[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 75 (Thursday, April 20, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18614-18615]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-07966]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RIN 0648-XF354
Endangered and Threatened Species; Take of Anadromous Fish
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of final determination and discussion of underlying
biological and environmental analyses.
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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that NMFS has evaluated one Tribal
Resource Management Plan (TRMP or Tribal Plan) submitted by the
Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation (CTCR) to NMFS pursuant
to the limitation on take prohibitions for actions conducted under
Tribal Plans promulgated under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The
Tribal Plan specifies artificial propagation, harvest, predator
control, kelt reconditioning, and monitoring and evaluation activities
in the Okanogan River basin and portions of the Upper Columbia River
(UCR). This document serves to notify the public that NMFS, by
delegated authority from the Secretary of Commerce, has determined
pursuant to the Tribal ESA section 4(d) Rule for salmon and steelhead
that implementing and enforcing the plans will not appreciably reduce
the likelihood of survival and recovery of ESA-listed UCR Spring
Chinook salmon and steelhead.
DATES: The final determination on the take limit was made on February
28, 2017.
ADDRESSES: Written responses to the determination should be addressed
to the NMFS Sustainable Fisheries Division, 1201 NE. Lloyd Blvd.,
#1100, Portland, OR 97232.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Natasha Meyers-Cherry at (503) 231-
2178 or by email at [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
ESA-Listed Species Covered in This Notice
Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha): Endangered (but
functionally extirpated in the analysis area), naturally produced UCR
spring-run.
Steelhead (O. mykiss): Threatened, naturally produced and
artificially propagated UCR.
Background
The CTCR have submitted to NMFS a Tribal Plan for hatchery, fishery
harvest, predator control, kelt reconditioning, and monitoring and
evaluation activities in the Okanogan River basin, in the UCR basin in
Washington State. The Tribal Plan was submitted February 4, 2014,
pursuant to the Tribal ESA section 4(d) Rule.
The Tribal Plan describes actions involving fisheries, hatchery,
predator control, and kelt reconditioning activities (with associated
monitoring and evaluation) in the Okanogan Basin and Columbia River
mainstem. The Tribal Plan is intended to contribute to the recovery of
the steelhead population in the Okanogan Basin, and to responsibly
enhance fishing opportunity on non-listed Chinook salmon.
As required, NMFS took comments on how the plans address the
criteria in 50 CFR 223.203(b)(5) prior to making that determination.
Discussion of the Biological Analysis Underlying the Determination
The hatchery, fishery, predator removal, kelt reconditioning, and
monitoring and evaluation activities are intended to conserve native,
ESA-listed UCR spring Chinook salmon and steelhead and to provide
harvest in-tribal and non-tribal fisheries in the basin.
The hatchery programs are designed to preserve, and bolster the
natural spawning abundance of, the native UCR populations of the
species.
The programs described in the Tribal Plan would be operated in such
a way as to minimize potential risks to ESA-listed natural-origin UCR
spring Chinook salmon, and steelhead populations. These potential risks
include interactions between hatchery and natural fish that may lead to
adverse genetic and ecological effects.
As part of the proposed hatchery programs, monitoring and
evaluation would be implemented to assess their performance in meeting
population conservation or harvest augmentation objectives, and their
effects on ESA-listed natural-origin spring Chinook salmon and
steelhead. Information gained through monitoring and evaluation will be
used to assess whether the impacts of the programs on listed fish are
as expected. Review of monitoring and evaluation results by NMFS and
the co-managers will occur annually to evaluate whether assumptions
regarding Tribal Plan effects and analysis remain valid, and whether
the objectives of the Tribal Plan are being accomplished. The Tribal
Plan includes provisions for annual reports that will assess compliance
with performance standards established through the plan. Reporting and
inclusion of new information derived from research, monitoring, and
evaluation activities described in the plan provides assurance that
performance standards will be achieved in future seasons. NMFS'
evaluation is available on the West Coast Region Web site at http://www.westcoast.fisheries.noaa.gov.
Summary of Comments Received in the Response to the Proposed Evaluation
and Pending Determination
NMFS published notice of its Proposed Evaluation and Pending
Determination (PEPD) on the plans for public review and comment on
December 15, 2017 (81 FR 90783). The PEPD and an associated draft
environmental assessment were available for public review and comment
for 15 days.
During the public comment period, NMFS received one comment letter
on the PEPD. The comments were technical in nature, and did not require
substantive modifications to the PEPD or the environmental assessment.
The comments and NMFS' detailed responses are available on the West
Coast Region Web site. Based on its evaluation and recommended
determination, and taking into account the public comments, NMFS issued
its final determination on the Tribal Plan.
[[Page 18615]]
Authority
Under section 4 of the ESA, the Secretary is required to adopt such
regulations as he deems necessary and advisable for the conservation of
the species listed as threatened.
The ESA Tribal 4(d) Rule (65 FR 42481; July 10, 2000) states that
the ESA section 9 take prohibitions will not apply to Tribal Plans that
will not appreciably reduce the likelihood of survival and recovery for
the listed species.
Dated: April 17, 2017.
Donna Wieting,
Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 2017-07966 Filed 4-19-17; 8:45 am]
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