[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 223 (Monday, November 21, 1994)] [Unknown Section] [Page 0] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 94-28682] [[Page Unknown]] [Federal Register: November 21, 1994] ======================================================================= ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 50 CFR Part 227 [Docket No. 941095-4295; I.D. 090894A] Endangered and Threatened Species; Deer Creek Summer Steelhead AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce. ACTION: Notice of determination. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: NMFS has determined that Deer Creek summer steelhead in Washington do not constitute a ``species'' under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended, (ESA) and, therefore, do not qualify for listing under the ESA at this time. However, Deer Creek summer steelhead are part of a larger evolutionarily significant unit (ESU) that may warrant listing under the ESA, and for which a status review is currently underway. ADDRESSES: Environmental and Technical Services Division, NMFS, Northwest Region, 911 NE. 11th Avenue, Suite 620, Portland, OR 97232. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Garth Griffin, Environmental and Technical Services Division, 503/230-5430, or Marta Nammack, Endangered Species Division, 301/713-2322. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Petition Background On September 21, 1993, NMFS received a petition from Washington Trout to list indigenous, naturally-spawning Deer Creek summer steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) as an endangered species and to designate critical habitat under the ESA. NMFS published a notice on December 23, 1993 (58 FR 68108), that the petition presented substantial information indicating that the listing may be warranted. To ensure a comprehensive status review, NMFS solicited information and data concerning the present and historic status of the Deer Creek summer steelhead population and whether this population qualifies as a ``species'' under the ESA. NMFS also requested information on areas that may qualify as critical habitat for Deer Creek summer steelhead. NMFS also initiated an expanded status review for all coastal steelhead in California, Oregon, and Washington. This status review was expanded to include Idaho in response to a petition submitted by the Oregon Natural Resources Council and 15 co-petitioners. NMFS initiated the status review for steelhead throughout its range in the four states on May 27, 1994 (59 FR 27527). Biological Background The NMFS Northwest Fisheries Science Center Biological Review Team has conducted a status review and prepared an administrative report summarizing the conclusions of the status review, ``Conclusions of the Northwest Fisheries Science Center's Review of a Petition to List Deer Creek Summer Steelhead (North Fork Stillaguamish River, Washington) under the U.S. Endangered Species Act,'' which provides more detailed information, discussion, and references. This report is available upon request (see ADDRESSES) and is summarized below. Deer Creek is a tributary of the North Fork Stillaguamish River in Washington. The Deer Creek Watershed covers 177 km2 in the North Cascade Mountains of Washington. Deer Creek and its steelhead fishery have been the subject of many sporting journal articles and popular literature. Logging in the Deer Creek Basin began in the 1920s. Timber harvest activities accelerated in the early 1950s, and approximately 48 percent of the basin was clear-cut between 1952 and 1985. In 1984, a large landslide, which remains active despite restoration efforts, introduced a tremendous amount of sediment into Deer Creek. The 1984 landslide reduced viable spawning and rearing habitat for the summer steelhead population, which was already in decline. The name steelhead refers to the anadromous form of rainbow trout. Recently, the scientific name for the biological species that includes both steelhead and rainbow trout was changed from Salmo gairdneri to Oncorhynchus mykiss. This change reflects a belief that all trouts from western North America share a common lineage with Pacific salmon. The present endemic distribution of steelhead extends from the Kamchatka Peninsula, Asia, east and south, along the Pacific coast of North America, to Malibu Creek in southern California. Steelhead exhibit a wide variety of life history strategies. In general, steelhead migrate to sea after spending 2 years in fresh water and then spend 2 years in the ocean prior to returning to fresh water to spawn. Deviations from this basic pattern are common. Some spawners survive and return to the ocean for 1 or more years between spawning migrations. Steelhead exhibit two spawning migration strategies. ``Summer steelhead'' enter fresh water between May and October, and begin their spawning migration in a sexually immature state. After several months in fresh water, summer steelhead mature and spawn. ``Winter steelhead'' enter fresh water between November and April with well developed gonads. In drainages with sympatric populations of summer and winter steelhead, there may or may not be temporal or spatial separation of spawning. Consideration as a ``Species'' Under the ESA To qualify for listing as a threatened or endangered species, Deer Creek summer steelhead would have to be a ``species'' under the ESA. The ESA defines a ``species'' to include any ``distinct population segment of any species of vertebrate *** which interbreeds when mature.'' NMFS published a policy (56 FR 58612, November 20, 1991) on how it will apply the ESA ``species'' definition to Pacific salmonid species, including steelhead. This policy provides that a salmon population will be considered distinct, and hence a species under the ESA, if it represents an evolutionarily significant unit (ESU) of the biological species. The population must satisfy two criteria to be considered an ESU: (1) It must be substantially reproductively isolated from other conspecific population units and (2) it must represent an important component in the evolutionary legacy of the biological species. The first criterion, reproductive isolation, need not be absolute, but must be strong enough to permit evolutionarily important differences to accrue in different population units. The second criterion is met if the population contributes substantially to the ecological/genetic diversity of the species as a whole. Further guidance on the application of this policy is contained in ``Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) and the Definition of Species under the Endangered Species Act,'' which is available upon request (see ADDRESSES). Reproductive Isolation In the Stillaguamish River Basin, three summer-run stocks and one winter-run steelhead stock are recognized. Run timing is similar among the Stillaguamish River Basin summer steelhead stocks; however, spawn timing appears to be later for Deer Creek summer steelhead than for other summer steelhead populations within the basin. Although run timing differs between the Stillaguamish River summer and winter steelhead stocks, there is substantial overlap in the time of spawning of the two run types. It was commonly thought that the high gradient reach of Deer Creek between approximately river kilometer 2.4 and 7.2 comprised a ``cumulative velocity barrier'' to winter steelhead (C. Kramer, Area Fish Biologist, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), pers. comm., May and July 1994). However, other evidence suggests that this barrier may not be permanent, and recent flooding may have shifted the Deer Creek bedload sufficiently to facilitate passage of winter steelhead, thereby allowing for the possibility that summer steelhead are not reproductively isolated from winter steelhead. In general, genetic studies of coastal steelhead populations have demonstrated that summer and winter steelhead from the same stream tend to resemble one another genetically more than they resemble populations with similar run timing from different drainages. These results suggest that summer and winter steelhead do not represent two independent monophyletic units. Allendorf (1975) reported that coastal summer steelhead, including the Deer Creek population, were ``genetically indistinguishable from the coastal winter run populations.'' A more recent study (Phelps et al., in press) involving a larger set of gene loci found some evidence of differentiation between summer and winter steelhead in the Puget Sound region. The later study also found that Deer Creek summer steelhead are ``relatively distinct'' from other Puget Sound steelhead and show a higher degree of genetic similarity to winter steelhead from the Stillaguamish and Skykomish rivers than to other summer steelhead populations. A variety of out-of-basin steelhead stocks have been released in the Puget Sound area, and summer steelhead of Columbia River (Skamania stock) origin have been released in the North Fork Stillaguamish River since the 1960s (C. Kramer, WDFW, pers. comm., May and July 1994). However, recent genetic data (Phelps et al. in press) found no evidence that Deer Creek summer steelhead have been substantially affected by these releases. Ecological/Genetic Diversity In Oregon, only three coastal basins have naturally-occurring summer steelhead (Siletz, Umpqua, and Rogue basins). In contrast, all major river basins in the North Puget Sound region (Nooksack/Samish, Skagit, Stillaguamish, and Snohomish basins) are known to have naturally-occurring summer steelhead. The discontinuous range of coastal summer steelhead is consistent with the polyphyletic origin of this life history inferred from genetic data. However, the Puget Sound region is (or was) conducive to the development of the summer steelhead life history, and within the Puget Sound region, Deer Creek is not unique, or even unusual, in supporting summer-run steelhead. The most common age structure for coastal steelhead from British Columbia to California is 2/2 (2 years of freshwater residence followed by 2 years in the ocean). Specific information about the age structure of steelhead in the Puget Sound region is limited. Based on scale samples from fish caught by anglers, Deer Creek summer steelhead are reported to be primarily (95 percent) 2/1, with the remainder being 3/1 (C. Kramer, WDFW, pers. comm., May and July 1994). Other Puget Sound steelhead, both summer- and winter-run, also have the 2/1 life history, but sampling has not been sufficient to quantitatively describe age structure in these populations. According to anecdotal information, the adult size at spawning of other summer steelhead stocks (South Fork Nooksack, Finney Creek, Sauk River, and Canyon Creek) is similar to Deer Creek summer steelhead, and this suggests that other steelhead populations in the Puget Sound region share the same adult body size and other life history features with Deer Creek summer steelhead. Determination Deer Creek summer steelhead appear to be temporally and spatially isolated from other populations of summer steelhead in the Stillaguamish River Basin. Genetic data support the hypothesis that Deer Creek summer steelhead are isolated from other Puget Sound steelhead populations for which data are available. However, some uncertainty remains regarding the relationship between Deer Creek summer steelhead and nearby winter-run populations, both in the Stillaguamish River and, perhaps, in upper Deer Creek. Despite this uncertainty, NMFS has concluded, based on all available information, that Deer Creek summer steelhead probably meet the first criterion to be an ESU--that is, substantial reproductive isolation from other conspecific populations. Although the genetic data show that Deer Creek summer steelhead are relatively distinct from other Puget Sound steelhead, the genetic differences are not large in an absolute sense. Therefore, these genetic differences provide little insight into the second ESU criterion, contribution to ecological/genetic diversity of the species as a whole. Deer Creek summer steelhead differ from many other coastal steelhead populations in that most of the adults return after only 1 year in the ocean, but the limited available information indicates that this is also observed in other Puget Sound steelhead populations. NMFS found no other phenotypic or life history traits, or habitat features, that distinguish the Deer Creek summer steelhead population from those in adjacent areas. Therefore, NMFS concludes that Deer Creek summer steelhead do not meet the second criterion to be considered an ESU and are not, by themselves, a ``species'' under the ESA. Therefore, a proposal to list Deer Creek summer steelhead under the ESA is not warranted at this time. However, Deer Creek summer steelhead are undoubtedly part of a larger ESU that may warrant listing under the ESA, and NMFS will identify the extent of this ESU during its current Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and California steelhead status review (59 FR 27527, May 27, 1994). Detailed information provided in the petition for Deer Creek steelhead will be considered during this expanded status review. Dated: November 14, 1994. Gary Matlock, Program Management Officer, National Marine Fisheries Service. [FR Doc. 94-28682 Filed 11-18-94; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510-22-F