[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 104 (Wednesday, May 30, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31835-31836]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-13117]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RIN 0648-XC049
Endangered and Threatened Species; Take of Anadromous Fish
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; availability of tribal harvest plan evaluation and
request for comment.
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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes have
submitted a Tribal Resource Management Plan (Tribal Plan) to NMFS
pursuant to the limitation on take prohibitions for actions conducted
under Tribal Plans promulgated under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
The Tribal Plan specifies the management of ceremonial and subsistence
fisheries in the Salmon River basin in the State of Idaho that
potentially affect Snake River salmon and steelhead listed as
threatened under the ESA. This document serves to notify the public of
the availability for comment of the proposed evaluation of the
Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) as to whether implementation of the
Tribal Plan will appreciably reduce the likelihood of survival and
recovery of Snake River salmon and steelhead.
This notice further advises the public of the availability for
review of an Environmental Assessment of the effects of the NMFS
determination on the subject Tribal Plan.
DATES: Comments must be received at the appropriate address or fax
number (see ADDRESSES) no later than 5 p.m. Pacific time on June 29,
2012.
[[Page 31836]]
ADDRESSES: Written comments on the application should be addressed to
the NMFS Salmon Management Division, 1201 NE. Lloyd Boulevard, Suite
1100, Portland, OR 97232, or faxed to 503-872-2737. Comments may be
submitted by email. The mailbox address for providing email comments
is: [email protected]. Include in the subject line of the
email comment the following identifier: Comments on Tribal fishery plan
in Idaho.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Enrique Pati[ntilde]o, at phone
number: (206) 526-4655, or email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Species Covered in This Notice
Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha): threatened, naturally
produced and artificially propagated Snake River spring/summer.
Chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha): threatened, naturally produced and
artificially propagated Snake River fall-run.
Steelhead (O. mykiss): threatened, naturally produced and
artificially propagated Snake River basin.
Sockeye (O. nerka): endangered, naturally produced and artificially
propagated Snake River.
The Shoshone-Bannock Tribes have submitted to NMFS a Tribal Plan
describing the management of ceremonial and subsistence fisheries in
the Salmon River basin in the State of Idaho. The objective of the
Tribal Plan is to harvest spring Chinook salmon in a manner that does
not appreciably reduce the likelihood of survival and recovery of the
ESU. Impact levels on the listed spring Chinook salmon populations in
the ESU are specified by a sliding-scale harvest rate schedule based on
run size and escapement needs as described in the Tribal Plan. The
Tribal Plan sets maximum harvest rates for each management unit or
population based on its status, and assures that those rates or
objectives are not exceeded. A variety of monitoring and evaluation
tasks to be conducted by the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes is specified in
the Tribal Plan to assess the abundance of spring Chinook salmon and to
determine fishery effort and catch. A comprehensive review of the
Tribal Plan to evaluate whether the fisheries and ESA-listed salmon and
steelhead populations are performing as expected will be done within
the proposed fishery season and at the end of the proposed season.
As required by the ESA 4(d) rule for Tribal Plans (65 FR 42481,
July 10, 2000), the Secretary is seeking public comment on his pending
determination as to whether the Tribal Plan for fisheries in the Salmon
River of Idaho by the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes would appreciably reduce
the likelihood of survival and recovery of the ESA-listed Snake River
salmon and steelhead.
Under section 4(d) of the ESA, the Secretary 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 for Tribal Plans adopting regulations necessary and
advisable to harmonize statutory conservation requirements with tribal
rights and the Federal trust responsibility to tribes (50 CFR 223.209).
This 4(d) Rule for Tribal Plans 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 if the
fisheries are managed in accordance with a Tribal Plan whose
implementation has been determined by the Secretary to not appreciably
reduce the likelihood of survival and recovery of the listed salmonids.
As specified in the Tribal 4(d) Rule, before the Secretary makes a
decision on the Tribal Plan, the public must have an opportunity to
review and comment on the pending determination.
Authority
Under section 4 of the ESA, the Secretary is required to adopt such
regulations as he deems necessary and advisable for the conservation of
the species listed as threatened. The ESA Tribal 4(d) Rule (50 CFR
223.209) states that the ESA section 9 take prohibitions will not apply
to Tribal Plans that will not appreciably reduce the likelihood of
survival and recovery for the listed species.
Dated: May 23, 2012.
Angela Somma,
Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected Resources,
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2012-13117 Filed 5-29-12; 8:45 am]
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