[Federal Register: August 8, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 153)]
[Notices]
[Page 51547-51548]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr08au02-37]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D. 080102D]
Environmental Impact Statement; Public Scoping; Endangered and
Threatened Species
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of intent to conduct public scoping and prepare an
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), NMFS
intends to gather the information necessary to prepare an EIS on a
determination pursuant to the Endangered Species Act (ESA) related to a
resource management plan (RMP) for harvest of Puget Sound chinook
populations. NMFS is furnishing this notification to: advise other
agencies and the public of its intent, and to obtain suggestions and
information on the scope of issues to include in the EIS, specifically
to assist NMFS in identifying the range of alternatives to include in
the EIS analysis. In addition, NMFS will hold a scoping meeting (see
ADDRESSES) to provide for public input into the range of alternatives
and issues that the EIS should consider. NMFS is accepting written
comments on the range of alternatives and issues it should consider for
this EIS.
DATES: Written comments from all interested parties must be received at
the appropriate address or fax number (see ADDRESSES), no later than 5
p.m. Pacific Standard Time on September 9, 2002. Written comments will
also be accepted at a public scoping meeting held from 6:30-8:30 p.m.,
August 22, 2002, in Building 9 of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration facility at Sand Point, 7600 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle,
Washington. Each attendee will be asked for his/her photo
identification and the reason for his/her visit by NMFS security at the
facility entrance.
ADDRESSES: Comments and requests to be included on a mailing list of
persons interested in the EIS should be sent to Susan Bishop, Puget
Sound and Washington Coastal Harvest Management Team Leader,
Sustainable Fisheries Division, National Marine Fisheries Service, 7600
Sand Point Way NE, Seattle, WA 98115-0070; telephone 206/526-4587;
facsimile (fax) 206/526-6736. Comments will not be accepted if
submitted via e-mail or the Internet.
As reference material, the RMP implemented in April 2001 under the
ESA 4(d) Rule Limit 6, Puget Sound Comprehensive Chinook Management
Plan: Harvest Management Component, is available on the Internet at
http://www.nwifc.wa.gov/recovery/. NMFS's evaluation and determination
on the 2001 RMP is available at http://www.nwr.noaa.gov/1sustfish/
limit6/rmpfinal.htm .
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Susan Bishop, NMFS, Northwest Region,
206/526-4587, or e-mail: susan.bishop@noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Puget Sound chinook Evolutionarily Significant Unit (ESU) was
listed as threatened under the ESA in March 1999 (64 FR 14308). The ESU
encompasses all naturally spawned spring-, summer-, and fall-runs of
chinook salmon in the Puget Sound region from the North Fork Nooksack
River to the Elwha River on the Olympic Peninsula. This ESU is located
in portions of Clallam, Island, King, Kitsap, Jefferson, Mason, Pierce,
San Juan, Skagit, Snohomish, and Whatcom Counties in Washington state.
Puget Sound chinook have a complex life history, migrating from their
natal streams throughout Puget Sound to the Pacific Ocean where they
generally spend 1 to 3 years before returning to their natal streams,
primarily as 3 and 4 year old adults. In their ocean migration, they
travel north along the west coast into Canadian, and at times as far
north as Alaskan, waters. In doing so, they are caught in a broad range
of fisheries which are managed by an array of agencies, bodies and
governments including the U.S. Department of Commerce, States of
Washington, Oregon, and Alaska, over 20 Native American tribal
jurisdictions, the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council, the
Pacific Fisheries Management Council, and the Pacific Salmon
Commission.
Since the listing, NMFS has evaluated the impact of some fisheries
affecting listed Puget Sound chinook in compliance with section 7 of
the ESA and also evaluated the 2001 RMP for Puget Sound chinook under
the 4(d) Rule Limit 6. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
(WDFW) and the Puget Sound Treaty Tribes (co-managers) are jointly
developing another RMP intended to take effect when the current RMP
expires in April 2003. It will encompass commercial, recreational,
ceremonial, and subsistence salmon fisheries
[[Page 51548]]
potentially affecting the listed Puget Sound Chinook ESU within the
marine and freshwater areas of Puget Sound, from the entrance of the
Strait of Juan de Fuca inward, including fisheries under the
jurisdiction of the U.S. Fraser Panel. However, as with the current
RMP, harvest objectives specified in the RMP will account for
fisheries-related mortality of Puget Sound chinook throughout its
migratory range from Oregon and Washington to Southeast Alaska. The RMP
will also include implementation, monitoring, and evaluation procedures
designed to ensure fisheries are consistent with the RMP's objectives.
Under the ESA 4(d) Rule Limit 6 NMFS must make a determination that the
RMP, as proposed and implemented by the Puget Sound Treaty Tribes and
State of Washington, does not appreciably reduce the likelihood of
survival and recovery of Puget Sound chinook while providing for
fishing opportunities and the exercise of federally protected treaty
fishing rights, as implemented and enforced within the continuing
jurisdiction of U.S. v. Washington.
NMFS will conduct an environmental review of the RMP and prepare an
EIS. The environmental review will analyze the proposed action, the
proposed RMP, as well as a full range of reasonable alternatives and
the associated impacts of each. NMFS is currently developing
alternatives for analysis. In addition to the No Action Alternative (no
authorized take of listed Puget Sound chinook within the Strait of Juan
de Fuca and Puget Sound area), the alternatives could include at least
the following: (1) a harvest regime based on escapement goal management
and (2) an alternative that combines escapement goal management at the
individual population level with terminal fisheries.
Authority
The environmental review of this project will be conducted in
accordance with requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act
of 1969, National Environmental Policy Act Regulations (40 CFR 1500-
1508), other appropriate Federal laws and regulations, and policies and
procedures of NOAA for compliance with those regulations.
Special Accommodations
Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aids
should be directed to Susan Bishop (206/526-4587, or email:
susan.bishop@noaa.gov) at least 5 days before the meeting date.
Dated: August 2, 2002.
Susan L. Pultz,
Acting Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 02-20092 Filed 8-7-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S