[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 246 (Friday, December 21, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 75611-75612]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-30834]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 06048-XC401


Endangered and Threatened Species; Take of Anadromous Fish

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

ACTION: Notice of final determination and discussion of underlying 
biological analysis.

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SUMMARY: NMFS has evaluated the joint resource management plan (RMP), 
represented by five Hatchery and Genetic Management Plans (HGMPs), 
submitted by the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe and the Washington 
Department of Fish and Wildlife to NMFS pursuant to the limitation on 
take prohibitions for actions conducted under Limit 6 of the ESA 4(d) 
Rule for salmon and steelhead promulgated under the Endangered Species 
Act (ESA). The plans specify the propagation of five species of salmon 
and steelhead in the Elwha River of Washington state. This document 
serves to notify the public that NMFS, by delegated authority from the 
Secretary of Commerce, has determined pursuant to Limit 6 of the 4(d) 
rule for salmon and steelhead that implementing and enforcing the RMP 
will not appreciably reduce the likelihood of survival and recovery of 
the Puget Sound Chinook salmon and Puget Sound steelhead.

DATES: The final determination on the take limit was made on December 
10, 2012.

ADDRESSES: Written responses to the determination should be sent to the 
Salmon Management Division, 1201 NE. Lloyd Boulevard, Suite 1100, 
Portland, OR 97232.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tim Tynan at (360) 753-9579 or email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

ESA-Listed Species Covered in This Notice

    Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha): Threatened, Puget Sound, 
naturally produced and artificially propagated.
    Steelhead (O. mykiss): Threatened, Puget Sound, naturally produced 
and artificially propagated.

Background

    The plans describe hatchery operations intended to protect five 
species of salmon and steelhead (two of them ESA-listed) during the 
removal of two dams on the Elwha River, and subsequent propagation 
intended to enhance the rebuilding of those salmonids species. Four of 
the plans are submitted by the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, and one by 
the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW); the plans were 
developed jointly by the Tribe and the WDFW. NMFS has determined that 
implementing and enforcing the RMP will not appreciably reduce the 
likelihood of survival and recovery of ESA-listed Puget Sound Chinook 
salmon or Puget Sound steelhead.
    As required by Sec.  223.203(b)(6) of the ESA 4(d) rule, NMFS must 
determine pursuant to 50 CFR 223.209 and pursuant to the government-to-
government processes therein whether the RMP for Elwha River basin 
hatcheries would appreciably reduce the likelihood of survival and 
recovery of the Puget Sound Chinook Salmon ESU or Puget Sound Steelhead 
DPS. NMFS must take comments on how the RMP addresses the criteria in 
Sec.  223.203(b)(5) in making that determination.

Discussion of the Biological Analysis Underlying the Determination

    The proposed hatchery activities described in the RMP are intended 
to conserve salmon and steelhead populations in the Elwha River basin 
during operations to remove two dams on the Elwha River, and for a 
period of time after the dams have been removed, as the environment 
improves. The RMP provides the framework through which the Tribal and 
the State of Washington can jointly manage Elwha River salmon and 
steelhead hatchery, monitoring, and evaluation activities while meeting 
requirements specified under the ESA. The proposed action covers 
continued operation of the five hatchery programs over the initial 
phases of fish restoration in the Elwha River--the preservation and 
recolonization phases--with transitions between phases gauged by

[[Page 75612]]

achievement of population viability parameters for listed Chinook 
salmon and steelhead. The programs would continue to be operated to 
minimize any impacts on genetic integrity of the natural salmon and 
steelhead populations while providing the intended benefits. The 
benefits include preserving and assisting in the recolonization of 
Elwha River salmon and steelhead during, and for a period following, 
dam removal when natural productivity conditions will be poor.
    The hatchery programs would add marine-derived nutrients to the 
aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems above Glines Canyon Dam, which have 
been inaccessible to salmon and steelhead since the early 1900s. The 
programs would increase total and natural-origin abundance and spatial 
structure of the Chinook salmon population as hatchery-origin fish 
return to spawn naturally with wild fish and new habitat becomes 
available. The hatchery programs would protect the Elwha River salmon 
and steelhead populations when turbidity levels are high and 
detrimental to natural-origin fish survival due to dam removal 
activities. The proposed plans are interrelated and interdependent 
through shared population preservation and recolonization objectives 
and effects, broodstock collection locations and actions, fish rearing 
and release sites, monitoring and evaluation actions, and funding 
sources.
    The RMP includes provisions for annual reports that will assess 
compliance with performance standards established through the RMP. 
Reporting and inclusion of new information derived from RMP research, 
monitoring, and evaluation activities provides assurance that 
performance standards will be achieved in future seasons. NMFS' 
evaluation is available on the NMFS Northwest Region Web site at http://www.nwr.noaa.gov.

Summary of Comments Received in Response to the Proposed Evaluation and 
Pending Determination

    NMFS published notice of its proposed evaluation and pending 
determination on the RMP for public review and comment on October 16, 
2012 (77 FR 63294). The proposed evaluation and pending determination 
and an associated draft environmental assessment were available for 
public review and comment for 30 days.
    NMFS received four sets of comments: Three from Tribal 
organizations and one on behalf of several environmental groups. 
Several comments were addressed in NMFS' final Evaluation and 
Recommended Determination document, but no substantive changes to the 
RMP were required. A detailed summary of the comments and NMFS' 
responses is also available on the NMFS Northwest Region Web site. 
Based on its evaluation and recommended determination and taking into 
account the public comments, NMFS issued its final determination on the 
Elwha River basin salmon and steelhead hatchery RMP.

Authority

    Under section 4 of the ESA, the Secretary of Commerce is required 
to adopt such regulations as he deems necessary and advisable for the 
conservation of species listed as threatened. The ESA salmon and 
steelhead 4(d) rule (65 FR 42422, July 10, 2000) specifies categories 
of activities that contribute to the conservation of listed salmonids 
and sets out the criteria for such activities. The rule further 
provides that the prohibitions of paragraph (a) of the rule do not 
apply to actions undertaken in compliance with an RMP developed jointly 
by the State of Washington and the Tribe and determined by NMFS to be 
in accordance with the salmon and steelhead 4(d) rule (65 FR 42422, 
July 10, 2000).

    Dated: December 17, 2012.
Angela Somma,
Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected Resources, 
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2012-30834 Filed 12-20-12; 8:45 am]
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