[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 249 (Wednesday, December 27, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 81832-81833]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-33003]



[[Page 81832]]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 120100A]


Endangered and Threatened Species; Take of Anadromous Fish

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

ACTION: Notice of availability and request for comment.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Oregon Department of Fish and 
Wildlife (ODFW) has submitted a Fisheries Management and Evaluation 
Plan (FMEP) pursuant to the protective regulations promulgated for 
Upper Willamette River (UWR) spring chinook salmon under section 4(d) 
of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The FMEP specifies the future 
management of inland recreational and commercial fisheries potentially 
affecting listed UWR spring chinook salmon. The Washington Department 
of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) has submitted a Hatchery and Genetic 
Management Plan (HGMP) for Tucannon River summer steelhead pursuant to 
the same section 4(d) rule. The Tucannon HGMP describes an artificial 
propagation program designed to increase the abundance of the listed, 
indigenous steelhead stocks and to replace a composite, non-listed 
stock for fisheries enhancement and mitigation use. This document 
serves to notify the public of the availability of the FMEP and the 
HGMP for review and comment before a final approval or disapproval is 
made by NMFS.

DATES: Written comments or requests for a public hearing on the draft 
FMEP or HGMP must be received at the appropriate address or fax number 
(see ADDRESSES) no later than 5 p.m. Pacific standard time on January 
26, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and requests for copies of the draft FMEP 
should be addressed to Lance Kruzic, Sustainable Fisheries Division, 
NWR2, 525 N.E. Oregon Street, Suite 510, Portland, OR 97232. Comments 
may also be sent via fax to 503-872-2737. Comments and requests for 
copies of the draft HGMP should be addressed to Herb Pollard, 
Sustainable Fisheries Division, Snake River Branch Office, 10215 W. 
Emerald. Boise, ID 83709, or faxed to 208-378-5699. The documents are 
also available on the internet at http://www.nwr.noaa.gov/. Comments 
will not be accepted if submitted via e-mail or the internet.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lance Kruzic, Portland, OR at phone 
number: 503-231-2178, or e-mail: [email protected] regarding the 
FMEP; or Herb Pollard, Boise, ID at phone number: 208-378-5614, or e-
mail: [email protected] regarding the HGMP.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The following evolutionarily significant 
units (ESUs) are covered in this notice: threatened Upper Willamette 
River Spring Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), threatened 
Snake River Basin Steelhead (O. mykiss).

Background

    Under section 4(d) of the ESA, the Secretary of Commerce is 
required to adopt such regulations as he deems necessary and advisable 
for the conservation of species listed as threatened. NMFS has issued a 
final ESA 4(d) Rule adopting regulations necessary and advisable to 
conserve the UWR spring chinook salmon and Snake River Basin steelhead 
(July 10, 2000; 65 FR 42422). This 4(d) rule applies the prohibitions 
enumerated in section 9(a)(1) of the ESA. NMFS did not find it 
necessary and advisable to apply the take prohibitions described in 
section 9(a)(1)(B) and 9(a)(1)(C) to fishery harvest activities and 
artificial propagation programs if managed in accordance with an FMEP 
or HGMP that has been approved by NMFS. As specified in the July 10, 
2000, 4(d) rule, before a decision is made on an FMEP or HGMP, the 
public must have an opportunity to review and comment.

Draft FMEP Received

    ODFW has submitted to NMFS an FMEP for inland recreational and 
commercial fisheries potentially affecting listed adult and juvenile 
UWR spring chinook salmon. This includes fisheries occurring in the 
Willamette River Basin and the mainstem Columbia River below the 
confluence of the Willamette River when spring chinook are migrating 
upstream. The objective of the FMEP is to harvest known, hatchery-
origin spring chinook and other fish species in a manner that does not 
jeopardize the survival and recovery of the ESU. All fisheries included 
in the FMEP will be managed so that retention of spring chinook that 
are not externally marked (i.e., do not have a fin clipped) will be 
prohibited beginning in 2002. Only hatchery-origin spring chinook that 
are adipose fin clipped may be retained. Impact levels to listed spring 
chinook populations in the ESU due to catch and release are specified 
in the FMEP. Population viability analyses and risk assessments in the 
FMEP indicate the extinction risk for listed spring chinook under the 
proposed fishery impact levels to be less than 0.1 percent. A variety 
of monitoring and evaluation tasks are specified in the FMEP to assess 
the abundance of spring chinook, determine fishery effort and catch of 
spring chinook, and angler compliance. A comprehensive review of the 
FMEP to evaluate whether the fisheries and listed spring chinook 
populations are performing as expected will be done in 2004 and at 5 
year intervals thereafter.

Draft HGMP Received

    The HGMP submitted by WDFW describes an artificial propagation 
program that proposes to take 40 pairs of naturally produced steelhead 
adults as broodstock and produce 150,000 smolts of the native stock for 
release in the Tucannon River annually. The purposes of the program 
are: (1) to increase the abundance of the local, indigenous stock of 
steelhead; (2) to restore natural spawning escapements, and (3)to 
enhance fisheries opportunities if the program successfully restores 
spawning escapements and production.

Authority

    Under section 4 of the ESA, the Secretary of Commerce is required 
to adopt such regulations as he deems necessary and advisable for the 
conservation of species listed as threatened. The ESA salmon and 
steelhead 4(d) rule (65 FR 42422, July 10, 2000) specifies categories 
of activities that contribute to the conservation of listed salmonids 
or are governed by a program that adequately limits impacts on listed 
salmonids. The criteria to be met by activities submitted under the 
salmon and steelhead ESA 4(d) rule are contained in that rule (65 FR 
42422, July 10, 2000).
    Approval of a FMEP or a HGMP shall be NMFS' written approval by 
NMFS' Northwest or Southwest Regional Administrator, as appropriate. 
Authority to take listed species is subject to the conditions set forth 
in the concurrence letter of the FMEP and HGMP which will specify the 
implementation and reporting requirements. Approval of FMEPs and HGMPs 
is granted in accordance with the salmon and steelhead 4(d) rule (65 FR 
42422, July 10, 2000) and are subject to the ESA and NMFS regulations 
governing the take of listed species (50 CFR parts 222-226).
    Those individuals requesting a hearing on the FMEP or HGMP listed 
in this notice should set out the specific reasons why a hearing on 
that FMEP or HGMP would be appropriate (see

[[Page 81833]]

ADDRESSES). The holding of such hearing is at the discretion of the 
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA. All statements and 
opinions contained in the permit action summaries are those of the 
applicant and do not necessarily reflect the views of NMFS.

    Dated: December 20, 2000.
Wanda L. Cain,
Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected Resources, 
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 00-33003 Filed 12-26-00; 8:45 am]
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