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Environmental Law

: ESA Blawg

NOAA notices draft guidance on Pacific Northwest salmon recovery monitoring

By Keith Rizzardi

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74 Fed. Reg. 31008 / Vol. 74, No. 123 / Monday, June 29, 2009 / Notices

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE / National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration / Endangered and Threatened Species: Notice of Availability for Public Comment on Guidance for Monitoring the Recovery of Pacific Northwest Salmon and Steelhead Listed under the Federal Endangered Species Act

SUMMARY: The National Marine Fisheries Service’s (NMFS) Northwest Region has drafted guidance on monitoring the recovery of Pacific Northwest salmon and steelhead listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). This draft Pacific Northwest monitoring guidance is intended to assist NMFS’ recovery partners in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho in understanding the recovery monitoring needs under the ESA. NMFS’ Northwest Region is soliciting public review and comment on the draft Pacific Northwest monitoring guidance. DATES: All comments must be received no later than 5 p.m. Pacific Standard Time on August 28, 2009.

NOAA recommends that Pacific Northwest states and tribes should recalibrate the fishery model to reflect harvest management of natural populations. Photo by Dan Bacher. of the Karuk, Yurok and Hoopa Tribal members putting on a traditional fish bake in support of SalmonAID 2008. Tribal interests promote eating wild salmon to save them, because "your choice of wild-caught salmon in your marketplace or in your local restaurant is a vote for clean and abundant freshwater conditions and sensible fisheries management. It's an investment in the cold, clean rivers that wild salmon and steelhead require. It's your vote for free passage for salmon and steelhead to and from healthy, functional spawning and rearing habitat."

EXCERPT FROM FEDERAL REGISTER: This draft Pacific Northwest monitoring guidance will assist NMFS’ recovery partners in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho in understanding the recovery monitoring needs under the ESA, and the desired level of statistical certainty for the monitoring information they collect. The draft monitoring guidance includes recommended priorities for monitoring, data collection, and reporting of the viability of Pacific Northwest salmon and steelhead populations, threats to the species, and the ESA Section 4(a)(1) listing factors.

KEITHINKING: the Executive Summary of the document consists of 42 recommendations related to (1) recommendations for data collection evaluation and reporting, (2) monitoring viable salmonid population (vsp) status/trends in the pacific northwest, and (3) monitoring pacific northwest listing factors and threats, including habitat loss, hydropower impacts, harvest, disease, predation, inadequate regulation, hatcheries, and other natural causes. One of the recommendations suggests that permit enforcement in the region may become more aggressive, recommending development of “a randomized sampling program in the Pacific Northwest to test whether permits issued under local and state regulatory actions designed to protect riparian and instream habitat are in compliance and that the provisions have been enforced. Compliance rate should be equal to or greater than 90%.”

Full post as published by ESA Blawg on June 30, 2009 (boomark / email).