[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 191 (Tuesday, October 4, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60126-60128]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-21482]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XC424]


Endangered and Threatened Species; Take of Anadromous Fish

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

ACTION: Notice; determination on hatchery and genetic management plans 
and availability of the associated Findings of No Significant Impact 
(FONSIs).

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that NMFS has made determinations on 12 
resource management plans in the form of joint tribal and state 
Hatchery and Genetic Management Plans (HGMPs) that were submitted in 
three bundles (Lake Washington HGMPs, Hood Canal HGMPs, and Hood River 
HGMPs) and four state HGMPs (Mid-Columbia HGMPs). NMFS also announces 
its issuance of Final Environmental Assessments (FEAs) and Findings of 
No Significant Impact (FONSIs) for the 11 hatchery programs in Mid-
Columbia River, Hood River, and Lake Washington.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Allyson Purcell, at phone number: 
(503) 736-4736, or via email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Before making its final determinations, NMFS 
solicited and took into account public comments for how the plans 
address the criteria in Sec.  223.203(b)(5). The determinations 
announced in this notice consist of NMFS' findings as to whether the 
plans submitted to NMFS meet the regulatory criteria.

Species Covered in This Notice

 Lower Columbia River Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus 
tshawytscha): threatened, naturally and artificially propagated
 Middle Columbia River Steelhead (O. mykiss): 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
 Puget Sound Chinook Salmon (O. tshawytscha): threatened, 
naturally and artificially propagated
 Puget Sound Steelhead (O. mykiss): threatened, naturally 
propagated
 Hood Canal Summer Chum Salmon (O. keta): threatened, naturally 
propagated.

Discussion of the Biological Analysis Underlying the Determinations

Mid-Columbia HGMPs

    The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the 
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) submitted the Touchet 
River Endemic Summer Steelhead HGMP. The Oregon Department of Fish and 
Wildlife (ODFW) submitted the Umatilla River Summer Steelhead HGMP, the 
Round Butte Hatchery Spring Chinook Salmon HGMP, and the Round Butte 
Hatchery Summer Steelhead HGMP. The Umatilla Hatchery program is funded 
by the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), as well as a small 
proportion of the Round Butte Hatchery programs, with the remainder of 
these programs funded by Portland General Electric (PGE).
    Touchet River: The Touchet Endemic Steelhead Program is intended to 
conserve ESA-listed summer steelhead in the Touchet River, Washington, 
while also providing harvest opportunities and mitigating some of the 
effects of the development and operation of the Federal Columbia River 
Power System (FCRPS) in the Snake River Basin on fish and wildlife 
under the Lower Snake River Compensation Plan.

[[Page 60127]]

    Umatilla River: The Umatilla River Steelhead Program is intended to 
conserve ESA-listed summer steelhead in the Umatilla River, Oregon, 
while also providing harvest opportunities. The BPA funds the program 
to mitigate for the effects of the development and operation of the 
FCRPS on fish and wildlife in the Columbia River and its tributaries 
under the Pacific Northwest Electric Power Planning and Conservation 
Act of 1980 (Northwest Power Act; 16 U.S.C. 839 et seq.) in a manner 
consistent with the Northwest Power and Conservation Council's Columbia 
River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program. The BPA also funds the program 
to fulfill commitments to the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla 
Indian Reservation (CTUIR) related to proposed projects that are 
identified for funding in the 2008 Columbia River Basin Fish Accords 
Memorandum of Agreement among the CTUIR, the CTWSRO, the Confederated 
Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, the Columbia River Inter-Tribal 
Fish Commission, BPA, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and U.S. Bureau 
of Reclamation (Columbia Basin Fish Accords), as extended in 2018 (Fish 
Accord Extension).
    Deschutes River: The Round Butte Spring Chinook Salmon and the 
Round Butte Summer Steelhead Programs are funded by PGE and CTWSRO 
under terms of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) license 
for the Pelton Round Butte Project on the Deschutes River in Oregon. 
Under the FERC license, PGE and the CTWSRO need to restore native fish 
passage and improve fish habitat upstream of Round Butte Dam, and 
support the reintroductions of steelhead and Chinook Salmon above Round 
Butte Dam. Both programs also provide fish to mitigate for lost fishing 
opportunities downstream of the Pelton Round Butte Project.

Lake Washington HGMPs

    Issaquah Hatchery: The purpose of the chinook and coho salmon 
programs at Issaquah hatchery is to produce salmon for sustainable 
fisheries (including those under the jurisdiction of the Magnuson-
Stevens Act) and to facilitate the exercise of Treaty Indian fishing 
right entitlements (U.S. v Washington). The programs also provide 
educational opportunities for the citizens of the area through its 
Watershed Interpretive Center. Further, the coho program supplies 
salmon eggs to schools and 26 cooperative educational centers 
throughout the region.
    University of Washington Aquatic Research Facility (UWARF) Fall 
Chinook Salmon: The purpose of the coho and Chinook salmon programs at 
UWARF are to support research programs (e.g., University of Washington 
faculty, research scientists, graduate students; MIT; WDFW; and other 
affiliated research organizations such as NOAA Fisheries and USGS-
Western Fisheries Research Center) and to support educational 
activities for undergraduate and graduate students within the 
University of Washington, MIT members, other Tribes, and the general 
public. The intent of the research program is to reduce genetic risk to 
natural populations and to maintain a gene pool that is separated from 
all natural populations.

Hood River HGMPs

    The CTWSRO and ODFW have submitted HGMPs for two programs in the 
Hood River, Oregon (spring Chinook salmon and winter steelhead). The 
programs are funded by the BPA.
    The goal of the Hood River spring Chinook salmon program is to re-
establish and maintain a naturally sustaining spring Chinook salmon 
population in the Hood River, with sustainable and consistent in-basin 
tribal and sport harvest opportunities. The goals of the Hood River 
winter steelhead program are (1) to provide in-basin harvest 
opportunity for sport and tribal anglers, and (2) to increase the 
number of natural-origin spawners while maintaining the long-term 
fitness of the natural population and minimizing ecological and genetic 
impacts on other populations in the Hood River. The BPA funds the 
programs to mitigate for the effects of the development and operation 
of the FCRPS on fish and wildlife in the Columbia River and its 
tributaries under the Pacific Northwest Electric Power Planning and 
Conservation Act of 1980 (Northwest Power Act; 16 U.S.C. 839 et seq.) 
in a manner consistent with the Northwest Power and Conservation 
Council's Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program. The BPA also 
funds the program to fulfill commitments to the CTWSRO related to 
proposed projects that are identified for funding in the 2008 Columbia 
River Basin Fish Accords Memorandum of Agreement among the CTUIR, the 
CTWSRO, the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, the 
Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, BPA, the U.S. Army Corps 
of Engineers, and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Columbia Basin Fish 
Accords), as extended in 2018 (Fish Accord Extension).

Hood Canal HGMPs

    The Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribe, the Skokomish Tribe, and the WDFW 
operate hatchery programs for sustainable fisheries (including those 
under the jurisdiction of the Magnuson-Stevens Act) and to facilitate 
exercise of Treaty Indian fishing right entitlements (U.S. v 
Washington). The operators requested changes to three HGMPs (Enetai 
fall chum, Hoodsport fall chum, Port Gamble coho) to provide additional 
forage to southern resident killer whales; a species listed as 
endangered under the ESA that relies on adult salmon as a food 
resource. The operators of the Hood Canal steelhead supplementation 
program propose to investigate genetic effects of natural-origin 
steelhead dispersal throughout the Hood Canal Basin. The operators of 
the Hoodsport fall Chinook salmon program also propose to investigate 
the effects of release timing on survival of adult fall Chinook salmon; 
a non-ESA-listed stock.

Discussion of Determinations

    All of the HGMPs submitted to NMFS are consistent with the recovery 
plans for each of the ESA-listed species and are designed to aid in 
conserving their populations across the ESU and/or DPS range. NMFS, 
through its evaluation, has determined each of the programs are 
designed and operated to ensure that the impacts on ESA-listed natural-
origin Chinook salmon, coho salmon, chum salmon, and steelhead 
populations will not appreciably reduce the survival and recovery of 
listed species. The programs use adaptive management procedures and the 
best available science to reduce adverse genetic effects and lessen 
competition and predation impacts typically associated with salmon and 
steelhead hatchery programs. Monitoring and evaluation will be 
implemented to assess the performance of each program in meeting 
population conservation or harvest augmentation objectives, and their 
effects on ESA-listed natural-origin Chinook salmon, coho salmon, chum 
salmon, and steelhead. The information gained through monitoring and 
evaluation will be used to assess whether the impacts of the programs 
on listed fish remain consistent with NMFS' determinations.
    Review of monitoring and evaluation results by NMFS and the co-
managers will occur annually to evaluate whether assumptions regarding 
the hatchery programs and their effects and analysis remain valid and 
whether the objectives are being accomplished. The HGMPs include 
provisions for annual reports that will assess compliance with

[[Page 60128]]

performance standards established through the HGMPs. Reporting and 
inclusion of new information derived from HGMPs' research, monitoring, 
and evaluation activities assures that performance standards will be 
achieved in future seasons.

Summary of Comments Received

Mid-Columbia and Hood River HGMPs

    NMFS published a notice of availability for public review and 
comment on four Mid-Columbia HGMPs and the proposed evaluation and 
pending determination (PEPD) for the two Hood River programs on July 
14, 2020 (85 FR 42361), as required under Limit 5 and Limit 6 of the 
ESA section 4(d) Rule, respectively. The PEPD and HGMPs were available 
for public review and comment for 30 days.
    NMFS published a notice of availability for public review and 
comment on the Draft Environmental Assessment (DEA) on July 14, 2020 
(85 FR 42361), in accordance with National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969 (NEPA), as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). The DEA was available 
for public review and comment for 30 days.
    No comments were received on the PEPD, HGMPs, or the DEA.

Lake Washington HGMPs

    NMFS published a notice of its PEPD on the five hatchery programs 
for public review and comment on August 27, 2021 (86 FR 48125, August 
27, 2021), as required under Limit 6 of the ESA section 4(d) Rule. The 
PEPD was available for public review and comment for 30 days. No 
comments were received on the PEPD.
    NMFS published a notice of availability for public review and 
comment on the DEA on August 27, 2021 (85 FR 48125, August 27, 2021), 
in accordance with NEPA, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). The DEA 
was available for public review and comment for 30 days. NMFS received 
four comments on the DEA; though none of the comments had specific 
information or supporting documentation to warrant a change in the 
proposed action or the analysis contained in the DEA.

Hood Canal HGMPs

    NMFS published a notice of its PEPD on five hatchery programs for 
public review and comment on November 10, 2021 (86 FR 62517), as 
required under Limit 6 of the ESA section 4(d) Rule. The PEPD was 
available for public review and comment for 30 days. No comments were 
received on the PEPD.
    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1531-1543; 16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.; 16 U.S.C. 
5503(d).

    Dated: September 29, 2022.
Angela Somma,
Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected Resources, 
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2022-21482 Filed 10-3-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P