[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 1 (Wednesday, January 2, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 161-166]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-25401]


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

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XE26


Endangered and Threatened Species; Recovery Plans

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

[[Page 162]]

Atmospheric Administration, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.

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

SUMMARY: The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) announces the 
availability of the Proposed Columbia River Estuary Endangered Species 
Act (ESA) Recovery Plan Module for Salmon and Steelhead (Estuary 
Module) for public review and comment. The Estuary Module was developed 
to meet the estuary recovery needs of all ESA-listed salmon and 
steelhead in the Columbia River Basin. The Estuary Module will be 
incorporated by reference into all Columbia Basin salmon and steelhead 
recovery plans to guide salmon and steelhead recovery in the Columbia 
River estuary. The Estuary Module was prepared by the Lower Columbia 
River Estuary Partnership, under contract to NMFS. At this time, NMFS 
is soliciting review and comment from the public and all interested 
parties on the proposed Estuary Module.

DATES: NMFS will consider and address all substantive comments received 
during the comment period. Comments must be received no later than 5 
p.m. Pacific Daylight Time on March 3, 2008.

ADDRESSES: Please send written comments and materials to Patty 
Dornbusch, National Marine Fisheries Service, 1201 NE Lloyd Boulevard, 
Suite 1100, Portland, OR 97232. Comments may also be submitted by e-
mail to: [email protected]. Include in the subject line of the 
e-mail comment the following identifier: Comment on Columbia River 
Estuary Recovery Plan Module. Comments may be submitted via facsimile 
(fax) to (503) 872-2737.
    Persons wishing to review the Estuary Module may obtain an 
electronic copy (i.e., CD-ROM) by calling Sharon Houghton at (503) 230-
5418 or by emailing a request to [email protected], with the 
subject line ``CD-ROM Request for Columbia River Estuary Module.'' 
Electronic copies of the Estuary Module are also available online on 
the NMFS website: www.nwr.noaa.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Patty Dornbusch, NMFS Lower Columbia 
Recovery Coordinator (503-230-5430), or Elizabeth Gaar, NMFS Salmon 
Recovery Division (503-230-5434).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA), as amended (16 U.S.C. et 
seq.), requires that a recovery plan be developed and implemented for 
species listed as endangered or threatened under the statute, unless 
such a plan would not promote the recovery of a species. Recovery plans 
must contain (1) objective, measurable criteria which, when met, would 
result in a determination that the species is no longer threatened or 
endangered; (2) site specific management actions necessary to achieve 
the plan's goals; and (3) estimates of the time required and costs to 
implement recovery actions. NMFS is the agency responsible for 
developing recovery plans for salmon and steelhead, and the agency will 
use the plans to guide efforts to restore endangered and threatened 
Pacific salmon and steelhead to the point that they are again self 
sustaining in their ecosystems and no longer need the protections of 
the ESA.
    To accomplish recovery planning in the Columbia River Basin, NMFS 
organized the eight listed salmon evolutionarily significant units 
(ESUs) and the five listed steelhead distinct population segments 
(DPSs) into two geographic recovery domains, the Lower Columbia/
Willamette and the Interior Columbia. (The latter was further divided 
into the Snake, Mid-Columbia, and Upper Columbia sub-domains.) Recovery 
plans are either complete or in development to address all listed 
salmon ESUs or steelhead DPSs within each domain.
    Because NMFS believes that local support for recovery plans is 
essential, the agency has approached recovery planning collaboratively, 
with strong reliance on existing state, regional, and tribal planning 
processes. For instance, in the Columbia Basin, recovery plans have 
been or are being developed by regional recovery boards convened by 
Washington State, by the State of Oregon in conjunction with 
stakeholder teams, and by NMFS in Idaho with the participation of local 
agencies. NMFS reviews locally developed recovery plans, ensures that 
they satisfy ESA requirements, and makes them available for public 
review and comment before formally adopting them as ESA recovery plans.
    Recovery plans must consider the factors affecting species survival 
throughout the entire life-cycle. The salmonid life cycle includes 
spawning and rearing in the tributaries, migration through the mainstem 
Columbia River and estuary to the ocean, and the return journey to the 
natal stream. In the estuary, juvenile and adult salmon and steelhead 
undergo physiological changes needed to make the transition to and from 
saltwater. They use the varying sub-habitats of the estuary - the 
shallows, side channels, deeper channels, and plume of freshwater 
extending offshore - at varying times of the year. While local recovery 
planners appropriately focus on the tributary conditions within their 
jurisdictions and domains, NMFS recognized the need for consistent 
treatment of the factors in the estuary that affect all of the listed 
salmonids in the Columbia Basin.
    The Estuary Module is intended to address limiting factors, 
threats, and needed actions in the Columbia River estuary for the 13 
ESUs and DPSs of salmon and steelhead listed in the basin. Each locally 
developed recovery plan will then include or incorporate by reference 
the Estuary Module as its estuary component. This approach will ensure 
consistent treatment across locally developed recovery plans of the 
effects of the Columbia River estuary as well as a system-wide approach 
to evaluating and implementing estuary recovery actions. The planning 
area of the Estuary Module overlaps to some extent with the planning 
areas for locally developed plans for lower Columbia River tributaries. 
This overlap occurs in the tidally influenced portions of the 
tributaries, and in such instances the local plans will reflect the 
Estuary Module but may contain a higher level of detail in terms of 
specificity of actions.
    NMFS contracted with the Lower Columbia River Estuary Partnership 
(LCREP) for development of the Estuary Module. LCREP was established in 
1995 as part of the Environmental Protection Agency's National Estuary 
Program. LCREP's major roles are to convene common interests, help 
integrate conservation efforts, increase public awareness and 
involvement, and promote information-based problem-solving. LCREP is 
the primary organization focused on conserving and improving the 
environment of the Columbia River estuary. In addition to having 
completed development, and begun implementation, of its Comprehensive 
Conservation and Management Plan in 1999, LCREP completed the Mainstem 
Lower Columbia River and Columbia River Estuary Subbasin Plan and 
Supplement in 2004. The LCREP's expertise in assessment, planning, and 
stakeholder connections made it uniquely suited to develop this 
proposed Estuary Module for NMFS.
    NMFS has reviewed the Estuary Module and is now making it available 
for public review and comment.
    Upon approval of the Estuary Module, NMFS will make a commitment to 
implement the actions in the Estuary

[[Page 163]]

Module for which it has authority, to work cooperatively on 
implementation of other actions, and to encourage other Federal 
agencies to implement Estuary Module actions for which they have 
responsibility and authority. NMFS will also encourage the States of 
Washington and Oregon to seek similar implementation commitments from 
state agencies and local governments.
    NMFS expects the Estuary Module to help NMFS and other Federal 
agencies take a more consistent approach to future section 7 
consultations and other ESA decisions. For example, the Estuary Module 
will provide greater biological context for the effects that a proposed 
action may have on a listed ESU or DPS. Science summarized in the 
Estuary Module will become a component of the ''best available 
information'' for section 7 consultations as well as for section 10 
habitat conservation plans and other ESA decisions.

The Estuary Module

    The purpose of the Estuary Module is to identify and prioritize 
management actions that, if implemented, would reduce the impacts of 
the limiting factors that salmon and steelhead encounter during 
migration and rearing in the estuary and plume ecosystems. To 
accomplish this, changes in the physical, biological, or chemical 
conditions in the estuary are reviewed for their potential to affect 
salmon and steelhead. Then, the underlying causes of limiting factors 
are identified and prioritized based on the significance of the 
limiting factor and each cause's contribution to one or more limiting 
factors. These causes are referred to as threats and can be either 
human or environmental in origin. Finally, management actions are 
identified that are intended to reduce the threats and increase the 
survival of salmon and steelhead during estuarine rearing and 
migration. Costs are developed for each of the actions using an 
estimated level of effort for implementation.
    The Estuary Module is a synthesis of diverse literature sources and 
the direct input of estuary scientists. The following key documents 
were used extensively as a platform for the Estuary Module: Mainstem 
Lower Columbia River and Columbia River Estuary Subbasin Plan and 
Supplement (Northwest Power and Conservation Council, 2004); Salmon at 
River's End (Bottom et al., 2005) and Role of the Estuary in the 
Recovery of Columbia River Basin Salmon and Steelhead (Fresh et al., 
2005). Many primary sources were also consulted, including experts from 
the NMFS Northwest Fisheries Science Center, other NMFS staff, LCREP 
staff, and Lower Columbia Fish Recovery Board staff. Additionally, 
modifications to the Estuary Module were influenced by interactions 
with the Northwest Power and Conservation Council, the Mid-Columbia 
Sounding Board, the Upper Willamette Stakeholder Team, and the Lower 
Columbia River Stakeholder Team.

Planning Area and ESUs and DPSs Addressed

    For the purposes of the Estuary Module, the estuary is broadly 
defined to include the entire continuum where tidal forces and river 
flows interact, regardless of the extent of saltwater intrusion (Fresh 
et al. 2005; Northwest Power and Conservation Council 2004). For 
planning purposes, the upstream boundary is Bonneville Dam and the 
downstream boundary includes the Columbia River plume. These two 
divisions-the estuary and plume-were used extensively in the Estuary 
Module.
    During their life cycles, all listed salmon and steelhead in the 
Columbia River basin rely for some period of time on the Columbia River 
estuary. The Estuary Module is therefore intended to address all eight 
listed ESUs and all five listed DPSs.

Recovery Goals, Objectives, and Criteria

    Because the Estuary Module addresses only a portion of the species 
life-cycle and is intended to be incorporated into locally developed 
recovery plans that will be adopted by NMFS as ESA recovery plans, it 
does not contain recovery goals and objectives or de-listing criteria. 
Those will be provided in the domain-specific recovery plans that this 
Estuary Module is intended to complement.

Causes for Decline and Current Threats

    The estuary and plume are considerably degraded from their 
historical condition. The Estuary Module identifies these changes, 
evaluates their potential effects on salmon and steelhead, and 
discusses their underlying causes. The causes of decline and current 
threats may be broadly categorized as habitat-related threats, threats 
related to the food web and species interaction, and other threats.
    Habitat: The estuary is about 20 percent smaller than it was 
historically (Northwest Power and Conservation Council, 2004). This 
reduction is due mostly to diking and filling practices used to convert 
the floodplain to agricultural, industrial, commercial, and residential 
uses. Flows entering the estuary also have changed dramatically: spring 
freshets have decreased and other aspects of the historical hydrograph 
have been altered. These changes are the result of flow regulation by 
the hydropower system, water withdrawal for irrigation and water 
supplies, and climate fluctuations.
    Flow alterations and diking and filling practices have affected 
salmon and steelhead in several ways. Access to and use of floodplain 
habitats by ocean-type ESUs (salmonids that typically rear for a 
shorter time in tributaries and a longer time in the estuary) have been 
severely compromised through alterations in the presence and 
availability of these important habitats. Shifts in timing, magnitude, 
and duration of flows have also changed erosion and accretion 
processes, resulting in changes to in-channel habitat availability and 
connectivity.
    Elevated temperatures of water entering the estuary are also a 
threat to salmon and steelhead. Degradation of tributary riparian 
habitat by land-use practices, in addition to reservoir heating, has 
caused these increased temperatures. Water quality in the estuary and 
plume has also been degraded by toxic contaminants. Many contaminants 
are found in the estuary and plume, some from agricultural pesticides 
and fertilizers and some from industrial sources. Salmon and steelhead 
are affected by contaminants through short-term exposure to lethal 
substances or through longer exposures to chemicals that accumulate 
over time and magnify through the food chain.
    Food Web and Species Interactions: Limiting factors related to the 
food web and species interactions can be thought of as the product of 
all the threats to salmon and steelhead in the estuary. Examples 
include relatively recent increases in Caspian tern and pinniped 
predation on salmonids, due at least in part to human alterations of 
the ecosystem, as well as the more complex and less understood shift 
from macrodetritus-based primary plant production to phytoplankton 
production. The introduction of exotic species is another ecosystem 
alteration whose impacts are not clearly understood.
    Other Threats: The estuary is also influenced by thousands of over-
water and instream structures, such as jetties, pilings, pile dikes, 
rafts, docks, breakwaters, bulkheads, revetments, groins, and ramps. 
These structures alter river circulation patterns, sediment deposition, 
and light penetration, and they form microhabitats that often benefit 
predators. In some cases, structures reduce juvenile access to low-
velocity habitats. Ship wake stranding is

[[Page 164]]

an example of another threat to salmon and steelhead in the estuary 
whose full impact is not well understood.

Recovery Strategies and Actions

    The Estuary Module identifies 23 management actions to improve the 
survival of salmon and steelhead migrating through and rearing in the 
estuary and plume environments. Table 1 identifies these management 
actions and shows their relationship to threats to salmonid survival.

              TABLE 1 Management Actions to Address Threats
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                  Threat             Management Action
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Flow-related threats     Climate cycles and       CRE\1\-1: Protect
                          global warming\2\        intact riparian areas
                                                   in the estuary and
                                                   restore riparian
                                                   areas that are
                                                   degraded.\2\
                                                 -----------------------
                         .......................  CRE-2: Modify
                                                   hydrosystem
                                                   operations to reduce
                                                   the effects of
                                                   reservoir surface
                                                   heating, or conduct
                                                   mitigation
                                                   measures.\2\
                                                 -----------------------
                         .......................  CRE-3: Establish legal
                                                   instream flows for
                                                   the estuary that
                                                   would help prevent
                                                   further degradation
                                                   of the ecosystem.\2\
                        ------------------------------------------------
                         Water withdrawal         CRE-3: Establish legal
                                                   instream flows for
                                                   the estuary that
                                                   would help prevent
                                                   further degradation
                                                   of the ecosystem.
                        ------------------------------------------------
                         Flow regulation          CRE-4: Adjust the
                                                   timing, magnitude and
                                                   frequency of flows
                                                   (especially spring
                                                   freshets) entering
                                                   the estuary and plume
                                                   to provide better
                                                   transport of
                                                   sediments and access
                                                   to habitats in the
                                                   estuary, plume, and
                                                   littoral cell.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sediment-related         Entrapment of sediment   CRE-5: Study and
 threats                  in reservoirs            mitigate the effects
                                                   of entrapment of
                                                   sediment in
                                                   reservoirs, to
                                                   improve nourishment
                                                   of the littoral cell.
                        ------------------------------------------------
                         Impaired sediment        CRE-6: Reduce the
                          transport                export of sand and
                                                   gravels via dredge
                                                   operations by using
                                                   dredged materials
                                                   beneficially.
                                                 -----------------------
                         .......................  CRE-4: Adjust the
                                                   timing, magnitude and
                                                   frequency of flows
                                                   (especially spring
                                                   freshets) entering
                                                   the estuary and plume
                                                   to provide better
                                                   transport of
                                                   sediments and access
                                                   to habitats in the
                                                   estuary, plume, and
                                                   littoral cell.
                        ------------------------------------------------
                         Dredging                 CRE-7: Reduce
                                                   entrainment and
                                                   habitat effects
                                                   resulting from main-
                                                   and side-channel
                                                   dredge activities in
                                                   the estuary.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Structural threats       Pilings and pile dikes   CRE-8: Remove pile
                                                   dikes that have low
                                                   navigational value
                                                   but high impact on
                                                   estuary circulation
                                                   and/or juvenile
                                                   predation effects.
                        ------------------------------------------------
                         Dikes and filling        CRE-9: Protect
                                                   remaining high-
                                                   quality off-channel
                                                   habitat from
                                                   degradation through
                                                   education,
                                                   regulation, and fee
                                                   simple and less-than-
                                                   fee acquisition.
                                                 -----------------------
                         .......................  CRE-10: Breach or
                                                   lower dikes and
                                                   levees to improve
                                                   access to off-channel
                                                   habitats.
                        ------------------------------------------------
                         Reservoir heating        CRE-2: Modify
                                                   hydrosystem
                                                   operations to reduce
                                                   the effects of
                                                   reservoir surface
                                                   heating, or conduct
                                                   mitigation measures.

[[Page 165]]

 
                        ------------------------------------------------
                         Over-water structures    CRE-11: Reduce the
                                                   square footage of
                                                   over-water structures
                                                   in the estuary.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Food web-related         Reservoir phytoplankton  CRE-10: Breach or
 threats                  production               lower dikes and
                                                   levees to improve
                                                   access to off-channel
                                                   habitats.
                        ------------------------------------------------
                         Altered predator/prey    CRE-13: Manage
                          relationships            pikeminnow,
                                                   smallmouth bass,
                                                   walleye, and channel
                                                   catfish to prevent
                                                   increases in
                                                   abundance.
                                                 -----------------------
                         .......................  CRE-14: Identify and
                                                   implement actions to
                                                   reduce salmonid
                                                   predation by
                                                   pinnipeds.
                                                 -----------------------
                         .......................  CRE-15: Implement
                                                   education and
                                                   monitoring projects
                                                   and enforce existing
                                                   laws to reduce the
                                                   introduction and
                                                   spread of noxious
                                                   weeds.
                                                 -----------------------
                         .......................  CRE-16: Implement
                                                   projects to
                                                   redistribute part of
                                                   the Caspian tern
                                                   colony currently
                                                   nesting on East Sand
                                                   Island.
                                                 -----------------------
                         .......................  CRE-17: Implement
                                                   projects to reduce
                                                   double-crested
                                                   cormorant habitats
                                                   and encourage
                                                   dispersal to other
                                                   locations.
                                                 -----------------------
                         .......................  CRE-18: Reduce the
                                                   abundance of shad
                                                   entering the estuary.
                        ------------------------------------------------
                         Ship ballast practices   CRE-19: Prevent new
                                                   invertebrate
                                                   introductions and
                                                   reduce the effects of
                                                   existing
                                                   infestations.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Water quality-related    Agricultural practices   CRE-20: Implement
 threats                                           pesticide and
                                                   fertilizer best
                                                   management practices
                                                   to reduce estuary and
                                                   upstream sources of
                                                   toxic contaminants
                                                   entering the estuary.
                        ------------------------------------------------
                         Urban and industrial     CRE-21: Identify and
                          practices                reduce industrial,
                                                   commercial, and
                                                   public sources of
                                                   pollutants.
                                                 -----------------------
                         .......................  CRE-22: Monitor the
                                                   estuary for
                                                   contaminants and/or
                                                   restore contaminated
                                                   sites.
                                                 -----------------------
                         .......................  CRE-23: Implement
                                                   stormwater best
                                                   management practices
                                                   in cities and towns.
                                                 -----------------------
                         .......................  CRE-1: Protect intact
                                                   riparian areas in the
                                                   estuary and restore
                                                   riparian areas that
                                                   are degraded.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Other threats            Riparian practices       CRE-1: Protect intact
                                                   riparian areas in the
                                                   estuary and restore
                                                   riparian areas that
                                                   are degraded.
                        ------------------------------------------------
                         Ship wakes               CRE-12: Reduce the
                                                   effects of vessel
                                                   wake stranding in the
                                                   estuary.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\CRE = Columbia River estuary.
\2\It is unclear what the regional effects of climate cycles and global
  warming will be during the coming decades. In the absence of
  unambiguous data on the future effects of climate cycles and global
  warming in the Pacific Northwest, this recovery plan module takes a
  conservative approach of assuming reduced snowpacks, groundwater
  recharge, and stream flows, with associated rises in stream
  temperature and demand for water supplies. The climate-related
  management actions in this table reflect this assumption.

    Identifying management actions that could reduce threats to salmon 
and steelhead as they rear in or migrate through the estuary is an 
important step toward improving conditions for salmonids during a 
critical stage in their life cycles. However, actual implementation of 
management actions is constrained by a variety of factors, such as 
technical, economic, and property rights considerations. In fact, in 
some cases it will be impossible to realize an action's full potential 
because its implementation is constrained by past societal decisions 
that are functionally irreversible. An important assumption of the 
Estuary Module is that the implementation of each of the 23 management 
actions is constrained in some manner.

[[Page 166]]

    The Estuary Module makes another important assumption about 
implementation: although implementation of actions is constrained, even 
constrained implementation can make important contributions to the 
survival of salmonids in the estuary, plume, and nearshore.
    It is within the context of these two fundamental assumptions that 
recovery actions are evaluated in the Estuary Module, in terms of their 
costs and potential benefits.

Potential Survival Benefits and Time and Cost Estimates

    The evaluation of survival benefits and costs is highly uncertain 
because it relies on estimates not only of what is technically 
feasible, but also of what is socially and politically practical. To 
help characterize potential survival improvements, the Estuary Module 
uses a planning exercise that involves distributing a plausible 
survival-improvement target of 20 percent across the actions to 
hypothesize the portion of that total survival-improvement target that 
might result from each action. The primary purpose of the survival-
improvement target is to help compare the relative potential benefits 
of different management actions. The survival-improvement target does 
not account for variation at the ESU, population, and subpopulation 
scales, and is not intended for use in life-cycle modeling, except as a 
starting point in the absence of more rigorous data.
    Costs are developed by breaking each action into a number of 
specific projects or units and identifying per-unit costs for each 
project. Both the survival improvements and costs reflect assumptions 
about the constraints to implementation and the degree to which those 
constraints can be reduced given the technical, social, and political 
context in the Columbia River basin.
    The Estuary Module estimates that the cost of partial (constrained) 
implementation of all 23 actions over a 25-year time period is about 
$500 million. Costs of tributary actions and the total estimated time 
and cost of recovery for each affected ESU or DPS will be provided in 
the locally developed recovery plans.

Monitoring and Adaptive Management

    As discussed in chapter 6 of the Estuary Module, several important 
monitoring and adaptive management activities are occurring throughout 
the Columbia River Basin that have a direct bearing on the estuary, 
plume, and nearshore. While NMFS believes that these activities provide 
an adequate framework for monitoring in the estuary, there remains a 
need to ensure consistency of existing monitoring and evaluation 
programs in the estuary with the NMFS document Adaptive Management for 
Salmon Recovery: Evaluation Framework and Monitoring Guidance 
(www.nwr.noaa.gov/Salmon-Recovery-Planning/ESA-Recovery-Plans/Other-Documents.cfm) and to review and evaluate pertinent monitoring programs 
to identify additional monitoring needs (including indicators, metrics, 
and protocols; lead entities; costs), particularly in the area of 
action effectiveness monitoring for the actions identified in the 
Estuary Module. This work is underway and expected to be incorporated 
into chapter 6 or as an appendix of the Estuary Module at the time it 
is finalized.

Conclusion

    The Estuary Module contributes to all the Columbia Basin salmon and 
steelhead recovery plans by analyzing limiting factors and threats 
relating to survival of listed salmonid species in their passage or 
residence time in the Columbia River estuary, site-specific management 
actions related to those limiting factors and threats, and estimates of 
cost, to be incorporated by reference into all the basin recovery 
plans. NMFS concludes that the Estuary Module provides information that 
helps to meets the requirements for recovery plans under ESA section 
4(f), and thus is proposing it as a component of Columbia Basin ESA 
recovery plans.

Literature Cited

    Lower Columbia River Estuary Partnership. 1999. Lower Columbia 
River Estuary Plan (Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan).
    Northwest Power and Conservation Council. 2004. Mainstem Lower 
Columbia River and Columbia River Estuary Subbasin Plan and Supplement. 
(Adopted into the Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program).
    Bottom, D.L., C.A. Simenstad, J. Burke, A.M. Baptista, D.A. Jay, 
K.K. Jones, E. Casillas, and M. H. Schiewe. 2005. Salmon at River's 
End: The Role of the Estuary in the Decline and Recovery of Columbia 
River Salmon. U.S. Dept. Commer., NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-NWFSC-68, 246p.
    Fresh, K.L., E. Casillas, L.L. Johnson, and D.L. Bottom. 2005. Role 
of the Estuary in the Recovery of Columbia River Basin Salmon and 
Steelhead: An Evaluation of the Effects of Selected Factors on Salmonid 
Population Viability. U.S. Dept. Commer., NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-NWFSC-
69, 105p.

Public Comments Solicited

    NMFS solicits written comments on the proposed Estuary Module as a 
component of Columbia Basin ESA recovery plans. All comments received 
by the date specified above will be considered prior to NMFS's decision 
whether to adopt the Estuary Module. Additionally, NMFS will provide a 
summary of the comments and responses through its regional web site. 
NMFS seeks comments particularly in the following areas: (1) survival 
improvement targets and allocation of benefits among actions; (2) costs 
and schedule for implementing management actions; (3) strategies for 
monitoring action effectiveness; (4) oversight and institutional 
infrastructure needed for implementation of Estuary Module actions.

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.

    Dated: December 26, 2007.
Angela Somma,
Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected Resources, 
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E7-25401 Filed 12-31-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S