[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 147 (Thursday, July 30, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45866-45867]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-16462]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XA317]


Endangered and Threatened Species; Take of Anadromous Fish

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

ACTION: Notice; availability of a draft Hatchery and Genetic Management 
Plan for public comment.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that NMFS has received a Hatchery and 
Genetic Management Plan (HGMP) outlining a program, operated by the 
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW), rearing and releasing 
Clackamas River spring Chinook salmon into the Clackamas, Willamette, 
and Lower Columbia River basins. This document serves to notify the 
public of the availability and opportunity to comment on a draft HGMP. 
The HGMP was submitted for review and determination under Limit 5 of 
the Endangered Species Act (ESA) 4(d) Rule for salmon and steelhead.

DATES: Comments must be received at the appropriate address (see 
ADDRESSES) no later than 5 p.m. Pacific time on August 31, 2020. 
Comments received after this date may not be considered.

ADDRESSES: Written responses should be addressed to the NMFS 
Sustainable Fisheries Division, 1201 NE Lloyd Blvd., Portland, OR 
97232. 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: Clackamas Hatchery Spring Chinook Comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James Archibald at (503) 230-5425 or 
by email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

ESA-Listed Species Covered in This Notice

 Lower Columbia River Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus 
tshawytscha): Threatened, naturally and artificially propagated
 Lower Columbia River Steelhead (O. mykiss): Threatened, 
naturally and artificially propagated
 Lower Columbia River Coho Salmon (O. kisutch): Threatened, 
naturally and artificially propagated
 Columbia River Chum Salmon (O. keta): Threatened, naturally 
and artificially propagated

Background

    Section 9 of the ESA and Federal regulations prohibit the 
``taking'' of a species listed as endangered or threatened. The term 
``take'' is defined under the ESA to mean harass, harm, pursue, hunt, 
shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect, or to attempt to engage 
in any such conduct. NMFS may make exceptions to the take prohibitions

[[Page 45867]]

in section 9 of the ESA for programs that are approved by NMFS under 
the 4(d) Rule (50 CFR 223.203(b)(6)).
    ODFW has submitted an HGMP for the Clackamas Hatchery Spring 
Chinook Salmon program in the Clackamas River basin under Limit 5 of 
the 4(d) Rule. This program is primarily funded by the National Marine 
Fishery Service through the Mitchell Act, and partially funded by the 
City of Portland and Portland General Electric.
    Prior to making a final determination on the submitted HGMP, NMFS 
must make it available for the public to have the opportunity comment 
on how the HGMP addresses the criteria in Limit 5 of the 4(d) Rule.
    The submitted HGMP describes the hatchery program along with the 
associated monitoring and evaluation activities. The program will begin 
to integrate natural-origin returning adults into the hatchery 
broodstock in order to promote an increase in genetic fitness and 
survivability. Through the use of a conservative sliding scale 
approach, the ODFW will incorporate a small percentage of natural-
origin returning adults. This integrated program will provide a much 
needed increase in genetic fitness to a highly domesticated hatchery 
stock that has struggled with precipitous declining returns for the 
last decade. ODFW hopes that this new management approach will 
supplement the much desired mark-selective Clackamas River spring 
Chinook salmon fishery. The program is intended to mitigate for fish 
losses caused by the construction and operation of the mainstem 
Columbia River and the Clackamas River dams by providing fishing 
opportunities for tribes and states, and to contribute to the survival 
and recovery of ESA-listed Lower Columbia River Chinook salmon.

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.; subpart B, Sec.  223.201-202 
also issued under 16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.

    Dated: July 23, 2020.
Angela Somma,
Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected Resources, 
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2020-16462 Filed 7-29-20; 8:45 am]
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