[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 36 (Wednesday, February 23, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10174-10175]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-03834]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XB736]


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 a Proposed Evaluation and Pending 
Determination and a draft Environmental Assessment; request for 
comments.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Hoopa Valley Tribe has 
provided a Tribal Resource Management Plan (TRMP) to NMFS pursuant to 
the limitation on take prohibitions for actions conducted under Tribal 
Plans promulgated under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The TRMP 
specifies harvest, research, and monitoring activities for tribal 
fisheries affecting ESA-listed Southern Oregon/Northern California 
Coast coho salmon in the portion of the Trinity River within the Hoopa 
Valley Reservation. NMFS has prepared a Proposed Evaluation and Pending 
Determination (PEPD) as to whether implementation of the TRMP will 
appreciably reduce the likelihood of survival and recovery of ESA-
listed salmon and steelhead and an Environmental Assessment (EA) on the 
NMFS determination. Notice is hereby given that the PEPD and EA are 
available for public review and comment prior to NMFS making a final 
determination.

DATES: Comments must be received at the appropriate address (see 
ADDRESSES) no later than 5 p.m. Pacific time on March 25, 2022. 
Comments received after this date may not be accepted.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted by email. The mailbox address for 
providing email comments is: [email protected]. In the 
subject line of the email, include the following identifier: ``Comments 
on Hoopa Tribal Fisheries Determination.'' The documents available for 
public comment can be found at: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/tribal-resource-management-plan-trmp-hoopa-valley-tribe.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Anthony Siniscal at 971-322-8407, or 
via email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

ESA Listed Species Covered in This Notice

    Southern Oregon/Northern California Coast Coho salmon (Oncorhynchus 
kisutch): Threatened, naturally produced, and artificially propagated.

Background

    The proposed TRMP provides a framework through which Tribal salmon 
fisheries can be implemented while meeting requirements specified under 
the ESA. Activities described in the plan include fisheries for coho 
salmon in the Trinity River. The TRMP describes the proposed fisheries, 
limits for harvest, and monitoring and evaluation associated with the 
fisheries. The management objective is for the Tribe to conduct 
fisheries in a manner that does not appreciably reduce the likelihood 
of survival and recovery of ESA-listed coho salmon.
    The Hoopa Valley Tribe submitted a TRMP for review under the ESA 
Tribal 4(d) Rule. Under section 4 of the ESA, the Secretary of Commerce 
(Secretary) is required to adopt such regulations as deemed necessary 
and advisable for the conservation of species listed as threatened. The 
ESA salmon and steelhead 4(d) rule (50 CFR 223.203; 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 thus are exempted from the ESA Section 9 take 
prohibitions. The ESA Tribal 4(d) Rule (50 CFR 223.204; 65 FR 42481, 
July 10, 2000) states that the take prohibitions of ESA Section 9 will 
not apply to Tribal Plans provided that the Secretary has determined 
that the Tribal Plan will not appreciably reduce the likelihood of 
survival and recovery for the listed species (50 CFR 223.204(a)). Prior 
to making a final determination on Tribal Plans, NMFS must take 
comments on its pending determination as to whether or not 
implementation of the plan will appreciably reduce the likelihood of 
survival and recovery of ESA-listed salmonids (50 CFR 223.204(b)(3)).


[[Page 10175]]


(Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.; 16 U.S.C. 742a et seq.)

    Dated: February 17, 2022.
Ngagne Jafnar Gueye,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2022-03834 Filed 2-22-22; 8:45 am]
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