[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 175 (Monday, September 12, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-22481]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: September 12, 1994]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 227
[I.D. 081694D]
Listing Endangered and Threatened Species and Designating
Critical Habitat: Initiation of Status Reviews for Pink Salmon, Chum
Salmon, Sockeye Salmon, Chinook Salmon, and Sea-Run Cutthroat Trout
Populations in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and California
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of finding; initiation of status reviews; request for
comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: NMFS has received three petitions to list several populations
of salmon comprising four biological species of Pacific salmon
(Oncorhynchus spp.) from Puget Sound and the Olympic Peninsula, WA, and
to designate critical habitat under the Endangered Species Act of 1973
(ESA). In accordance with section 4 of the ESA, NMFS finds that the
petitions present substantial scientific information indicating that
listings may be warranted. Therefore, NMFS is initiating a status
review on these stocks to determine if listing is warranted. Moreover,
NMFS is initiating comprehensive status reviews for populations of
Pacific salmon and anadromous trout not presently undergoing status
reviews in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and California. Comprehensive,
coastwide status reviews are already underway for coho salmon (O.
kisutch) and steelhead (O. mykiss). Species for which comprehensive,
coastwide status reviews will be initiated are: Pink salmon (O.
gorbuscha), chum salmon (O. keta), sockeye salmon (O. nerka), chinook
salmon (O. tshawytscha), and sea-run cutthroat trout (O. clarki
clarki). To ensure that these status reviews are complete, NMFS is
soliciting information and data regarding the petitioned stocks as well
as the five species in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and California.
DATES: Comments and information must be received by November 14, 1994.
ADDRESSES: Copies of the petitions are available from, and comments
should be submitted to, Environmental and Technical Services Division,
NMFS, 911 NE 11th Avenue, Room 620, Portland, OR 97232.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Garth Griffin, NMFS, Northwest Region,
(503) 230-5430; Jim Lecky, NMFS, Southwest Region, (310) 980-4015; or
Marta Nammack, NMFS, Office of Protected Resources, (301) 713-2322.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Section 4 of the ESA allows interested persons to petition the
Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) to
add a species to or remove a species from the List of Endangered and
Threatened Wildlife and to designate critical habitat. Section
4(b)(3)(A) of the ESA requires that to the maximum extent practicable,
within 90 days after receiving such a petition, the Secretary makes a
finding whether the petition presents substantial scientific or
commercial information indicating that the petitioned action may be
warranted.
Petitions Received
On March 14, 1994, the Secretary received a petition from the
Professional Resource Organization--Salmon (PRO-Salmon petition) to
list nine populations of salmon comprising four biological species from
Puget Sound and the Olympic Peninsula, WA, and to designate critical
habitat under the ESA. The nine populations are identified as
indigenous, naturally spawning populations of (1) Hood Canal summer
chum salmon, (2) Elwha River pink salmon, (3) Lower Dungeness River
pink salmon, (4) North Fork Nooksack River spring chinook salmon, (5)
South Fork Nooksack River spring chinook salmon, (6) Dungeness River
spring chinook salmon, (7) Baker River sockeye salmon, (8) Discovery
Bay chum salmon, and (9) White River spring chinook salmon.
Subsequently, the Secretary received two additional petitions to list
populations of chum salmon in Mud Bay/Eld Inlet and in Hood Canal, WA,
from the Save Allison Springs Citizens' Committee (April 4, 1994) and
Trout Unlimited (May 23, 1994), respectively.
The Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA, makes a finding
that the petition presents substantial scientific information
indicating that the petitioned action may be warranted based on the
criteria specified in 50 CFR 424.14(b)(2), and based on evidence
presented in the petition that the petitioned populations may qualify
as ``species'' under the ESA in accordance with NMFS' ``Policy on
Applying the Definition of Species under the Endangered Species Act to
Pacific Salmon'' (56 FR 58612, November 20, 1991). Under section
4(b)(3)(A) of the ESA, this finding requires that a review of the
status of the petitioned stocks be conducted to determine if the action
is warranted.
Systematic Approach for Comprehensive Status Reviews
During the past 15 months, NMFS has received nine petitions
requesting ESA protection for various population segments of all seven
species of Oncorhynchus found in North America. NMFS has determined
that all of these petitions, including those for the 10 Puget Sound
populations covered by this document, present substantial scientific
information indicating that listings may be warranted. However, there
are also indications that declines in abundance (and local extinctions)
of Pacific salmon and anadromous trout have occurred over broad
geographic areas (e.g., Nehlsen et al. 1991). Furthermore, experience
gained from Pacific salmon status reviews conducted by NMFS during the
past 3 years has made it clear that determining the geographic
boundaries and biological status of distinct population segments
generally requires assessing populations and habitats occurring outside
the range covered by specific petitions. For this reason, NMFS has
initiated comprehensive, coastwide status reviews for two species--
steelhead (58 FR 29390, May 20, 1993; 59 FR 27527, May 27, 1994) and
coho salmon (58 FR 57770, October 27, 1993) in order to more accurately
and efficiently determine the geographic boundaries and status of
distinct population segments.
NMFS believes it is now prudent to initiate comprehensive status
reviews for the remaining species of Pacific salmon and anadromous
trout in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and California. These comprehensive
reviews will allow NMFS to conduct a more thorough assessment of the
ecological and genetic diversity of west coast salmon populations, and
to identify the geographic extent and biological status of populations
representing substantial components of the overall diversity of the
biological species. This systematic evaluation will allow NMFS to
accomplish the major goal of the ESA--to conserve the diversity of
these species and the ecosystems they inhabit.
Proposed Timeline To Complete Comprehensive Status Reviews
NMFS proposes to complete comprehensive species status reviews and
publish its determination whether or not to list the species according
to the following schedule:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Proposed
Species completion date
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Coho Salmon......................................... October 20, 1994.
Steelhead........................................... February 16, 1995.
Pink Salmon......................................... June 1, 1995.
Chum Salmon......................................... July 15, 1995.
Sockeye Salmon...................................... September 1, 1995.
Chinook Salmon...................................... December 15, 1995.
Sea-run Cutthroat Trout............................. April 1, 1996.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
In order for NMFS to concentrate efforts towards completion of
comprehensive status reviews by the above dates, 1-year findings for
the individual petitoned stocks, due in March, April, and May, 1995,
may be delayed. However, NMFS will complete status reviews for the
species identified in the above petitions as soon as possible and will
thereafter promptly propose listings for any species that are found to
warrant protection under the ESA. While findings on petitioned Puget
Sound stocks could be delayed, NMFS believes that the comprehensive
approach will provide a more thorough and accurate assessment of the
status and risks to anadromous salmonids throughout their ranges in
California, Washington, Oregon, and Idaho.
NMFS has elected to complete the status review for sea-run
cutthroat trout last because existing scientific information regarding
this species' life history and population status is extremely scarce.
NMFS anticipates that valuable information for assessing the health of
this species will be forthcoming from studies being conducted by the
United States Forest Service and Oregon State University. However, due
to the broad geographic scope of these studies (Alaska to northern
California), it will probably be at least 1 year before information is
compiled and evaluated in a manner that will facilitate NMFS' ESA
determinations.
Listing Factors and Basis for Determination
Under section 4(a)(1) of the ESA, a species can be determined to be
endangered or threatened for any of the following reasons: (1) 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) inadequacy of
existing regulatory mechanisms; or (5) other natural or manmade factors
affecting its continued existence. Listing determinations are made
solely on the best scientific and commercial data available.
Biological Information Solicited
To ensure that the review is complete and is based on the best
available scientific and commercial data, NMFS is soliciting
information and comments concerning (1) whether or not any stock
qualifies as a ``species'' under the ESA in accordance with NMFS'
policy (56 FR 58612, November 20, 1991), and (2) whether or not any
stock is endangered or threatened based on the above listing criteria.
Specifically, NMFS is soliciting information on the petitioned stocks.
In general, NMFS is soliciting information on pink, chum, sockeye, and
chinook salmon and sea-run cutthroat trout in the following areas:
Physical and biological features of freshwater habitat; life history
patterns of juvenile and adult fish, including age structure and
migration patterns; meristic, morphometric, and genetic studies;
disease epizootiology; population abundance and trends in abundance
over time; influence of historical and present hatchery fish releases
on naturally spawning stocks; and separation of hatchery and natural
salmon/trout escapement.
To facilitate the compilation of existing information, NMFS will
expand its Pacific Salmon Biological Technical Committees' (PSBTC)
meetings in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and California to include
discussions of all species of Pacific salmon and anadromous trout. The
PSBTCs will provide NMFS with access to experts having a working
knowledge of salmonid populations and will ensure that an accurate and
complete administrative record is developed for each species. All
meetings will be open to the public; interested parties should contact
NMFS (see ADDRESSES) for information regarding locations and times of
upcoming PSBTC meetings.
As noted above, the determination to list a species is based solely
on the basis of the best available scientific and commercial
information regarding a species' status without reference to possible
economic or other impacts of such a determination (50 CFR 424.11(b)).
Due to the broad scope of the species status reviews identified in this
action, NMFS will attempt to consider information submitted after the
comment period (see DATES). However, information must be received no
later than 60 days before the proposed scheduled completion date
(except for coho salmon) given in this document to allow NMFS
sufficient time to review the material.
Critical Habitat
NMFS is also requesting information on areas that may qualify as
critical habitat for all stocks of pink, chum, sockeye, and chinook
salmon and sea-run cutthroat trout in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and
California. Areas that include the physical and biological features
essential to the recovery of the species should be identified. Areas
outside the present distribution should also be identified if such
areas are essential to the recovery of the species. Essential features
should include, but are not limited to: (1) Space for individual and
population growth, and for normal behavior; (2) food, water, air,
light, minerals, or other nutritional or physiological requirements;
(3) cover or shelter; (4) sites for breeding, reproduction, rearing of
offspring; and generally, (5) habitats that are protected from
disturbance or are representative of the historic geographical and
ecological distributions of the species.
For areas potentially qualifying as critical habitat, NMFS is
requesting information describing (1) the activities that affect the
area or could be affected by the designation, and (2) the economic
costs and benefits of additional requirements of management measures
likely to result from the designation.
The economic cost to be considered in the critical habitat
designations under the ESA is the probable economic impact of the
[critical habitat] designation upon proposed or ongoing activities (50
CFR 424.19). NMFS must consider the incremental costs specifically
resulting from a critical habitat designation that are above the
economic effects attributable to listing the species. Economic effects
attributable to listing include actions resulting from section 7
consultations under the ESA to avoid jeopardy to the species and from
the taking prohibitions under section 9 of the ESA. Comments concerning
economic impacts should distinguish the costs of listing from the
incremental costs that can be directly attributed to the designation of
specific areas as critical habitat.
Data, information, and comments should include: (1) Supporting
documentation such as maps, bibliographic references, or reprints of
pertinent publications; and (2) the commentor's name, address, and
association, institution, or business.
References
Nehlsen et al., 1991. Pacific salmon at the crossroads: stocks
at risk from California, Oregon, Idaho, and Washington. Fisheries
16(2):4-21.
Dated: September 6, 1994.
Herbert W. Kaufman,
Deputy Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 94-22481 Filed 9-9-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P