[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 103 (Tuesday, May 31, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30970-30972]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-10729]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Draft Environmental Impact Statement/Mountain Lakes Fishery 
Management Plan; North Cascades National Park Service Complex; Whatcom, 
Skagit and Chelan Counties, WA; Notice of Availability

    Summary: Pursuant to section 102(c) of the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969 (Pub. L. 91-190, as amended), the National Park 
Service in cooperation with the Washington State Department of Fish and 
Wildlife has prepared a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) and 
Mountain Lakes Fishery Management Plan. The DEIS identifies and 
evaluates four alternatives for management of non-native fish in the 
natural mountain lakes within North Cascades National Park Service 
Complex and the Stephen Mather Wilderness. Appropriate mitigation 
strategies are assessed, and an ``environmentally preferred'' 
alternative is also identified. When approved, the Mountain Lakes 
Fishery Management Plan (Plan) will govern all fishery management 
actions, including potential removal of self-sustaining populations of 
non-native fish and fish stocking.
    Background: The National Park Service (NPS) manages North Cascades 
National Park, Lake Chelan National Recreation Area, and Ross Lake 
National Recreation Area collectively as the North Cascades National 
Park Service Complex (hereafter referred to as ``North Cascades''). The 
Congressionally designated Stephen Mather Wilderness covers ninety-
three percent of North Cascades. The rugged, wilderness landscape of 
North Cascades contains 240 natural mountain lakes. The lakes are 
naturally fishless due to impassable topographic barriers. Though 
naturally barren of fish, these lakes contain a rich array of native 
aquatic life including plankton, aquatic insects, frogs and 
salamanders.
    In the late 1800's, settlers began stocking lakes within the 
present-day boundaries of North Cascades with various species of non-
native trout for food and recreation. By the 20th century, fish 
stocking was a routine lake enhancement practice for the U.S. Forest 
Service, various counties, and individuals. Then upon its inception in 
1933, the Washington Department of Game (WDG; now the Washington 
Department of Fish and Wildlife, or WDFW) assumed responsibility for 
stocking mountain lakes throughout the state to create and maintain a 
recreational fishery. The state's involvement grew largely out of the 
need to prevent haphazard stocking by individuals without biological 
expertise. With particular emphasis on systematic assessment of fish 
species and stocking rates, the WDG conducted the first high lakes 
fisheries research and developed many principles central to fisheries 
management today.
    After North Cascades was established in 1968, a conflict over fish 
stocking emerged between the NPS and WDFW. The conflict was driven by 
fundamental policy differences: NPS policies prohibited stocking so as 
to protect native ecosystems; WDFW policies encouraged stocking to 
enhance recreation. To reconcile the conflict and foster cooperative 
management, the NPS and WDFW entered into a fisheries management 
agreement in 1988 with the purpose of ``establishing a mutually agreed 
to list of lakes within the boundaries of North Cascades National Park 
which the department [would] stock with fish as part of its fish 
management program.'' The agreement identified 40 lakes for stocking 
and specified that ``research results [would] be considered in future 
decisions''.
    Shortly thereafter, the NPS initiated a long-term research effort 
through Oregon State University to evaluate the ecological effects of 
fish stocking on native biota in mountain lakes. To ensure objectivity 
and scientific merit, an independent peer review panel of subject 
matter experts was established to evaluate research results. The final 
phase of this research effort was completed in July, 2002. The complete 
research results are posted on the Plan/DEIS Web site (http://www.nps.gov/noca/highlakes.htm), however key conclusions include:
     Lakes with high densities of self-sustaining (i.e., 
reproducing) trout populations had significantly fewer salamanders and 
zooplankton than fishless lakes;
     There was no significant difference in salamander or 
zooplankton abundance between fishless lakes and lakes with stocked 
(i.e., non-reproducing) fish;
     Native biota (e.g., salamanders, zooplankton) appeared to 
be at greatest risk in lakes with (1) relatively high nitrogen 
concentrations, (2) relatively warm water and (3) self-sustaining trout 
populations present in high densities.

[[Page 30971]]

These risk factors were found in six of the 83 lakes studied.
    Purpose and Need: The purpose of the Plan/DEIS is to develop a 
comprehensive management plan for natural mountain lakes that conserves 
native biological integrity and provides a spectrum of recreational 
opportunities and visitor experiences, including sport fishing. The 
Plan/DEIS is needed to resolve the long-standing debate and conflicts 
over fish stocking in the naturally fishless mountain lakes in North 
Cascades.
    In most NPS units, natural resources (including lakes and fish) are 
managed in accord with the Organic Act of 1916 and in concert with NPS 
management policies which allow sport fishing unless it is specifically 
prohibited. NPS policies, however, prohibit fish stocking in most NPS 
waters. In North Cascades, fish have historically been managed by a 
combination of agencies and user groups. This is partly because the 
enabling legislation for North Cascades does not define angling 
activities that would be allowed within its boundaries, and partly 
because the area has a history of fish management by WDFW and 
affiliated sport fishing groups (whose practices pre-date the 1968 
establishment of North Cascades by many years).
    The lakes that are the focus of this Plan/DEIS are the 91 mountain 
lakes (out of 240 lakes) that were once naturally fishless but have had 
some history of fish stocking since the late 1800's. Due to differences 
in missions and policies between the NPS and WDFW, the two agencies 
drafted a Memorandum of Understanding in 1985, and a Supplemental 
Agreement in 1988 that established a mutually agreed to list of lakes 
in the National Park portion of the Complex that WDFW would stock with 
fish as part of its fish management program while further studies into 
the ecological effects of non-native fish in mountain lakes were 
conducted. A long term research study was then initiated. Before the 
research could be completed, the North Cascades Conservation Council 
challenged the NPS in court on its decision to allow fish stocking to 
continue or reproducing populations of fish to remain. In a 1991 
Consent Decree, the U.S. District Court (Western District of 
Washington) indicated the NPS should complete its research and then 
``conduct a NEPA [National Environmental Policy Act] review of the fish 
stocking of naturally fish-free lakes.'' The research was completed in 
July 2002 by a team that included scientists from the U.S. Geological 
Survey (Biological Resources Division) and Oregon State University. 
This Plan/DEIS was initiated upon completion of the research, and 
initiates the conservation planning and environmental impact analysis 
process required by the 1991 Consent Decree.
    Primary Issues: Key issues which were addressed in preparing the 
DEIS/Plan included:
     Predation and Competition. Non-native fish have measurably 
changed composition and abundance of native aquatic organisms in some 
lakes, with the most significant impacts caused by reproducing 
populations of stocked fish that have become self-sustaining.
     Hybridization with Native Fish. Non-native fish are 
dispersing downstream from some lakes and hybridizing (i.e., 
interbreeding) with native fish, which could harm bull trout (federally 
Threatened), westslope cutthroat trout and other native trout 
populations.
     Conflicting Social/Wilderness Values. Some stakeholders 
strongly oppose the management of a non-native fishery in national 
park/wilderness lakes that were naturally fishless. Others believe that 
the mountain lakes fishery provides an unparalleled opportunity for 
high lakes fishing that cannot be duplicated elsewhere.
     Legislative ambiguity: The enabling legislation and 
legislative history for North Cascades are not clear with respect to 
fish stocking, thus the NPS believes an affirmative legislative 
clarification from Congress would be needed in order to justify 
continued fish stocking in naturally fishless mountain lakes in the 
North Cascades/Stephen Mather Wilderness.
    Proposed Plan and Alternatives: As the proposed Mountain Lakes 
Fishery Management Plan, Alternative B (the ``agency preferred'' 
alternative) would implement an adaptive management framework for 
allowing continued stocking of select lakes with a history of fish 
stocking. To minimize ecological risks, sterile trout incapable of 
reproducing would be stocked at low densities to provide continued 
angling opportunities. Self-sustaining populations of trout would be 
removed from all lakes (where feasible) using gill-nets in combination 
with electrofishing, spawning habitat exclusion, and application of the 
piscicide antimycin. Fishery management actions would be monitored and 
evaluated to enable adaptive management and ensure conservation of 
biological integrity. Implementation of this Alternative would require 
affirmative clarification from Congress regarding the appropriateness 
of continued fish stocking in the North Cascades/Stephen Mather 
Wilderness.
    Alternative A (the ``No Action'' alternative) provides a baseline 
for analyzing and comparing the three ``action'' alternatives. Under 
this alternative, fishery management actions would continue in accord 
with the terms and conditions of the 1988 Supplemental Agreement with 
the WDFW. This agreement provides for continued stocking of select 
lakes in North Cascades National Park. Continued implementation of this 
alternative would require clarification from Congress regarding the 
appropriateness of continued fish stocking in the North Cascades/
Stephen Mather Wilderness.
    Alternative C would include continued maintenance of the mountain 
lakes sport fishery (i.e., fish stocking) in select lakes in Ross Lake 
National Recreation Area and Lake Chelan National Recreation Area. Fish 
stocking would be discontinued in North Cascades National Park. 
Otherwise, the adaptive management framework for Alternative C would be 
similar to Alternative B. Alternative C would conform to NPS policies 
regarding fish stocking in National Recreation Area waters. However, 
Alternative C would still require clarification from Congress regarding 
the appropriateness of continued fish stocking in the Stephen Mather 
Wilderness.
    Alternative D would discontinue fish stocking in all mountain lakes 
in North Cascades. This alternative would establish a long-term goal of 
removing, wherever feasible, self-sustaining populations of non-native 
trout in approximately 37 lakes using the removal methods described for 
Alternative B.
    Scoping History: Public scoping formally began on January 16, 2003, 
with the Federal Register publication of the Notice of Intent to 
prepare an environmental impact statement. A news release for the 
public scoping meetings was sent on February 14, 2003 to 12 local and 
regional news media. A public scoping brochure was mailed in early 
March 2003 to a comprehensive list of government agencies, 
organizations, businesses, and individuals. In late March 2003, the NPS 
and WDFW held four public scoping meetings in the surrounding 
communities of Sedro-Woolley, Wenatchee, Bellevue and Seattle. The NPS 
received 248 comments during the public scoping period, which formally 
concluded on April 18, 2004. A public scoping report is available on 
the park's project Web site: (http://www.nps.gov/noca/highlakes.htm).
    Comments and Public Meetings: The public review and comment period 
will

[[Page 30972]]

extend 90 days from the date the EPA publishes its notice of filing of 
the Plan/DEIS in the Federal Register. Immediately upon confirmation, 
this date will be announced on the park's project Web site. The Plan/
DEIS will be mailed directly to those who requested copies during 
public scoping, and may be downloaded from the project Web site and on 
CD-ROM. Copies will also be available for review at park headquarters 
in Sedro-Woolley, the main visitor center in Newhalem, and at local and 
regional libraries. Printed or CD-ROM copies may also be requested by 
telephone (360) 856-5700 ext.351. In addition, a Public Comment 
Newsletter will be distributed. All comments must be submitted in 
writing and postmarked or transmitted not later than 90 days from the 
date EPA publishes their notice of filing. Responses should be 
addressed to: Superintendent, Attn: Draft EIS/Mountain Lakes Fishery 
Management Plan, North Cascades National Park Service Complex, 810 
State Route 20, Sedro Woolley, WA 98284. Reviewers are encouraged to 
submit comments, ideas or questions on-line at the PEPC Web site 
(http://parkplanning.nps.gov); search under park name for North 
Cascades National Park to find the Plan/EIS and an on-line comment 
form. Written comments may also be faxed to (360) 856-1934, or 
submitted at one of the public meetings (see below).
    Please note that names and addresses of people who comment become 
part of the public record. If individuals commenting request that their 
name or/and address be withheld from public disclosure, it will be 
honored to the extent allowable by law. Such requests must be stated 
prominently in the beginning of the comments. There also may be 
circumstances wherein the NPS will withhold from the administrative 
record a respondent's identity, as allowable by law. As always: The NPS 
will make available to public inspection all submissions from 
organizations or businesses and from persons identifying themselves as 
representatives or officials of organizations and businesses; and, 
anonymous comments may not be considered.
    To facilitate exchange of information and public understanding of 
the proposal, the NPS in coordination with the Washington Department of 
Fish and Wildlife will host public meetings in Sedro-Woolley, 
Wenatchee, and the Seattle area. At this time several meetings are 
expected to be held during summer 2005--a schedule of confirmed dates, 
locations and times will be announced via the Public Comment 
Newsletter, local and regional news media, and the park's project Web 
site; or may be obtained by telephone at (360) 856-5700 ext.351.
    Participants are strongly encouraged to review the document prior 
to attending a meeting. The Superintendent of North Cascades and 
planning team members, including WDFW personnel will attend all 
meetings. The format will be the same for all meetings, and will 
include a brief presentation on the essential elements of the Plan/DEIS 
and a question and answer period. Brief oral comments and written 
comments will also be received. All meeting locations will be 
accessible for disabled persons, and a sign language interpreter may be 
available upon request with prior notice (please contact the park as 
noted above).
    Decision: Following careful consideration of all comments received 
on the Plan/DEIS, completion of the Final Mountain Lakes Fishery 
Management Plan/Final Environmental Impact Statement is anticipated for 
spring 2006 (actual timing will depend upon the degree of public 
interest and response from agencies and organizations). Thereafter the 
Record of Decision would be completed not sooner than 30 days after the 
Final EIS is distributed. As a delegated EIS, the official responsible 
for the final decision is the Regional Director, Pacific West Region; 
subsequently, the official responsible for implementation will be the 
Superintendent, North Cascades National Park Service Complex.

    Dated: March 23, 2005.
Martha K. Leicester,
Acting Regional Director, Pacific West Region.
[FR Doc. 05-10729 Filed 5-27-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P