[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 241 (Thursday, December 15, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 90780-90781]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-30126]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XE231


Endangered and Threatened Species; Recovery Plan for Oregon Coast 
Coho Salmon ESU

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

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) announces the 
adoption of a Final Endangered Species Act (ESA) recovery plan (Plan) 
for the Oregon Coast Coho Salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) evolutionarily 
significant unit (ESU) which is listed as threatened under the ESA. The 
geographic area covered by the Plan is the Pacific Ocean and freshwater 
habitat (rivers, streams and lakes) from the Necanicum River near 
Seaside, Oregon, on the northern end to the Sixes River near Port 
Orford, Oregon on the south. The objective of the Plan is to provide a 
guidance framework for restoring the threatened Oregon Coast Coho 
Salmon ESU to the point where it no longer needs the protections of the 
ESA. As required under 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 Plan is now available.

ADDRESSES: Electronic copies of the Plan and the Response to Comments 
are available online at: www.westcoast.fisheries.noaa.gov/protected_species/salmon_steelhead/recovery_planning_and_implementation/oregon_coast/oregon_coast_recovery_plan.html. A CD ROM of the Plan can be obtained 
by emailing a request to Nancy Johnson with the subject line ``CD ROM 
Request for Oregon Coast Coho Salmon Recovery Plan'', by phone at (503) 
230-5442, by email at [email protected], or by writing to NMFS 
Oregon Washington Coastal Office, 1201 NE Lloyd Blvd., Suite 1100, 
Portland, Oregon 97232 ATTN: Recovery Coordinator.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert Walton, NMFS Oregon Coast Coho 
Salmon Recovery Coordinator, at (503) 231-2285, or [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 the point that the protections of the ESA are no 
longer necessary. See 50 CFR 424.11(d)(2). Section 4(f) (1) of the ESA 
requires that recovery plans include, to the maximum 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. The ESA requires the development of 
recovery plans for each listed species unless such a plan would not 
promote its recovery.
    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 recovery plans that 
involve state, tribal, and Federal entities, local communities, and 
other stakeholders.
    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. We published a Notice of 
Availability of the Draft Plan in Federal Register on October 13, 2015. 
(80 FR 61379). In response to requests, we extended the public comment 
period until December 31, 2015 to provide additional opportunity for 
public comment. We received extensive comments on the Proposed Plan, 
summarized the comments and revised the Proposed Plan based on the 
comments received, and this final version now constitutes the Recovery 
Plan for the Oregon Coast coho salmon ESU. In brief, we revised several 
important sections (including the delisting criteria and implementation 
chapters), clarified a number of issues, and added information provided 
by commenters, including a number of new initiatives by the state of 
Oregon. We have determined that this ESA Recovery Plan for Oregon Coast 
Coho Salmon meets the statutory requirements for a recovery plan.

[[Page 90781]]

The Final Plan

    For the purpose of recovery planning for the ESA-listed species of 
Pacific salmon and steelhead in Idaho, Oregon and Washington, NMFS 
designated five geographically based ``recovery domains.'' The Oregon 
Coast Coho Salmon ESU spawning range is in the Oregon Coast domain. For 
each domain, NMFS appointed a team of scientists, nominated for their 
geographic and species expertise, to provide a solid scientific 
foundation for recovery plans. The Oregon and Northern California 
Coasts Technical Recovery Team (TRT) included scientists from NMFS, 
other Federal agencies, the state of Oregon, and the private sector.
    A primary task for the Oregon and Northern California Coasts 
Technical Recovery Team was to recommend criteria for determining when 
the ESU should be considered viable (i.e., when they are have a low 
risk of extinction over a 100-year period) and when the ESU would 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 their recommendations; these principles are 
described in the NOAA technical memorandum Viable Salmonid Populations 
and the Recovery of Evolutionarily Significant Units (McElhany et al., 
2000). Viable salmonid populations (VSP) are defined in terms of four 
parameters: abundance, productivity or growth rate, spatial structure, 
and diversity.
    For this Plan, we collaborated with state, tribal and Federal 
scientists and resource managers and stakeholders to provide technical 
information that NMFS used to write the Plan which is built upon state 
and locally-led recovery efforts.

Contents of Plan

    Our goal is to restore the threatened Oregon Coast Coho Salmon ESU 
to the point where it is again a viable, self-sustaining member of its 
ecosystem and no longer needs the protections of the ESA. The Plan 
contains biological background and contextual information that includes 
description of the ESU, the planning area, and the context of the 
plan's development. It presents relevant information on ESU structure, 
biological status and proposed biological viability criteria and 
threats criteria for delisting.
    The Plan also describes specific information on the following: 
Current status of Oregon Coast Coho Salmon; limiting factors and 
threats for the full life cycle that contributed to the species 
decline; recovery strategies and actions addressing these limiting 
factors and threats; key information needs, and a proposed research, 
monitoring, and evaluation program for adaptive management. For 
recovery strategies and actions, Chapter 6 in the Plan includes 
proposed actions at the ESU and strata levels. Population level 
information will be posted on the recovery plan Web site (see below). 
The Plan also describes implementation, prioritization of actions, and 
adaptive management at the population, strata, and ESU scales. The Plan 
also summarizes time and costs (Chapter 7) required to implement 
recovery actions. In addition to the information in the Plan, readers 
are referred to the recovery plan Web site for more information on all 
these topics: http://www.westcoast.fisheries.noaa.gov/protected_species/salmon_steelhead/recovery_planning_and_implementation/.

How NMFS and Others Expect To Use the Plan

    We will commit to implement the actions in the Plan for which we 
have authority and funding; encourage other Federal and state agencies 
and tribal governments to implement recovery 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 
provides 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 future populations within the ESU can tolerate 
varying levels of risk.
    When we are considering a species for delisting, the agency will 
examine whether the section 4(a)(1) listing factors have been 
addressed. To assist in this examination, we will use the delisting 
criteria described in Chapter 4 of the Plan, which includes 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.
    We will also work with the partners described in the Plan to 
develop implementation schedules that provide greater specificity for 
recovery actions to be implemented over three-to five-year periods. 
This will also help promote implementation of recovery actions and 
subsequent implementation schedules, and will track and report on 
implementation progress.

Conclusion

    Section 4(f)(1)(B) of the ESA requires that recovery plans 
incorporate, to the maximum 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 Oregon Coast 
Coho Salmon.

Literature Cited

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 Tech. Memo., NMFS NWFSC 42, 156 p.


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

    Dated: December 12, 2016.
Donna Wieting,
Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2016-30126 Filed 12-14-16; 8:45 am]
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