Commerce Department, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
NMFS has completed comprehensive status reviews for 26 West Coast salmon (chum, Oncorhynchus keta; coho, O. kisutch, O. nerka; chinook, O. tshawytscha; pink, O. gorbuscha) and O. mykiss (inclusive of anadromous steelhead and resident rainbow trout) Evolutionarily Significant Units (ESUs) previously listed as threatened and endangered species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), as well as one ESU that was designated as a candidate species, for a total of 27 ESUs. Following a September 2001 U.S. District Court ruling that rejected how NMFS treats hatchery stocks in its listing determinations, the agency received several petitions seeking to delist, or to redefine and list, 17 salmon and steelhead ESUs on the basis of the Court's ruling. In response to these petitions NMFS initiated status reviews for 16 of these ESUs, and elected to conduct status reviews for an additional 11 ESUs. Based on these reviews, NMFS is now issuing a proposed rule to list four ESUs as endangered and 23 ESUs as threatened. Collectively, these 27 ESUs include 162 artificial propagation programs. NMFS also proposes amending existing protective regulations, promulgated under section 4(d) of the ESA, for threatened ESUs.
Document Headings Document headings vary by document type but may contain the following: the agency or agencies that issued and signed a document the number of the CFR title and the number of each part the document amends, proposes to amend, or is directly related to the agency docket number / agency internal file number the RIN which identifies each regulatory action listed in the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions See the Document Drafting Handbook for more details. Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 50 CFR Parts 223 and 224 [Docket No. 040525161-4161-01; I.D. No. 052104F] RIN 0648-AR93 AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce. ACTION: Proposed rule; request for comments. SUMMARY: NMFS has completed comprehensive status reviews for 26 West Coast salmon (chum, Oncorhynchus keta; coho, O. kisutch, O. nerka; chinook, O. tshawytscha; pink, O. gorbuscha ) and O. mykiss (inclusive of anadromous steelhead and resident rainbow trout) Evolutionarily Significant Units (ESUs) previously listed as threatened and endangered species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), as well as one ESU that was designated as a candidate species, for a total of 27 ESUs. Following a September 2001 U.S. District Court ruling that rejected how NMFS treats hatchery stocks in its listing determinations, the agency received several petitions seeking to delist, or to redefine and list, 17 salmon and steelhead ESUs on the basis of the Court's ruling. In response to these petitions NMFS initiated status reviews for 16 of these ESUs, and elected to conduct status reviews for an additional 11 ESUs. Based on these reviews, NMFS is now issuing a proposed rule to list four ESUs as endangered and 23 ESUs as threatened. Collectively, these 27 ESUs include 162 artificial propagation programs. NMFS also proposes amending existing protective regulations, promulgated under se…
Citation: 69 FR 33102
