Notice2022-21482
Endangered and Threatened Species; Take of Anadromous Fish
Primary source
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Published
October 4, 2022
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
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.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 191 (Tuesday, October 4, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 191 (Tuesday, October 4, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60126-60128]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[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: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#bfded3d3c6ccd0d191cfcacddcdad3d3ffd1d0dede91d8d0c9"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="b7d6dbdbcec4d8d999c7c2c5d4d2dbdbf7d9d8d6d699d0d8c1">[email protected]</span></a>.
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
<bullet> Lower Columbia River Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus
tshawytscha): threatened, naturally and artificially propagated
<bullet> Middle Columbia River Steelhead (O. mykiss): threatened,
naturally and artificially propagated
<bullet> Lower Columbia River Steelhead (O. mykiss): threatened,
naturally and artificially propagated
<bullet> Lower Columbia River Coho Salmon (O. kisutch): threatened,
naturally and artificially propagated
<bullet> Columbia River Chum Salmon (O. keta): threatened, naturally
and artificially propagated
<bullet> Puget Sound Chinook Salmon (O. tshawytscha): threatened,
naturally and artificially propagated
<bullet> Puget Sound Steelhead (O. mykiss): threatened, naturally
propagated
<bullet> 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
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