[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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