[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 134 (Friday, July 12, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41911-41914]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-16710]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XC008


Endangered and Threatened Species; Recovery Plans

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

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: We, NMFS, announce the adoption of an Endangered Species Act 
(ESA) recovery plan for Lower Columbia River Chinook salmon 
(Oncoryhnchus tschawytscha), Lower Columbia coho salmon (O. kisutch), 
and Columbia River chum salmon (O. keta) evolutionarily significant 
units (ESUs) and the Lower Columbia River steelhead (O. mykiss) 
distinct population segment (DPS), all of which are listed as 
threatened under the ESA. The geographic area covered by the plan is 
the Lower Columbia River mainstem and tributaries downstream of (and 
including) the White Salmon River in Washington and the Hood River in 
Oregon. As required by the ESA, the plan contains objective, measurable 
delisting criteria, site-specific management actions necessary to 
achieve the plan's goals, and estimates of the time and costs required 
to implement recovery actions. The Endangered Species Act (ESA) 
Recovery Plan for Lower Columbia River Chinook Salmon, Lower Columbia 
River Coho Salmon, Columbia River Chum Salmon, and Lower Columbia River 
Steelhead (Plan) and our summary of and responses to public comments on 
the Proposed Plan are now available.

ADDRESSES: Electronic copies of the Plan and a summary of and response 
to public comments on the Proposed Plan are available on-line at http://www.nwr.noaa.gov/protected_species/salmon_steelhead/recovery_planning_and_implementation/lower_columbia_river/lower_columbia_river_recovery_plan_for_salmon_steelhead.html. A CD-ROM

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of these documents can be obtained by emailing a request to 
[email protected] with the subject line ``CD ROM Request for 
Lower Columbia Recovery Plan'' or by writing to NMFS Protected 
Resources Division, National Marine Fisheries Service, 1201 NE Lloyd 
Boulevard, Suite 1100, Portland, OR 97232.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Scott Rumsey, Branch Chief, 
Protected Resources Division, at (503) 872-2791, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    We are responsible for developing and implementing recovery plans 
for Pacific salmon and steelhead listed under the ESA of 1973, as 
amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). Recovery means that the listed 
species and their ecosystems are sufficiently restored, and their 
future secured, to a point that the protections of the ESA are no 
longer necessary. Section 4(f)(1) of the ESA requires that recovery 
plans include, to the extent practicable: (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.
    We believe it is essential to have local support of recovery plans 
by those whose activities directly affect the listed species and whose 
continued commitment and leadership will be needed to implement the 
necessary recovery actions. We therefore support and participate in 
locally led, collaborative efforts to develop salmon and steelhead 
recovery plans that involve state, tribal, and Federal entities, local 
communities, and other stakeholders. We review locally developed 
recovery plans to ensure that they satisfy the ESA requirements. We 
make the recovery plans, along with any additional plan elements needed 
to satisfy the ESA requirements, available for public review and 
comment before finalizing and formally adopting them as ESA recovery 
plans.
    In the Lower Columbia River, four salmon and steelhead species are 
listed as threatened: Lower Columbia River Chinook salmon, Lower 
Columbia River coho salmon, Columbia River chum salmon, and Lower 
Columbia River steelhead.
    Three geographically based, locally developed plans each address a 
different portion of these species' range. NMFS' science center and 
regional office staff were closely involved in the development of these 
local plans. We have reviewed the final versions of these local plans 
and have developed an ESU/DPS-level plan that synthesizes the local 
plans, incorporates them as appendices, and provides all additional 
material needed to meet the ESA requirements. We have determined that 
this ESA Recovery Plan for Lower Columbia River Chinook Salmon, Lower 
Columbia River Coho Salmon, Columbia River Chum Salmon, and Lower 
Columbia River Steelhead meets the statutory requirements for a 
recovery plan and are adopting it as the ESA recovery plan for these 
four threatened species.

Development of the Plan

    The initial technical foundation for this Plan was developed by the 
Willamette-Lower Columbia Technical Recovery Team. NMFS appointed 
Technical Recovery Teams to provide a solid scientific foundation for 
recovery plans. Scientists on these teams were nominated because of 
their geographic and species expertise. The Willamette-Lower Columbia 
Technical Recovery Team included biologists from NMFS, other federal 
agencies, states, tribes, academic institutions, and the private 
sector.
    A primary task for all the Technical Recovery Teams was to 
recommend criteria for determining when each component population with 
an ESU or DPS should be considered viable (i.e., when they have a low 
risk of extinction over a 100-year period) and when ESUs and DPSs have 
a risk of extinction consistent with no longer needing the protections 
of the ESA. All Technical Recovery Teams used the same biological 
principles for developing these recommendations; these principles are 
described in the NOAA technical memorandum Viable Salmonid Populations 
and the Recovery of Evolutionarily Significant Units (McElhany et al. 
2000).
    We also worked with state, tribal, local, and other federal 
entities to develop planning forums that built on ongoing locally led 
recovery efforts. We defined ``management units'' for these local 
efforts, based on jurisdictional boundaries as well as areas where 
discrete local planning efforts were under way. A recovery plan was 
developed for each management unit, either led by local groups with 
strong NMFS participation, or led by NMFS with extensive local 
participation. Management unit recovery planners adopted and built upon 
the work of the Technical Recovery Teams. The management unit plans for 
the Lower Columbia River Basin, which are incorporated as Appendices A 
through C of this Plan, are as follows:
    (1) Oregon Management Unit: The recovery plan for the Oregon 
management unit covers the portions of the Lower Columbia salmon ESUs 
and steelhead DPS that occur within Oregon. The Oregon Department of 
Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) led development of this plan in collaboration 
with NMFS and numerous stakeholders. The Lower Columbia River 
Conservation and Recovery Plan for Oregon Populations of Salmon and 
Steelhead (ODFW 2010) is incorporated into this Plan as Appendix A.
    (2) Washington Management Unit: The recovery plan for the 
Washington management unit covers the portions of the Lower Columbia 
salmon ESUs and steelhead DPS that occur in Washington within the 
planning area of the Lower Columbia Fish Recovery Board (LCFRB). The 
LCFRB was established by Washington State statute in 1998 to oversee 
and coordinate salmon and steelhead recovery efforts in the Lower 
Columbia region of Washington. The LCFRB led a collaborative process to 
develop the Washington Lower Columbia Salmon Recovery and Fish & 
Wildlife Subbasin Plan (LCFRB 2010). In February 2006 we approved the 
December 2004 version of the LCFRB plan as an interim regional recovery 
plan for the Washington management unit of the listed Lower Columbia 
River salmon ESUs and steelhead DPS. In May 2010, the LCFRB completed a 
revision of its earlier plan. That revised version is incorporated into 
this Plan as Appendix B.
    (3) White Salmon Management Unit: In the absence of an existing 
local planning forum for salmon recovery, we led the development of the 
White Salmon management unit plan in cooperation with local 
stakeholders. The plan covers the portions of the Lower Columbia 
Chinook, coho, and chum salmon ESUs that occur in the White Salmon 
River subbasin (Washington). The Lower Columbia steelhead DPS does not 
occur in the White Salmon River subbasin. (However, the White Salmon 
management unit plan does cover a steelhead population that is part of 
the Middle Columbia River Steelhead DPS, which is addressed in NMFS' 
Middle Columbia River Steelhead Distinct Population Segment ESA 
Recovery Plan [2009]). The ESA Salmon Recovery Plan for the White 
Salmon River Subbasin (NMFS 2011a) is incorporated into this Plan as 
Appendix C.
    After the management unit plans were completed, we developed an 
ESU/DPS-

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level document that synthesizes material from the management unit plans 
to demonstrate that recovery needs are being addressed at the ESU and 
DPS levels. We also incorporated delisting criteria into the Plan. In 
addition, to address recovery needs in the Lower Columbia River 
mainstem and estuary, we developed and incorporated the Columbia River 
Estuary ESA Recovery Plan Module for Salmon and Steelhead (NMFS 2011b) 
as Appendix D of this Plan. To address recovery needs related to the 
Columbia River Hydropower System, we incorporated the Recovery Plan 
Module: Mainstem Columbia River Hydropower Projects (NMFS 2008) as 
Appendix E of this Plan.

Contents of Plan

    The ESU/DPS-level portion of the Plan contains background and 
contextual information that includes descriptions of the ESUs and DPS 
addressed, the planning area, and the context of the plan's 
development. It presents relevant information on ESU and DPS structure, 
guidelines for assessing salmonid population and ESU/DPS-level status, 
and brief summaries of the Willamette-Lower Columbia Technical Recovery 
Team's products. It also contains summaries of the management unit 
plans' recovery goals, NMFS' delisting criteria for the ESUs and DPS, 
and a description of the methods used in the management unit plans to 
develop the principal plan components.
    For each species addressed, the Plan also summarizes the results of 
the management unit plan analyses and presents specific information on 
the following: population status; limiting factors and threats that 
have contributed to population declines; estimates of the impacts of 
six main categories of threats on population productivity; and a 
scenario of reductions in each of those threats that, if achieved, 
would likely improve the persistence probability of each population to 
a level consistent with recovery goals for the ESU or DPS.
    In addition, the Plan describes recovery strategies and actions for 
each ESU/DPS, critical uncertainties, and research, monitoring, and 
evaluation needs. It explains how management unit planners developed 
site-specific management actions and summarizes the time and costs 
required to implement those actions. It also describes how 
implementation, prioritization of actions, and adaptive management will 
proceed at both the ESU/DPS and management-unit scales. In addition to 
summary information presented in the Plan, readers are referred to 
specific sections of the management unit plans (Appendices A through C) 
and recovery plan modules (Appendices D and E) for more information on 
all these topics.

How NMFS and Others Expect To Use the Plan

    We commit to implementation of the actions in the Plan for which we 
have authority and funding; encourage other federal and state agencies 
and tribal governments to implement plan actions for which they have 
responsibility, authority, and funding; and work cooperatively with the 
public and local stakeholders on implementation of other actions. We 
expect the plan to guide us and other federal agencies in evaluating 
federal actions under ESA section 7, as well as in implementing other 
provisions of the ESA and other statutes. For example, the plan will 
provide greater biological context for evaluating the effects that a 
proposed action may have on a species by providing delisting criteria, 
information on priority areas for addressing specific limiting factors, 
and information on how populations within the ESUs and DPS can tolerate 
varying levels of risk.
    When we are considering a species for delisting, we will examine 
whether the ESA section 4(a)(1) listing factors have been addressed. To 
assist in this examination, we will use the delisting criteria 
described in Section 3.2 of the Plan, which include both biological 
criteria and criteria addressing each of the ESA section 4(a)(1) 
listing factors, as well as any other relevant data and policy 
considerations.
    At the management unit level, the LCFRB, ODFW, and the Washington 
Gorge Implementation Team, working with us, will develop implementation 
schedules that provide greater specificity for recovery actions to be 
implemented over three- to five-year periods. These entities also will 
coordinate the implementation of the recovery actions identified in the 
management unit plans and subsequent implementation schedules, and will 
track and report on implementation progress. Management unit planners 
and NMFS staff will work together to coordinate the implementation of 
recovery actions among federal, state, local, and tribal entities and 
stakeholders.

Public Comments Solicited

    Section 4(f) of the ESA, as amended in 1988, requires that public 
notice and an opportunity for public review and comment be provided 
prior to final approval of a recovery plan. Between May 16 and July 16, 
2012, we made the Proposed Plan--including the three management unit 
plans and two recovery plan modules, which were included as 
appendices--available for public review (77 FR 28855; May 16, 2012). In 
response to a stakeholder request, the public comment period was 
reopened between September 7 and October 9, 2012 (77 FR 55191; 
September 7, 2012).
    NMFS received a total of 17 comment letters on the Proposed Plan 
from a variety of sources, including local, state, and federal 
entities, tribal governments, nonprofit organizations, and individuals. 
Comments addressed both the Proposed Plan and the management unit plan 
for the White Salmon subbasin (NMFS 2013).
    We reviewed all comments for substantive issues and new information 
and have addressed them in a summary available on the Northwest Region 
Web site (http://www.nwr.noaa.gov/protected_species/salmon_steelhead/recovery_planning_and_implementation/lower_columbia_river/proposed_lower_columbia_river_recovery_plan_for_salmon_steelhead.html). We have revised the Plan and the White Salmon 
management unit plan as appropriate.

Conclusion

    Section 4(f)(1)(B) of the ESA requires that recovery plans 
incorporate, to the extent practicable, (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. 
We conclude that the Plan meets the requirements of ESA section 4(f) 
and adopt it as the ESA Recovery Plan for Lower Columbia River Chinook 
Salmon, Lower Columbia River Coho Salmon, Columbia River Chum Salmon, 
and Lower Columbia River Steelhead. NMFS has reviewed the Plan and 
public comments. Based on that review, NMFS concludes that the Plan 
meets the requirements in section 4(f) of the ESA for developing a 
recovery plan.

Literature Cited

Lower Columbia Fish Recovery Board (LCFRB). 2010. Washington Lower 
Columbia Salmon Recovery and Fish & Wildlife Subbasin Plan. Lower 
Columbia Fish Recovery Board, Washington. May 28, 2010.
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. Dept. of Commerce, NOAA

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Tech. Memo., NMFS NWFSC 42, 156 p.
National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). 2009. Middle Columbia 
River Steelhead Distinct Population Segment ESA Recovery Plan. 
Northwest Region. November 30, 2009.
National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). 2011a. Draft ESA Recovery 
Plan for the White Salmon River Subbasin. Northwest Region. December 
2011.
National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). 2011b. Columbia River 
Estuary ESA Recovery Plan Module for Salmon and Steelhead. Northwest 
Region. Prepared for NMFS by the Lower Columbia River Estuary 
Partnership (contractor) and PC Trask & Associates, Inc. 
(subcontractor). January 2011.
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. 2010. Lower Columbia River 
Conservation and Recovery Plan for Oregon Populations of Salmon and 
Steelhead. August 6, 2010.

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

    Dated: July 8, 2013.
Angela Somma,
Chief, Endangered Species Conservation Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2013-16710 Filed 7-11-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P