April 8, 1994. The petitioner requested the Service list 
the Kootenai River drainage population of interior redband trout within 
the contiguous United States as threatened or endangered and designate 
critical habitat concurrently with the listing. The petitioners state 
that the best scientific data available indicates that interior redband 
trout residing in the Kootenai River drainage of Montana, and possibly 
Idaho, constitutes a separate and distinct vertebrate population 
segment, appropriate for listing as threatened or endangered according 
to the Act. The petitioners submitted information about threats to the 
Kootenai River interior redband trout, including hybridization and 
competition with non-native trout species, loss of habitat from land 
and water use practices, and inadequacy of existing regulatory 
mechanisms. The petitioners state that hybridization with non-native or 
introduced trout may be the most serious threat to the long-term 
persistence of the interior redband trout in the Kootenai River 
drainage.
    The interior redband trout is currently classified as a category 2 
candidate species by the Service (59 FR 58982; November 15, 1994). 
Category 2 includes taxa for which information in the Service's 
possession indicates that listing is possibly appropriate but for which 
the Service lacks substantial information upon which to base a proposal 
to list as endangered or threatened.
    The Service has reviewed the petition, the literature cited in the 
petition, and other literature and information available in the 
Service's files. On the basis of the best scientific and commercial 
information available, the Service finds the petition does not present 
substantial information indicating that the petitioned action may be 
warranted because information is lacking to show that the interior 
redband trout of the Kootenai River are a distinct population segment 
under the Act.
    There has been confusion regarding the taxonomic classification of 
interior redband trout (Behnke 1986, Behnke 1992). This confusion may 
be a result of similar morphological and meristic characteristics with 
other rainbow and cutthroat trout species (Berg 1987). It is further 
complicated by their diversity and adaptability, as ``redband trout'' 
are found in high mountain streams as well as in hot, arid desert 
drainages. Behnke (1992) refers to the interior redband trout as the 
Columbia River redband trout and describes their distribution as the 
Columbia River basin east of the Cascades to barrier falls on Kootenai, 
Pend Oreille, Spokane, and Snake Rivers; the upper Fraser River basin 
above Hell's Gate; and Athabasca River headwaters of the Mackenzie 
River basin.
    The subspecies gairdneri includes resident stream populations, 
populations adapted to lakes (kamloops trout), and anadromous steelhead 
populations. Resident populations of Columbia River redband trout are 
found throughout the Columbia River basin east of the Cascades. The 
native trout of the Oregon and southern Idaho desert basins are 
considered to be a primitive form of redband trout derived from the 
Columbia River basin. Kamloops trout occur in lakes in the upper 
Columbia and upper Fraser basins. Anadromous steelhead populations 
ascending the Columbia River east of the Cascade Range and into the 
Salmon and Clearwater River drainages are also currently classified 
with redband trout (Behnke 1992).
    The interior redband trout of the Kootenai River drainage exhibits 
two distinct life histories, a resident stream form of generally 
smaller fish and the larger lake dwelling kamloops form (Huston 1994; 
Behnke 1986; Behnke 1992). The Kootenai River drainage interior redband 
trout is on the northeastern periphery of the subspecies' range and is 
believed to be important as a potential source of diversity and 
adaptability (Doug 

[[Page 40340]]
Perkinson, Kootenai National Forest, in litt. 1993).
    The petitioners state that based on genetic analysis of trout 
samples from 60 sites in the Kootenai River drainage, researchers have 
identified five remaining pure strain populations of interior redband 
trout in Montana. These five stream populations presently occupy 
approximately 56 kilometers (35 miles) of stream (Doug Perkinson, 
Kootenai National Forest, in litt. 1994). The petitioners assert that 
these populations have a high likelihood of being the only native 
populations remaining in Montana. The petitioners also state there are 
no documented stream populations of interior redband trout in the State 
of Idaho.
    Any species that is in danger of extinction throughout all or a 
significant portion of its range may be declared an endangered species 
under the Act (50 CFR 424.02(e)). The term ``species'' is defined in 50 
CFR 424.02(k) as ``any species or subspecies * * * and any distinct 
population segment of any vertebrate species that interbreeds when 
mature.'' Thus the first deliberation is whether the Kootenai River 
population of interior redband trout is a recognized subspecies or 
distinct population that interbreeds.
    Following receipt of the petition the Service found additional 
evidence of native redband trout, both pure populations and the 
presence of genetic material, in other tributaries in the Kootenai 
drainage. These data indicate that interior redband trout in the 
Kootenai drainage may be more widely distributed than previously 
assumed (Perkinson 1994A). The Idaho Conservation Data Center, in litt. 
1994, cites populations of interior redband trout in the following 
drainages in Idaho--Weiser, Payette, Boise, Bruneau, Owyhee, and Wood, 
and numerous tributaries to the Snake River. The Service examined 
evidence of additional pure redband trout populations above Kootenai 
Falls, a presumed isolating barrier for the Kootenai River redband 
trout (Leary 1994). This evidence indicates nearly pure populations of 
redband trout outside the subspecies presumed home-range (Perkinson 
1994C). The literature also indicates interior rainbow trout genetic 
material in numerous fish populations upstream from Kootenai Falls in 
the Kootenai River drainage (Huston 1994, Perkinson 1994A). A Service 
review of the literature and discussions with regional fisheries 
biologists reveals an ongoing debate about the definition of interior 
redband trout. Presently there appears to be general agreement that the 
interior rainbow trout ``complex'' includes redband trout of the 
Columbia basin east of the Cascade Range up to barrier falls, and 
including anadromous steelhead, making the distribution of this 
subspecies wide and diverse.
    The petitioners did not provide supporting data or literature to 
substantiate the claim that the interior redband trout residing in the 
Kootenai River drainage of Montana, and possibly Idaho, constitute a 
separate and distinct vertebrate population segment that is 
genetically, physically, or is othewise distinct from other redband 
trout populations, or that these fish are significant to the survival 
of redband trout populations that occupy hundreds of miles of habitat 
in the inland northwest. In addition these fish do not constitue a 
significant portion of the range of the interior redband trout.
    The Service concludes that the data contained in the petition, 
referenced in the petition, and otherwise available to the Service does 
not present substantial information that the petitioned actions may be 
warranted. The Service will retain the interior redband trout as a 
category 2 candidate, and will continue to seek information regarding 
the status or threats to the subspecies. If additional data becomes 
available in the future, the Service may reassess the listing priority 
for this subspecies or the need for listing.

    References cited: A complete list of all references cited herein 
are available upon request from the Boise Field Office (see 
ADDRESSES section).
    Author: The primary author of this document is Patricia Klahr, 
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, (see ADDRESSES section).

Authority

    The authority for this action is the Endangered Species Act (16 
U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).

    Dated: July 11, 1995.
Bruce Blanchard,
Acting Director, Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 95-19550 Filed 8-7-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P