[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 127 (Friday, July 1, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43187-43188]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-15688]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
RIN 0648-XE317
Notice of Intent to Prepare a Joint Environmental Impact
Statement for a Programmatic Review of Harvest Actions for Salmon and
Steelhead in the Columbia River Basin Related to U.S. v. Oregon
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce; and United States Fish and
Wildlife Service (USFWS), Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), this
notice announces that NMFS and USFWS (together, the Services) intend to
prepare a joint Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) conducting a
programmatic review of harvest actions for salmon and steelhead in the
action area, which is the Columbia River Basin (the Proposed Action),
to inform the Services' proposed signing of the post-2017 U.S. v.
Oregon Management Agreement and the Endangered Species Act (ESA)
Section 7 consultation process. The Services provide this notice to
advise other agencies and the public of their plans to analyze effects
related to the action and to obtain suggestions and information that
may be useful to the scope of issues and alternatives to include in the
EIS.
DATES: Written or electronic scoping comments must be received at the
appropriate address or email mailbox (see ADDRESSES) on or before
August 1, 2016.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by one of the following methods:
Email: [email protected] and/or [email protected].
Mail: William W. Stelle, Jr., Regional Administrator, West
Coast Region, NMFS, 7600 Sand Point Way NE., Seattle, WA 98115-6349;
and/or Theresa Rabot, Deputy Regional Director, Pacific Region, U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, 911 NE. 11th Avenue, Portland, OR 97232.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Peggy Mundy, NMFS West Coast Region,
telephone: 206-526-4323, email: [email protected]; or Mark
Bagdovitz, USFWS, Pacific Region, telephone: 503-736-4711, email:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The States of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho; the Nez Perce Tribe,
the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, the
Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon, the
Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation (collectively, the
Columbia River Treaty Tribes); the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes; and the
United States (as represented by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the
Services) (hereafter ``Parties''), are parties to U.S. v. Oregon, Civ.
No. 68-513-KI, (D. Or.). A management agreement for managing and
regulating fisheries in the Columbia River Basin, entered as a court
order in 2008, expires December 31, 2017. The Parties are negotiating a
new agreement that would take effect when the existing agreement
expires. The new agreement would include a list of hatchery programs
with stipulated production levels, and a list of Tribal and non-Tribal
salmonid
[[Page 43188]]
fisheries in the Columbia River Basin, including designated off-channel
sites, which are intended to: (1) Ensure fair sharing of harvestable
fish between tribal and non-tribal fisheries in accordance with Treaty
fishing rights standards and U.S. v. Oregon, and (2) be responsive to
the needs of ESA-listed species. While the agreement includes a
hatchery production component, the NEPA analysis of hatchery production
within the action area has been completed, or will be supplemented, in
a separate EIS that will be incorporated by reference in this EIS.
Consequently, the Proposed Action in this EIS analysis focuses on
harvest. Construction of new hatchery facilities to mitigate impacts to
fisheries from The Dalles Dam and John Day Dam hydropower operations is
being analyzed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in a separate
analysis, which will also be incorporated by reference into this
analysis.
Environmental Impact Statement
NEPA (42 U.S.C. Sec. 4321 et seq.) requires that Federal agencies
conduct an environmental analysis of their Proposed Actions to
determine if the actions may significantly affect the human
environment. The Services have determined that an EIS should be
prepared under NEPA for the purpose of informing the Services' proposed
signing of the new agreement. The information and analysis in the EIS
will help to inform the subsequent ESA Section 7 consultation on the
new agreement. The Services will prepare the EIS as joint lead agencies
(40 CFR Sec. Sec. 1501.5, 1508.16) in consultation with the Treaty
Tribes pursuant to the Federal trust responsibility, Secretarial Order
3206, and Executive Order 13175. We will prepare an EIS in accordance
with NEPA requirements, as amended (40 U.S. C. Sec. 4321 et seq.);
NEPA implementing regulations (40 CFR Sec. Sec. 1500-1508); and other
Federal laws, regulations, and policies.
The Services' purpose and need for the Proposed Action is three-
fold: (1) To meet the Federal government's tribal treaty rights and
trust and fiduciary responsibilities; (2) to support fishing
opportunities to the states of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, and the
tribes; and (3) to work collaboratively with co-managers to protect and
conserve ESA-listed and non-listed species.
Development of Initial Alternatives
The Services have preliminarily identified the following six
alternatives for the public to consider. The preferred alternative will
be developed to reflect a policy direction that would be compatible
with the Purpose and Need indicated above.
No-action Alternative (status quo): Under this alternative, the
Services would not sign a new agreement, and the parties would continue
to manage salmonid fisheries in the Columbia River consistent with the
terms of the 2008-2017 agreement. A No-action Alternative is required
in the full range of analyzed alternatives.
Abundance-based Management Alternative: Under this alternative, the
Services would sign a new agreement with the other parties, and
salmonid fisheries in the Columbia River would be managed under an
abundance-based management framework.
Fixed Exploitation Rate Management Alternative: Under this
alternative, the Services would sign a new agreement with the other
parties, and salmonid fisheries in the Columbia River would be managed
under a fixed exploitation rate management framework.
Escapement-based Management Alternative: Under this alternative,
the Services would sign a new agreement with the other parties, and
salmonid fisheries in the Columbia River would be managed under an
escapement-based management framework.
Fixed Effort-based Management Alternative: Under this alternative,
the Services would sign a new agreement with the other parties, and
salmonid fisheries in the Columbia River would be managed under a fixed
effort management framework.
No Fisheries Alternative: Under this alternative, the Services
would sign a new agreement with the other parties; however, the parties
would decide that salmonid fisheries would not be allowed in the
Columbia River. Although this alternative does not meet the purpose and
need for the Proposed Action, it is included to provide a full range of
alternatives for analysis.
Request for Comments
The Services request data, comments, pertinent information, or
suggestions from the public, other concerned governmental agencies, the
scientific community, tribes, the business community, or any other
interested party regarding the Proposed Action discussed in this
notice. We will consider all comments we receive in complying with the
requirements of NEPA. We particularly seek specific comments
concerning:
(1) The direct, indirect, and cumulative effects that
implementation of any reasonable alternative could have on endangered
and threatened species, and other non-ESA-listed species and their
habitats;
(2) Other reasonable alternatives (in addition to the initial
alternatives presented in this notice), and their associated effects;
(3) Measures that would minimize and mitigate potentially adverse
effects of the proposed actions;
(4) Other plans or projects that might be relevant to this project.
The EIS will analyze the effects that the various alternatives
would have on salmon and steelhead and other fish species in the
Columbia River Basin as well as the other aspects of the human
environment, including but not limited to, water quality, habitat,
wildlife (ESA-listed and non-ESA-listed), vegetation, socioeconomics
(including fishery dependent communities and culture and economic
impacts), environmental justice, cultural resources, transportation,
and the cumulative impacts of the alternatives.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.
Dated: June 27, 2016.
Angela Somma,
Chief, Endangered Species Division, National Marine Fisheries Service,
Protected Resources.
Dated: June 22, 2016.
Robyn Thorson,
Regional Director, Pacific Region, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
Portland, Oregon.
[FR Doc. 2016-15688 Filed 6-30-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P; 4333-15-P