[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 193 (Friday, October 4, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53117-53119]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-21666]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XW008]


Endangered and Threatened Species; Initiation of 5-Year Reviews 
for 28 Listed Species of Pacific Salmon and Steelhead

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

ACTION: Notice of initiation of 5-year reviews; request for 
information.

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SUMMARY: We, NMFS, are announcing 5-year reviews of 28 species listed 
under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA). The listed 
species comprise 17 evolutionarily significant units (ESUs) of Pacific 
salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) and 11 distinct population segments (DPSs) 
of steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss). The purpose of these reviews is to 
ensure the accuracy of their listing classifications. The 5-year 
reviews will be based on the best scientific and commercial data 
available at the time of the reviews; therefore, we are requesting that 
interested parties submit new relevant information on these ESUs and 
DPSs that has become available since the last species status reviews in 
2016. Based on the results of these 5-year reviews, we will make the 
requisite determinations under the ESA.

DATES: To allow us adequate time to conduct these reviews, we must 
receive the new relevant information by close of business on March 27, 
2020.

ADDRESSES: You may submit information on this document, identified by 
NOAA-NMFS-2019-0097, by any of the following methods:
     Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal www.regulations.gov. To 
submit comments via the e-Rulemaking Portal, first click the ``submit a 
comment'' icon, then enter NOAA-NMFS-2019-0097 in the keyword search. 
Locate the document you wish to comment on from the resulting list and 
click on the ``Submit a Comment'' icon to the right of that line.
     Mail or Hand-delivery: Address comments to Robert Markle, 
NMFS, West Coast Region, 1201 NE Lloyd Blvd., Suite 1100, Portland, OR 
97232.
    Instructions: Comments must be submitted by one of the above 
methods to ensure that we can receive, document, and consider them. 
Comments sent by any other method, sent to any other address or 
individual, or received after the end of the comment period may not be 
considered. All comments received are a part of the public record and 
will generally be posted for public viewing on www.regulations.gov 
without change. All personal identifying information (e.g., name, 
address, etc.) submitted voluntarily by the sender will be publicly 
accessible. Do not submit confidential business information, or 
otherwise sensitive or protected information. We request that all 
information be accompanied by: (1) Supporting documentation such as 
maps, bibliographic references, or reprints of pertinent publications; 
and (2) the submitter's name, address, and any association, 
institution, or business that the person represents. NMFS will accept 
anonymous comments (enter ``N/A'' in the required fields if you wish to 
remain anonymous).
    Please note that submissions without supporting information--those 
merely stating support for or opposition to the action under 
consideration--will be noted but not used in making any listing 
determinations, as such comments do not represent actual scientific or 
commercial data.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert Markle at the above address, by 
phone at (503) 230-5419, or by email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 4(c)(2)(A) of the ESA requires that 
we conduct a review of listed species at least once every five years. 
On the basis of such reviews, we determine under section 4(c)(2)(B) 
whether a species should be delisted, or reclassified from endangered 
to threatened or from threatened to endangered.
    We will undertake reviews for the following 17 Pacific salmon ESUs: 
(1) Sacramento River winter-run Chinook salmon; (2) Upper Columbia 
River spring-run Chinook salmon; (3) Snake River spring/summer-run 
Chinook salmon; (4) Central Valley spring-run Chinook salmon; (5) 
California Coastal Chinook salmon; (6) Puget Sound Chinook salmon; (7) 
Lower Columbia River Chinook salmon; (8) Upper Willamette River Chinook 
salmon; (9) Snake River fall-run Chinook salmon; (10) Hood Canal 
summer-run chum salmon; (11) Columbia River chum salmon; (12) Central 
California Coast

[[Page 53118]]

coho salmon; (13) Southern Oregon/Northern California Coast coho 
salmon; (14) Lower Columbia River coho salmon; (15) Oregon Coast coho 
salmon; (16) Snake River sockeye salmon; and (17) Ozette Lake sockeye 
salmon. We will also undertake reviews for the following 11 steelhead 
DPSs: (1) Southern California steelhead; (2) Upper Columbia River 
steelhead; (3) Middle Columbia River steelhead; (4) Snake River Basin 
steelhead; (5) Lower Columbia River steelhead; (6) Upper Willamette 
steelhead; (7) South-Central California Coast steelhead; (8) Central 
California Coast steelhead; (9) Northern California steelhead; (10) 
California Central Valley steelhead; and (11) Puget Sound steelhead. 
Information about these 17 ESUs and 11 DPSs can be found on our West 
Coast regional website: http://www.westcoast.fisheries.noaa.gov.
    Our regulations for periodic reviews (50 CFR 424.21) require that 
we publish a notice in the Federal Register announcing those species 
currently under active review. This notice announces our active reviews 
of the ESUs and DPSs listed above. Any change in listing classification 
would require a separate rulemaking process.

Determining if a Species is Threatened or Endangered

    Section 4(a)(1) of the ESA requires that we determine whether a 
species is endangered or threatened based on one or more of the five 
following factors: (1) The present or threatened destruction, 
modification, or curtailment of its habitat or range; (2) 
overutilization for commercial, recreational, scientific, or 
educational purposes; (3) disease or predation; (4) the inadequacy of 
existing regulatory mechanisms; or (5) other natural or manmade factors 
affecting its continued existence. Section 4(b) also requires that our 
determination be made on the basis of the best scientific and 
commercial data available after taking into account those efforts, if 
any, being made to protect such species.

Application of the ESU and DPS Policies

    NMFS is responsible for determining whether species, subspecies, or 
DPSs of marine and anadromous species are threatened or endangered 
under the ESA. For Pacific salmon, we use our Policy on Applying the 
Definition of Species under the ESA to Pacific Salmon (ESU Policy) 
(November 20, 1991; 56 FR 58612) in determining the appropriate 
taxonomic unit for listing considerations. Under this policy, 
populations of salmon that are substantially reproductively isolated 
from other conspecific populations and that represent an important 
component in the evolutionary legacy of the biological species are 
considered to be an ESU. In our listing determinations for Pacific 
salmon under the ESA, we have determined that an ESU constitutes a DPS 
and may therefore be considered a ``species,'' under the ESA.
    For non-salmon species, including steelhead, NMFS applies the joint 
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service-NMFS DPS policy (February 7, 1996; 61 FR 
4722) in identifying the appropriate taxonomic unit for listing 
consideration. Under this policy, a DPS must be discrete from other 
conspecific populations, and it must be significant to its taxon. A 
group of organisms is discrete if it is ``markedly separated from other 
populations of the same taxon as a consequence of physical, 
physiological, ecological, and behavioral factors.'' Under the DPS 
Policy, if a population group is determined to be discrete, the agency 
must then consider whether it is significant to the taxon to which it 
belongs.
    Considerations in evaluating the significance of a discrete 
population include: (1) Persistence of the discrete population in an 
unusual or unique ecological setting for the taxon; (2) evidence that 
the loss of the discrete population segment would cause a significant 
gap in the taxon's range; (3) evidence that the discrete population 
segment represents the only surviving natural occurrence of a taxon 
that may be more abundant elsewhere outside its historical geographic 
range; or (4) evidence that the discrete population has marked genetic 
differences from other populations of the species.
    On June 28, 2005, we announced a final policy addressing the role 
of artificially propagated (hatchery-produced) Pacific salmon and 
steelhead in listing determinations under the ESA (70 FR 37204). 
Specifically, this policy (1) establishes criteria for including 
hatchery stocks in ESUs and DPSs; (2) provides direction for 
considering hatchery fish in extinction risk assessments of ESUs and 
DPSs; (3) requires that hatchery fish determined to be part of an ESU 
or DPS will be included in any listing decision; (4) affirms NMFS' 
commitment to conserving natural salmon and steelhead populations and 
the ecosystems upon which they depend; and (5) affirms NMFS' commitment 
to fulfilling trust and treaty obligations with regard to the harvest 
of some Pacific salmon and steelhead populations, consistent with the 
conservation and recovery of listed salmon and steelhead ESUs and DPSs.

Public Solicitation of New Relevant Information

    The 5-year reviews will consider the best scientific and commercial 
data available, particularly new information that has become available 
since the species' previous status reviews. Our Northwest and Southwest 
Fisheries Science Centers will assist the West Coast Region in 
gathering and analyzing this information. To ensure that the 5-year 
reviews are complete and based on the best available information, we 
are soliciting new information from the public, concerned governmental 
agencies, Native American tribes, the scientific community, industry, 
environmental entities, and any other parties interested in the status 
of the ESUs and DPSs listed above.
    Specifically, we are seeking new information (generated since 2015) 
on: (1) Population abundance; (2) population productivity; (3) changes 
in species distribution or spatial structure; (4) genetics or other 
indicators of diversity; (5) changes in habitat conditions and 
associated limiting factors and threats; (6) conservation measures that 
have been implemented that benefit the species--including data that 
demonstrate the effectiveness of such measures in addressing identified 
limiting factors or threats; (7) data concerning the status and trends 
of identified limiting factors or threats; (8) information that may 
affect determinations regarding the composition of an ESU or DPS; (9) 
information on hatchery program changes that may affect determinations 
regarding a program's ESU or DPS membership; (10) information on 
targeted harvest (commercial, tribal, and recreational) and bycatch of 
the species; and (11) any other new information, data, or corrections 
including, but not limited to, taxonomic or nomenclatural changes, 
identification of any erroneous information in the previous listing 
determinations, and improved analytical methods for evaluating 
extinction risk. Previous status reviews and supporting information are 
available on the internet at: https://www.westcoast.fisheries.noaa.gov/publications/status_reviews/salmon_steelhead/2016_status_review.html.
    If you wish to provide information for these 5-year reviews, see 
ADDRESSES for instructions.

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


[[Page 53119]]


    Dated: October 1, 2019.
Donna S. Wieting,
Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2019-21666 Filed 10-3-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P