[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 241 (Thursday, December 15, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 90784-90785]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-30180]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XF75


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 evaluation 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 and the Tulalip Tribes have submitted six Hatchery and 
Genetic Management Plans, to be considered jointly, to NMFS 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 
three species of salmon in the Snohomish River basin of Washington 
State. This document serves to notify the public of the availability 
for comment of the proposed evaluation of the Secretary of Commerce

[[Page 90785]]

(Secretary) as to whether implementation of the joint plans will 
appreciably reduce the likelihood of survival and recovery of ESA-
listed Puget Sound Chinook salmon and Puget Sound steelhead.
    This notice further advises the public of the availability for 
review of a draft Environmental Assessment of the effects of the NMFS 
determination on the subject joint plans.

DATES: Comments must be received at the appropriate address or fax 
number (see ADDRESSES) no later than 5:00 p.m. Pacific time on January 
17, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the proposed evaluation and pending 
determination should be addressed to the Tim Tynan, NMFS Sustainable 
Fisheries Division, 510 Desmond Drive, 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 
Snohomish River hatchery programs. The documents are available on the 
Internet at www.westcoast.fisheries.noaa.gov. Comments received will 
also be available for public inspection, by appointment, during normal 
business hours by calling (360) 753-9579.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

ESA-Listed Species Covered in This Notice

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

Background

    The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Tulalip 
Tribes have submitted to NMFS plans for six jointly operated hatchery 
programs in the Snohomish River region. The plans were submitted from 
December 2012 to September 2016, pursuant to limit 6 of the 4(d) Rule 
for ESA-listed salmon and steelhead. The hatchery programs release ESA-
listed Chinook salmon and non-listed coho and fall chum salmon into the 
Snohomish River basin and nearby.
    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 
hatchery programs in the Snohomish River basin would appreciably reduce 
the likelihood of survival and recovery of the ESA-listed Puget Sound 
salmon and steelhead.

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 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: December 12, 2016.
Donna S. Wieting,
 Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2016-30180 Filed 12-14-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P