[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 79 (Wednesday, April 23, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21913-21917]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-8831]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XH02


Endangered and Threatened Species; Recovery Plans

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

ACTION:  Notice of Availability; request for comments.

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SUMMARY:  The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) announces that 
the Proposed Lake Ozette Sockeye Salmon Recovery Plan (Plan) is 
available for public review and comment. The Plan addresses the Lake 
Ozette Sockeye Salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) Evolutionarily Significant 
Unit (ESU), which spawns in Lake Ozette and its tributaries, on the 
Olympic Peninsula at the western edge of Washington State. NMFS is 
soliciting review and comment from the public and all interested 
parties on the Proposed Plan.

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 June 23, 2008.

ADDRESSES:  Please send written comments and materials to Rosemary 
Furfey, National Marine Fisheries Service, 1201 N.E. Lloyd Blvd, 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: Comments on Lake Ozette Sockeye Plan. 
Comments may be submitted via facsimile (fax) to 503-872-2737.
    Persons wishing to review the Plan can obtain an electronic copy 
(i.e., CD-ROM) from Sharon Houghton by calling 503-230-5418 or by e-
mailing a request to [email protected] with the subject line 
``CD-ROM Request for Lake Ozette Sockeye Plan.'' Electronic copies of 
the Plan are also available on-line on the NMFS website 
www.nwr.noaa.gov/Salmon-Recovery-Planning/ESA-Recovery-Plans/Draft-Plans.cfm

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rosemary Furfey, NMFS Lake Ozette 
Salmon Recovery Coordinator at 503-231-2149, or Elizabeth Gaar, NMFS 
Salmon Recovery Division at 503-230-5434.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Recovery plans describe actions beneficial to the conservation and 
recovery of species listed under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 
(ESA), as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). The ESA requires that 
recovery plans incorporate: (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. The ESA requires the 
development of recovery plans for each listed species unless such a 
plan would not promote its recovery.
    NMFS is responsible for developing and implementing ESA recovery 
plans for listed salmon and steelhead. In so doing, NMFS' goal is to 
restore endangered and threatened Pacific salmonids to the point that 
they are again self-sustaining members of their ecosystems and no 
longer need the protections of the ESA. NMFS believes it is critically 
important to base its recovery plans on the many state, regional, 
tribal, local, and private conservation efforts already underway 
throughout the region. This Plan is the product of a collaborative 
process initiated by NMFS and involving the participation and 
contributions of a wide group of private and governmental entities, 
citizens, and sovereigns (tribes) with the potential to contribute to 
recovery. In 2005, NMFS and the Lake Ozette Steering Committee 
(Steering Committee), an existing, locally based citizen group, began 
working together to write a draft recovery plan for Lake Ozette sockeye 
salmon. The goal was to produce a plan that meets ESA requirements for 
recovery plans as well as the State of Washington's recovery planning 
outline and guidance (www.governor.wa.gov/gsro/default/htm).
    The Steering Committee has met periodically since 1981 to discuss 
natural resource issues related to sockeye salmon. The Steering 
Committee is made up of representatives from the Makah and Quileute 
Tribes, Olympic National Park, Clallam County, local land owners, 
Washington Governor's Salmon Recovery Office, Washington Department of 
Fish and Wildlife, Washington Department of Natural Resources, NMFS, 
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, North Olympic Peninsula Lead 
Entity, private timber companies, and local citizens.

[[Page 21914]]

    Frequent Steering Committee meetings enabled NMFS and Puget Sound 
Technical Recovery Team members to share draft recovery plan products 
and seek Steering Committee review and comment as the draft plan was 
developed. In early 2007, the preliminary draft Lake Ozette Sockeye 
Limiting Factors Analysis (Haggerty et al., 2007) and NMFS' Status 
Report for Completing the Sockeye Recovery Plan were posted on the 
North Olympic Peninsula Lead Entity web page at noplegroup.org/NOPLE/pages/watersheds/OzetteLakeWatershedPage.htm.
    In addition to participating in frequent Steering Committee 
meetings during development of the draft recovery plan, NMFS 
periodically briefed staff or members of the following key stakeholder 
groups: Olympic National Park, Clallam County Commissioners and 
Planning Department, Makah Tribe, Quileute Tribe, Washington Forest 
Protection Association, Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary, Lake 
Ozette watershed private timber land managers, Lake Ozette watershed 
landowners, and North Olympic Peninsula Lead Entity.
    NMFS has appointed teams of scientists with expertise in salmon 
species to provide scientific support for recovery planning in the 
Northwest. These technical recovery teams (TRTs) include biologists 
from NMFS, state, tribal, and local agencies, academic institutions, 
and private consulting groups. The Puget Sound TRT provided two reports 
for the Lake Ozette sockeye salmon recovery planning process: (1) a 
description of the Lake Ozette sockeye salmon population (Currens et 
al., 2006) and (2) viability criteria for the sockeye (Rawson et al., 
2008). The team also reviewed the Lake Ozette Sockeye Limiting Factors 
Analysis (Haggerty et al., 2007) and the draft recovery plan in detail, 
and the Plan was revised accordingly.
    The proposed Plan is now available for public review and comment. 
The Limiting Factors Analysis and the two Puget Sound TRT reports, 
which provide the scientific basis for the Plan, are also available for 
public review and comment. With approval of the final Plan, NMFS 
commits itself to implement the actions in the Plan for which it has 
authority and funding, to work cooperatively on implementation of other 
actions, and to encourage other Federal agencies and tribal governments 
to implement Plan actions for which they have responsibility and 
authority. NMFS will also encourage the State of Washington to seek 
similar implementation commitments from state agencies and local 
governments. NMFS will seek opportunities to work with tribal 
governments on plan implementation to help the agency meet its trust 
and treaty responsibilities to the tribes. NMFS will encourage other 
Federal agencies to do the same when implementing programs that may 
affect trust and treaty resources.
    NMFS expects the Plan to help NMFS and other Federal agencies take 
a more consistent approach to future ESA section 7 consultations and 
other ESA decisions. For example, the Plan will provide greater 
biological context for the effects that a proposed action may have on 
the species. This context will be enhanced by adding recovery plan 
science to the ``best available information'' for section 7 
consultations as well as for ESA section 10 habitat conservation plans 
and other ESA decisions. Such information includes viability criteria 
for the ESU, better understanding of and information on limiting 
factors and threats facing the ESU, better information on priority 
areas for addressing specific limiting factors, and better geographic 
context for where the ESU can tolerate varying levels of risk.

The Plan

    Lake Ozette, its perimeter shore, and most of the Ozette River, 
which forms the outlet of the lake to the estuary and Pacific Ocean, 
are included in the 922,000-acre Olympic National Park. This Plan 
complements, recognizes, and works within the authorities of the 
Olympic National Park, Clallam County, the Forest Practices Habitat 
Conservation Plan, the Washington Department of Natural Resources 
Habitat Conservation Plan, and tribal trust and treaty rights, and does 
not augment or supersede these or other authorities.
    Lake Ozette sockeye salmon were listed under the Endangered Species 
Act (ESA) on March 25, 1999 (64 FR 14528) as a species threatened with 
extinction. The Lake Ozette Sockeye Salmon ESU is unique among other 
ESA-listed salmon in being made up of only one population with an 
inland range that is limited to a single freshwater watershed a short 
distance from the ocean. Furthermore, the Lake Ozette watershed has an 
unusual potential for protection and restoration of landscape processes 
to support long-term salmon survival, because it is relatively 
undeveloped, has a relatively low human population density, and the 
lake itself is located in the Olympic National Park.
    The Plan is based on a series of hypotheses about what is limiting 
the survival of Lake Ozette sockeye salmon. These hypotheses are based 
on the best available current knowledge about the Lake Ozette sockeye 
salmon, and are designed to be tested in the course of time through 
monitoring the fish, their environment, and the effects of the actions 
that may be taken to protect and improve the Lake Ozette sockeye's 
ecosystem and survival chances. The process of designing actions based 
on best available information, then monitoring the results to find out 
what works best and changing the actions as appropriate, is called 
adaptive management. The Plan is intended as a tool for adaptive 
management for Lake Ozette sockeye salmon recovery.

ESU Addressed and Planning Area

    The Plan is intended for implementation within the range of the 
Lake Ozette Sockeye Salmon ESU, which spawns in Lake Ozette or its 
tributaries, on the Olympic Peninsula at the western edge of Washington 
State. The Lake Ozette Sockeye Salmon ESU is made up of only one 
population (Currens et al., 2006), which currently contains five 
distinct spawning aggregations that are described in the Plan as 
subpopulations. The subpopulations can be grouped according to whether 
they spawn in tributaries or near lake beaches. Lake Ozette sockeye 
salmon are distinguished from other Washington sockeye salmon ESUs 
based upon unique genetic characteristics, early river entry, the 
relatively large adult body size, and large average smolt size relative 
to other coastal Washington sockeye salmon populations.
    Lake Ozette is situated on the coastal plain between the Pacific 
Ocean and the Olympic Mountains. The lake is approximately 8 miles 
(12.9 km) long from north to south and 2 miles (3.2 km) wide, 
irregularly shaped, and containing several bays, distinct points, and 
three islands. With a surface area of 11.8 mi2 (30.6 km2; 7,550 acres; 
3,056 ha), Lake Ozette is the third largest natural lake in Washington 
State. The Ozette River drains the lake from its north end and travels 
approximately 5.3 miles (8.5 km) along a sinuous course to the Pacific 
Ocean. The total drainage area of the Ozette watershed at the 
confluence with the Pacific Ocean is 88.4 mi2 (229 km2).
    Historically, the Ozette watershed supported thriving populations 
of sockeye salmon, which were an important element of the fisheries of 
the Makah and Quileute Tribes as well as an important subsistence 
species for early European-American settlers in the watershed. The peak 
harvest of 17,500 fish was recorded in 1949, but

[[Page 21915]]

abundance decreased rapidly in the following two decades. Because of 
declining numbers, tribal commercial harvest ceased in 1974 and all 
tribal ceremonial and subsistence harvest ceased in 1982.

The Plan's Recovery Goals and Recovery Criteria

    The Plan's goal is for the Lake Ozette sockeye salmon population to 
reach the point that it is naturally self-sustaining, no longer needs 
the protection of the Act, and can be delisted. In addition, a recovery 
plan can have ``broad-sense'' goals that may go beyond the requirements 
for delisting to acknowledge social, cultural, or economic values 
regarding the listed species. NMFS and the Lake Ozette Steering 
Committee crafted the following vision statement describing desirable 
future conditions for the Lake Ozette sockeye salmon and its human and 
biological setting:
    ``The naturally spawning Lake Ozette sockeye salmon population is 
sufficiently abundant, productive, and diverse (in terms of life 
histories and geographic distribution) to provide significant 
ecological, cultural, social, and economic benefits. Protection and 
restoration of ecosystems have sustained processes necessary to 
maintain sockeye as well as other salmon, steelhead, cutthroat trout, 
and other native fish and wildlife species. Community livability, 
economic well-being, and treaty-reserved fishing rights have benefited 
by balancing salmon recovery with management of local land use and 
fishery economies.''
    To meet the ESA requirement for objective, measurable criteria for 
delisting, the Plan provides biological recovery criteria based on the 
Puget Sound TRT viability criteria for Lake Ozette sockeye salmon as 
well as ``threats'' criteria based on the listing factors defined in 
ESA section 4(a)(1).

Biological Recovery Criteria

    The Puget Sound TRT provided viability criteria for Lake Ozette 
sockeye salmon in terms of the four ``viable salmonid population'' 
(VSP) parameters defined in a NMFS technical memorandum, Viable 
salmonid populations and the recovery of evolutionarily significant 
units (McElhany et al., 2000). The Puget Sound TRT's viability criteria 
for Lake Ozette sockeye salmon are as follows:
     Abundance: Between 35,500 and 121,000 adult spawners, over 
a number of years.
     Productivity (Growth Rate): Stable or increasing
     Spatial Structure: Multiple, persistent, and spatially 
distinct beach spawning aggregations, augmented by tributary spawning 
aggregations.
     Diversity: One or more persistent spawning aggregations 
from each major genetic and life history group historically present 
within that population. Maintain the distinctness between Lake Ozette 
sockeye salmon and kokanee.
    NMFS, in coordination with the Steering Committee, concluded that 
the Puget Sound TRT's viability criteria should be the biological 
recovery criteria of the plan.

Threats Criteria

    ``Threats'' are the human activities or natural events that cause 
the factors limiting a species' survival. For example, where high water 
temperatures are identified as a limiting factor, removal of riparian 
vegetation, which causes loss of shade and results in higher water 
temperatures, is categorized as a threat. The threats criteria define 
the conditions under which the listing factors, or threats, can be 
considered to be addressed or mitigated. Threats criteria are provided 
in Section 3.3.2 of the Plan.

Causes for Decline and Current Threats

    The 1999 listing of the Lake Ozette sockeye salmon as threatened 
under the ESA was primarily attributed to concerns about low abundance 
and effects of small population genetic and demographic variability. A 
more thorough identification of limiting factors is provided in the 
draft Lake Ozette Sockeye Limiting Factors Analysis (Haggerty et al., 
2007). Based on the best available information and analysis, the Lake 
Ozette Steering Committee's Technical Workgroup evaluated and rated 
each of the limiting factors hypotheses for its contribution to sockeye 
population or subpopulation mortality by life stage.
    Some limiting factors, habitat conditions, and life histories are 
shared among all subpopulations, while others vary. In the Limiting 
Factors Analysis, the subpopulations were grouped based on spawning 
environment, i.e., tributary vs. beach, and limiting factors were 
described in three categories: those affecting the entire population; 
those specific to beach spawners; and those specific to tributary 
spawners.
    Two limiting factors are hypothesized as having a high impact on 
all Lake Ozette sockeye salmon population segments: piscivorous fish 
predation on juveniles rearing in the lake, and general marine 
survival. Limiting factors with moderate impact on all population 
segments are marine mammal predation on adults re-entering the Ozette 
River and water quality in the Ozette River.
    Limiting factors hypothesized as having a high impact specifically 
on beach spawners are poor-quality spawning habitat, which decreases 
survival in the incubation-to-emergence life stage, and predation on 
adults, eggs, and newly emerged fry. Limiting factors with moderate 
impact on beach spawners are: seasonal lake level changes; water 
quality issues, including turbidity and fine sediment; and competition 
for good quality spawning habitat, which can result in redd 
superimposition and decreased egg-to-fry survival.
    Limiting factors hypothesized as having high impact specifically on 
tributary spawners are fine sediments, unstable channel, and other 
water quality issues that reduce spawning habitat quality and result in 
decreased egg-to-fry survival. High predation on fry during their 
emigration to the lake was identified as a limiting factor with 
moderate impact on tributary spawners.

Recovery Strategies and Actions

    The Plan recommends an overall recovery strategy based on current 
research about the relationships between watershed processes, land use, 
and freshwater habitat. This information is then related to what is 
known about sockeye salmon mortality by life stage, and to the 
hypothesized limiting factors. The result is a hierarchy of types of 
recovery strategies that can form the basis for setting priorities 
among potential actions.
    The first priority, and likely the most effective type of action, 
is to assess, protect, and maintain good quality habitat and the 
processes that create and maintain it. One example would be to protect 
currently used spawning areas. Another would be for willing landowners 
to protect forest or streamside areas with conservation easements, 
where trees could be allowed to grow large, mature, and eventually fall 
by natural forces, creating habitat conditions needed by sockeye 
salmon.
    Next in importance and certainty of effectiveness is reconnecting 
isolated habitat - for example, removing a blockage in the stream, thus 
allowing salmon more room to spawn and rear.
    Third is restoring biological processes of various kinds; this 
includes a wide range of potential actions. For example: restoring 
natural predator-prey balance by improving egg-to-fry survival and/or 
reducing non-native fish species by means of selective fishing; ceasing 
to remove large woody debris from

[[Page 21916]]

sections of the lower Ozette River; and assessing sources of sediment 
and reducing sediment production and delivery to streams.
    Directly restoring degraded habitat is of lower priority because it 
is more difficult, often more costly, and often effective only in the 
short term, compared to restoring the processes that create habitat and 
will continue creating properly functioning habitat over time. However, 
some direct actions, such as placing large woody debris in carefully 
chosen areas, will initiate biological processes that are likely to 
continue naturally. Creating new habitat is significantly more 
difficult than working to protect and restore existing habitat; 
creating new habitat is therefore of lowest priority, although in some 
circumstances it may be the only alternative.
    NMFS, with input from the Steering Committee, evaluated the sub-
basins in the Lake Ozette watershed for their importance as sockeye 
habitat. The Plan accordingly provides geographic priorities for 
recovery actions.
    Habitat, harvest, and hatchery factors affecting Lake Ozette 
sockeye salmon are included in the recovery strategies. Hatchery and 
harvest management issues are presented and addressed within the 
context of biological processes.
    NMFS and the Lake Ozette Steering Committee developed an extensive 
list of 121 potential projects/actions. The proposed actions are 
designed to address the full range of limiting factors for all life 
cycle stages of Lake Ozette sockeye salmon and are intended to improve 
the health and ecosystems of these fish.
    The proposed actions are in six categories:
     Fisheries management
     Habitat-related actions
     Hatchery supplementation
     Predation-related actions
     Research, monitoring, and adaptive management
     Public education and outreach
    The proposed recovery actions will need to be implemented in 
cooperation with all appropriate permitting authorities (including the 
Olympic National Park), and in the context of existing permits, 
regulations, agreements, and public processes.

Research, Monitoring, and Adaptive Management

    The Plan identifies the many knowledge gaps and uncertainties 
involved in designing recovery actions for the Lake Ozette sockeye 
salmon. Because the proposed recovery actions are based on hypotheses 
about the relationships between fish, limiting factors, human 
activities, and the environment, the Plan recommends research and 
monitoring to determine progress in recovery. Monitoring is the basis 
for adaptive management - the process of adjusting management actions 
and/or directions based on new information. Research, monitoring, and 
adaptive management are built into the Plan.

Time and Cost Estimates

    The ESA section 4(f)(1) requires that the recovery plan include 
``estimates of the time required and the cost to carry out those 
measures needed to achieve the Plan's goal and to achieve intermediate 
steps toward that goal'' (16 U.S.C. 1533[f][1]).
    Appendix E of the Plan provides cost estimates for actions where 
costs are available. Costs for actions that are being implemented as 
part of ongoing, existing programs are considered ``baseline'' and are 
not included in Appendix E as costs to recover sockeye salmon. During 
the public comment period, NMFS will work with regional experts to 
identify costs, scale, or unit costs for actions that require more 
information. Appendix E and the total cost estimate will be updated 
with this new information for the final recovery plan. The overall 
total cost to implement potential recovery actions for the first 10 
years of this plan is estimated to be about $46 million. Many of these 
are one-time costs. Approximately $100,000 represents ongoing, annual 
administrative or infrastructure costs that will likely continue for 
the duration of implementation of the recovery plan. Thus, it can be 
inferred that if recovery takes 50 years, another $4 million may be 
incurred over the long term to continue and maintain proposed habitat 
improvements.
    NMFS estimates that recovery of the Lake Ozette Sockeye Salmon ESU, 
like recovery for most of the ESA-listed salmon, could take 50 to 100 
years. Because many uncertainties exist about how sockeye salmon and 
their habitat will respond to recovery actions, the costs and recovery 
actions in this plan focus on the first 10 years of implementation. 
Actions and costs will be revised over time as part of adaptive 
management.
    Unlike other ESA-listed salmon species in Washington State, the 
Lake Ozette Sockeye Salmon ESU has not had a state-designated recovery 
board responsible for developing the recovery plan. Therefore, NMFS is 
working with the Lake Ozette Steering Committee and other entities such 
as the newly formed North Pacific Coast Lead Entity and the Washington 
Coast Sustainable Salmon Partnership to make an implementation plan. 
NMFS anticipates that the organizations potentially involved will 
choose to participate, in recognition of the shared benefits of habitat 
protection and restoration. A detailed implementation schedule and 
further details of an organizational approach to implementation will be 
produced in 2008 after the recovery plan is adopted.

Conclusion

    NMFS concludes that the Plan meets the requirements of ESA section 
4(f) and thus is proposing it as an ESA recovery plan.

Public Comments Solicited

    NMFS solicits written comments on the Proposed Plan. All comments 
received by the date specified above will be considered prior to NMFS' 
decision whether to approve the Plan. Additionally, NMFS will provide a 
summary of the comments and responses through its Northwest Region web 
site and provide a news release for the public announcing the 
availability of the response to comments. NMFS seeks comments 
particularly in the following areas: (1) the analysis of, and 
hypotheses concerning, limiting factors and threats; (2) the recovery 
objectives, strategies, and actions; (3) the criteria for removing the 
ESU from the Federal list of endangered and threatened wildlife and 
plants; and (4) estimates of time and cost to implement recovery 
actions, including the intent to be even more specific by soliciting an 
implementation schedule.

Literature Cited

    Currens, K.P., R. Fuerstenberg, W. Graeber, K. Rawson, M. 
Ruckelshaus, N.J. Sands, and J. Scott. 2006. Independent populations of 
sockeye salmon in Lake Ozette. Puget Sound Technical Recovery Team 
document. March 21, 2006. Northwest Fisheries Science Center. NOAA 
Fisheries Service. Seattle, WA. 20p. www.nwfsc.noaa.gov/trt/puget_docs
    Haggerty, M.J., A.C. Ritchie, J.G. Shellberg, M.J. Crewson, and J. 
Jolonen. 2007. Lake Ozette Sockeye Limiting Factors Analysis: Draft 8--
1. Prepared for the Makah Indian Tribe and NOAA Fisheries in 
cooperation with the Lake Ozette Sockeye Steering Committee. Port 
Angeles, WA.
    McElhany, P., M.H. Ruckelshaus, M.J. Ford, T.C. Wainwright, and 
E.P. Bjorkstedt. 2000. Viable salmon populations and the recovery of 
evolutionarily significant units. U.S.

[[Page 21917]]

Dept. of Commerce, NOAA Tech. Memo., NMFS-NWFSC-42, 156p.
    Rawson, K., N.J. Sands, K.P.Currens, W. Graeber, M. Ruckelshaus, R. 
Fuerstenberg, and J.B. Scott. 2008. Viability Criteria for the Lake 
Ozette Sockeye Salmon ESU. Puget Sound Technical Recovery Team 
document. Northwest Fisheries Science Center. NOAA Fisheries Service. 
Seattle, WA. 39p.

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

    Dated: April 17, 2008.
Marta Nammack,
Acting Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E8-8831 Filed 4-22-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S