[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 153 (Monday, August 10, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42615-42616]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-21254]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D. 071798E]


Endangered Species; Permits

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

ACTION: Receipt of an application for an incidental take permit (NMFS 
permit #1168).

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Washington Department of 
Natural Resources at Olympia, WA (WDNR) has applied in due form for a 
permit that would authorize incidental take of threatened Lower 
Columbia River (LCR) steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) associated with 
timber management activities in western Washington state. This request 
is pursuant to the unlisted species provisions of the Implementation 
Agreement for the WDNR Habitat Conservation Plan.

DATES: Written comments or requests for a public hearing on the 
application must be received on or before September 9, 1998.

ADDRESSES: The application, documents cited in this notice, and 
comments received are available for review, by appointment, at:
    Washington Habitat Conservation Branch, 510 Desmond Drive SE, Suite 
103, Lacey, WA 98503 (360-753-6054).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Steve Landino, Chief Washington 
Habitat Conservation Branch, Lacey, WA (360-753-6054).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: WDNR requests a permit under the authority 
of section 10 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA) (16 U.S.C. 
1531-1543) and the NMFS regulations governing ESA-listed fish and 
wildlife permits (50 CFR parts 217-227).
    To date, protective regulations for threatened lower Columbia River 
steelhead under section 4(d) of the ESA have not been promulgated by 
NMFS. This notice of receipt of an application requesting a permit for 
the incidental take of this species is issued as a precaution in the 
event that NMFS issues protective regulations that prohibit takes of 
lower Columbia River steelhead. The initiation of a 30-day public 
comment period on the application, including its proposed take of lower 
Columbia River steelhead, does not presuppose the contents of the 
eventual protective regulations. Those individuals requesting a hearing 
on the above application should set out the specific reasons why a 
hearing would be appropriate (see ADDRESSES). The holding of such a 
hearing is at the discretion of the Assistant Administrator for 
Fisheries, NOAA.

Background

    In April of 1996, NMFS and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 
(together the Services) received a completed Habitat Conservation Plan 
(HCP) application package from WDNR. The distribution to interested 
parties was initiated and a Federal Register notice was published on 
April 5, 1996 (61 FR 15297) which announced the release of the draft 
HCP and Implementing Agreement (IA), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 
incidental take permit application, and the draft Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) to the public. The comment period closed on May 20, 
1996.
    The Services addressed concerns raised about the HCP and discussed 
alternative approaches with WDNR. Upon completion of these discussions, 
and after addressing the public comments, the Services and WDNR 
prepared a final EIS, including sections highlighting the changes made 
to the HCP and IA. The Notice of Availability of a final EIS was 
published in the November 1, 1996 Federal Register (61 FR 56563) with 
the 30-day waiting period ending on December 2, 1996. The U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service's incidental take permit (PRT-812521) was issued on 
January 30, 1997 (62 FR 8980).
    LCR steelhead were listed as threatened under the ESA on March 19, 
1998 (63 FR 13347). WDNR requests a 50-year permit (NMFS permit #1168) 
from NMFS that would authorize incidental take of threatened LCR 
steelhead associated with timber management activities in western 
Washington consistent with WDNR's HCP. The purpose of this notice is to 
seek public comment on WDNR's request for an incidental take permit.

Implementation Agreement Provisions

    The IA is a legal document describing the roles and 
responsibilities of NMFS and WDNR during the proposed permit period. 
WDNR's IA contains provisions

[[Page 42616]]

for those unlisted anadromous fish species that may occur within the 
Olympic Experimental State Forest and the five West Side Planning Units 
of the HCP. According to the IA on page B.12 of the HCP in Section 25.1 
(b), should any of those species that were unlisted at the time of 
finalization of the HCP become listed under the ESA, WDNR may request 
an incidental take permit that would authorize take of the listed 
anadromous species from NMFS, or in the case where NMFS has already 
issued a permit, an addition of the new species to the existing 
incidental take permit. NMFS would then make a decision on issuance of 
the permit or permit amendment without requiring additional mitigation, 
unless, within a specified sixty-day period, NMFS demonstrates that 
extraordinary circumstances exist.
    Prior to the issuance of an incidental take permit for take of LCR 
steelhead to WDNR for timber management activities in western 
Washington, NMFS will determine if extraordinary circumstances exist 
and will also reinitiate the section 7 process to determine whether 
issuance of the permit would appreciably reduce the likelihood of the 
survival and recovery of LCR steelhead or any other species.

LCR Steelhead Requirements and New Information

    NMFS is currently reviewing information about LCR steelhead to 
determine whether extraordinary circumstances exist and/or whether 
issuance of an incidental take permit to WDNR would appreciably reduce 
the ability of LCR steelhead to survive and recover in the wild. 
Information collected as part of the LCR steelhead listing 
determination process is also being used to make the permit issuance 
decision. This information is available for review at the address 
listed above.
    The LCR steelhead Evolutionarily Significant Unit (ESU) occupies 
tributaries to the Columbia River between the Cowlitz and Wind Rivers 
in Washington, inclusive, and the Willamette and Hood Rivers in Oregon, 
inclusive. Excluded are steelhead in the upper Willamette River Basin 
above Willamette Falls, and steelhead from the Little and Big White 
Salmon Rivers in Washington. Hatchery populations considered part of 
this ESU include late-spawning Cowlitz Trout Hatchery stock (winter-
run). LCR steelhead occur within WDNR's Columbia Westside Planning 
Unit.
    Steelhead exhibit perhaps the most complex suite of life history 
traits of any species of Pacific salmonid. They can be anadromous or 
freshwater resident. Resident forms are usually called rainbow trout. 
Those that are anadromous can spend up to seven years in freshwater 
prior to smoltification, and then spend up to three years in saltwater 
prior to first spawning.
    While most species of salmonids die after spawning, steelhead trout 
may spawn more than once. Most spawning in Washington streams typically 
stretches from December through June. Adult steelhead spawn in gravel 
in both mainstem rivers and tributaries. Steelhead eggs may incubate in 
stream gravel for 1.5-4 months, depending on water temperature, before 
hatching. Following emergence from the gravel, juveniles rear in 
freshwater from one to four years (usually two years), then migrate to 
the ocean. In the marine environment they typically rear for 1-3 years 
prior to returning to their natal stream to spawn primarily as three-
four year olds.
    Historic adverse impacts to steelhead from forest management and 
related land-use activities included removal of large woody debris from 
streams and riparian areas, inputs of sediment from upslope logging and 
road construction, elevated stream temperatures, and transportation of 
logs within the channel network.

Minimization and Mitigation Measures

    WDNR's Habitat Conservation Plan utilizes a combination of 
conservation measures that are expected to protect steelhead and other 
anadromous fish species. The riparian conservation strategy defines a 
riparian management zone consisting of an inner riparian buffer and an 
outer wind buffer where needed. The principal function of the riparian 
buffer is protection of salmonid habitat; the principal function of the 
wind buffer is the protection of the riparian buffer. All fishbearing 
streams (Washington State Type 1 through 3 waters) receive a 
conservatively managed buffer equal in width (measured horizontally 
from the 100-year floodplain) to a site-potential tree height (derived 
from 100-year site-index curves) or 100 feet, whichever is greater. 
This prescription should result in average riparian buffer widths 
between 150 and 160 feet. Non-fishbearing Type 4 streams receive a 100-
foot buffer. No harvest will be allowed in the first 25 feet of the 
riparian buffer. An outer wind buffer will be applied on all 
fishbearing streams in areas that are prone to windthrow. For Type 1 
and 2 waters, a 100 foot wind buffer is placed along the windward side, 
and Type 3 waters greater than 5 feet in width have a 50 foot wind 
buffer along the windward side. Additional information can be found in 
the HCP at pages IV. 56-59.
    The management of these buffers is yet to be determined by 
scientific working groups which include NMFS participation and 
participation by outside scientists from the Tribes and Universities. 
Side-boards for these discussions are described in the HCP on pages IV. 
59-61. In the interim, and in the case no agreement is reached by the 
scientific working groups, interim standards and default standards for 
percent volume removal during a one-time-per-rotation entry are 
described in the HCP on pages IV. 61-62. In general, these standards 
allow between 10 and 25 percent removal of existing volume with greater 
removal of hardwoods and of trees further from the stream; and less 
removal of conifers and trees closer to the stream. Only restoration 
activities would occur in the first 25 feet, while wind buffers could 
have 50 percent volume removal.
    Inner gorges and mass-wasting areas are protected by unstable 
hillslope and mass wasting protection provisions of the HCP (IV. 62) 
and it is expected that 50 percent of the seasonal streams (Type 5) 
will be protected as a result of the mass-wasting protection 
provisions. The other 50 percent of Type 5 streams receive interim 
protections as necessary and will be addressed within the Type 5 
research and adaptive-management component to be completed within the 
first 10 years of the HCP. Watershed Analysis can only increase (not 
decrease) the level of protection these streams receive. Road 
management is another critical component of WDNR's HCP (HCP IV. 62-68).
    These minimization and mitigation measures described above 
represent the minimum level of riparian conservation that WDNR has 
committed to implement. Several aspects of the HCP, including riparian 
protection, are subject to adaptive management. To ensure that the 
mitigation and minimization strategies are effective, the HCP 
incorporates a variety of aquatic monitoring components that will 
provide feedback for adaptive management, and if needed, increases in 
the mitigation for riparian protection. A scientific working group is 
also addressing the exact nature of the monitoring component within the 
side-boards established in the HCP (V. 1-9).

    Dated: August 3, 1998.
Patricia A. Montanio,
Deputy Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 98-21254 Filed 8-7-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F