[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 35 (Tuesday, February 23, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8941-8942]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-03685]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XE453


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 NMFS evaluations of joint state/tribal 
hatchery plans and request for comment.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Washington Department of Fish 
and Wildlife (WDFW) and the Tulalip Tribes have submitted two Hatchery 
and Genetic Management Plans to NMFS, to be considered jointly pursuant 
to the limitation on take prohibitions for actions conducted under 
Limit 6 of the 4(d) Rule for salmon and steelhead promulgated under the 
Endangered Species Act (ESA). The plans specify the propagation of 
early-returning (``early'') winter steelhead in the Skykomish and 
Snoqualmie River watersheds of Washington State. This document serves 
to notify the public of the availability for comment of the Proposed 
Evaluation and Pending Determination of the Secretary of Commerce 
(Secretary) as to whether implementation of the joint plans will 
appreciably reduce the likelihood of survival and recovery of ESA-
listed Puget Sound steelhead and Puget Sound Chinook salmon. The 
Proposed Evaluation and Pending Determination may be accessed through 
the following web address: http://www.westcoast.fisheries.noaa.gov.

DATES: Comments must be received at the appropriate address or email 
mailbox (see ADDRESSES) no later than 5 p.m. Pacific time on March 24, 
2016.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the proposed evaluation and pending 
determination should be addressed to the NMFS Sustainable Fisheries 
Division, 510 Desmond Dr., Suite 103, Lacey, WA 98503. 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 Skykomish/
Snoqualmie Steelhead Hatchery Programs. Comments received will also be 
available for public inspection, by appointment, during normal business 
hours by calling (503) 230-5418.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

ESA-Listed Species Covered in This Notice

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

Background

    The WDFW and the Tulalip Tribes have submitted to NMFS plans for 
two jointly operated hatchery programs in the Skykomish and Snoqualmie 
River basins. The plans were submitted in November 2014, pursuant to 
limit 6 of the 4(d) Rule for salmon and steelhead. One of the plans was 
subsequently resubmitted in February 2016 in revised form in response 
to NMFS pre-consultation review comments. The hatchery programs would 
release early winter steelhead that are not included as part of the 
ESA-listed Puget Sound Steelhead DPS into two tributaries of the 
Skykomish River and one tributary of the Snoqualmie River. Both 
programs would release fish that are not native to the watersheds.
    As required by the ESA 4(d) rule (65 FR 42422, July 10, 2000, as 
updated in 70 FR 37160, June 28, 2005), the Secretary is seeking public 
comment on her pending determination as to whether the joint plans for 
early winter steelhead hatchery programs in the Skykomish River and 
Snoqualmie River watersheds would appreciably reduce the likelihood of 
survival and recovery of ESA-listed Puget Sound steelhead and Puget 
Sound Chinook salmon.
    This 4(d) Rule 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 artificial propagation activities if those activities are 
managed in accordance with a joint 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 limit 6 
of the 4(d) Rule, before the Secretary makes a decision on the joint 
plan, the public must have an opportunity to review and comment on the 
pending determination.

Authority

    Under section 4 of the ESA, the Secretary of Commerce is required 
to adopt such regulations as she 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, as updated in 70 FR 
37160, June 28, 2005) specifies categories of activities that 
contribute to the conservation of listed salmonids and sets out the 
criteria for such activities. Limit 6 of the updated 4(d) rule (50 CFR 
223.203(b)(6)) further provides that the

[[Page 8942]]

prohibitions of paragraph (a) of the updated 4(d) rule (50 CFR 
223.203(a)) do not apply to activities associated with a joint state/
tribal artificial propagation plan provided that the joint plan has 
been determined by NMFS to be in accordance with the salmon and 
steelhead 4(d) rule (65 FR 42422, July 10, 2000, as updated in 70 FR 
37160, June 28, 2005).

    Dated: February 17, 2016.
Perry F. Gayaldo,
Deputy Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2016-03685 Filed 2-22-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P