Listing Endangered and Threatened Species and Designating Critical Habitat: Petition to List Puget Sound Steelhead as an Endangered or Threatened Species under the Endangered Species Act, 17223-17227 [05-6714]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 64 (Tuesday, April 5, 2005)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 17223-17227]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-6714]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Parts 223 and 224

[Docket No. 050310069-5069-01; I.D. 030205C]
RIN 0648-XB30


Listing Endangered and Threatened Species and Designating 
Critical Habitat: Petition to List Puget Sound Steelhead as an 
Endangered or Threatened Species under the Endangered Species Act

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of finding; request for information; and initiation of 
status review.

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SUMMARY: NMFS received a petition from Mr. Sam Wright on September 13, 
2004, to list Puget Sound (Washington) steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) 
as a threatened or endangered species under the Endangered Species Act 
(ESA). NMFS finds that the petition presents substantial scientific and 
commercial information indicating that the petitioned action may be 
warranted. Accordingly, NMFS is initiating a status review of the 
species. To ensure that the status review is complete and based upon 
the best available scientific and commercial information, NMFS is 
soliciting information regarding the viability of, and threats to, 
Puget Sound O. mykiss populations, efforts being made to protect the 
species, and the names of potential peer reviewers.

DATES: Information and comments on the subject action must be received 
by June 6, 2005

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments and information by any of the 
following methods. Please identify submittals as pertaining to the 
``Puget Sound O. mykiss status review update.''
     E-mail: PS.Omykiss.nwr@noaa.gov. Include ``Puget Sound O. 
mykiss status review update'' in the subject line of the message.
     Federal e-rulemaking portal: https://www.regulations.gov
     Mail: Submit written comments and information to Chief, 
NMFS, Protected Resources Division, 1201 NE Lloyd Boulevard, Suite 
1100, Portland, OR 97232. You may hand-deliver written comments to our 
office during normal business hours at the street address given above.
     Hand Delivery/Courier: NMFS, Protected Resources 1201 NE 
Lloyd Boulevard, Suite 1100, Portland, OR 97232.
     Fax: 503-230-5441

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  For further information regarding 
this action contact Garth Griffin, NMFS, Northwest Region, (503) 231-
2005, or Marta Nammack, NMFS, Office of Protected Resources, (301) 713-
1401.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On September 13, 2004, NMFS received a petition from Mr. Sam Wright 
of Olympia, WA, to list Puget Sound steelhead as an endangered or 
threatened species under the ESA, and to designate critical habitat. 
Copies of the petition are available from NMFS by request, or on the 
Internet (See ADDRESSES section, above, and ``References'' section, 
below).

ESA Statutory and Policy Provisions

    Section 4(b)(3) of the ESA contains provisions concerning petitions 
from interested persons requesting the Secretary of Commerce 
(Secretary) to list species under the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1533(b)(3)(A)). 
Section 4(b)(3)(A) requires that, to the maximum extent practicable, 
within 90 days after receiving such a petition, the Secretary make a 
finding whether the petition presents substantial scientific and 
commercial information indicating that the petitioned action may be 
warranted.

[[Page 17224]]

NMFS' ESA implementing regulations define Asubstantial information@ as 
the amount of information that would lead a reasonable person to 
believe that the measure proposed in the petition may be warranted. In 
evaluating a petitioned action, the Secretary considers several 
factors, including whether the petition contains detailed narrative 
justification for the recommended measure, describing, based on 
available information, past and present numbers and distribution of the 
species involved and any threats faced by the species (50 CFR 
424.14(b)(2)(ii)). In addition, the Secretary considers whether the 
petition provides information regarding the status of the species over 
all or a significant portion of its range (50 CFR 424.14(b)(2)(iii)).
    To be considered for listing under the ESA, a group of organisms 
must constitute a ``species,'' which is defined in section 3 of the ESA 
to include ``any subspecies of fish or wildlife or plants, and any 
distinct population segment of any species of vertebrate fish or 
wildlife which interbreeds when mature'' (emphasis added). NMFS has 
determined that, to qualify as a distinct population segment (DPS), a 
Pacific salmon or O. mykiss population must be substantially 
reproductively isolated and represent an important component in the 
evolutionary legacy of the biological species. A population meeting 
these criteria is considered to be an ``evolutionarily significant 
unit'' (ESU) (56 FR 58612, November 20, 1991). In its listing 
determinations for Pacific salmonids under the ESA, NMFS has treated an 
ESU as constituting a DPS, and hence a ``species,'' under the ESA.

Life History of West Coast O. mykiss

    Steelhead is the name commonly applied to the anadromous form of 
the biological species O. mykiss. The present distribution of steelhead 
extends from Kamchatka in Asia, east to Alaska, and down to the U.S. 
Mexico border (Busby et al., 1996; 67 FR 21586, May 1, 2002). O. mykiss 
exhibit perhaps the most complex suite of life history traits of any 
species of Pacific salmonid. They can be anadromous (``steelhead''), or 
freshwater residents (``rainbow or redband trout''), and under some 
circumstances yield offspring of the opposite life-history form. Those 
that are anadromous can spend up to 7 years in freshwater prior to 
smoltification (the physiological and behavioral changes required for 
the transition to salt water), and then spend up to 3 years in salt 
water prior to first spawning. O. mykiss is also iteroparous (meaning 
individuals may spawn more than once), whereas the Pacific salmon 
species are principally semelparous (meaning individuals generally 
spawn once and die). Within the range of West Coast steelhead, spawning 
migrations occur throughout the year, with seasonal peaks of activity. 
In a given river basin there may be one or more peaks in migration 
activity; since these ``runs'' are usually named for the season in 
which the peak occurs, some rivers may have runs known as winter, 
spring, summer, or fall steelhead.
    Steelhead can be divided into two basic reproductive ecotypes, 
based on the state of sexual maturity at the time of river entry and 
duration of spawning migration (Burgner et al., 1992). The summer or 
``stream-maturing'' type enters fresh water in a sexually immature 
condition between May and October, and requires several months to 
mature and spawn. The winter or ``ocean-maturing'' type enters fresh 
water between November and April with well-developed gonads and spawns 
shortly thereafter. In basins with both summer and winter steelhead 
runs, the summer run generally occurs where habitat is not fully 
utilized by the winter run, or where an ephemeral hydrologic barrier 
separates them, such as a seasonal waterfall,. Summer steelhead usually 
spawn farther upstream than winter steelhead (Withler, 1966; Roelofs, 
1983; Behnke, 1992).

Previous ESA Status Review

    In 1996, NMFS conducted a comprehensive status review of coastal 
and inland steelhead stocks in California, Oregon, Washington, and 
Idaho (Busby et al., 1996). NMFS convened a Biological Review Team 
(BRT) of Federal scientists to: (1) identify ESUs of West Coast 
steelhead, each of which constitutes a ``species'' for consideration 
under the ESA; and (2) evaluate the risk of extinction for the 
identified ESUs. As part of this review, NMFS identified a Puget Sound 
ESU of coastal steelhead occupying river basins of the Strait of Juan 
de Fuca, Puget Sound, and Hood Canal (Washington), as far west as the 
Elwha River, and as far north as the Nooksack River and the United 
States/Canada border. The Puget Sound ESU is primarily composed of 
winter steelhead stocks, but also includes several small stocks of 
summer steelhead occupying limited habitat. The BRT also included the 
resident life-history form in the Puget Sound ESU. Genetic studies 
generally show that, in the same geographic area, the resident and 
anadromous life forms of O. mykiss are more similar to each other than 
either is to the same form from a different geographic area. In 
particular, the BRT cited a scientific study indicating that rainbow 
trout and steelhead are not reproductively isolated in two river basins 
within the Puget Sound ESU (Leider et al., 1995).
    The BRT concluded that the Puget Sound steelhead ESU was not in 
danger of extinction or likely to become endangered in the foreseeable 
future. However, the BRT was concerned that 17 of 21 stocks in the ESU 
for which there were adequate data exhibited overall declining trends. 
Positive trends in abundance for the two largest steelhead runs in the 
ESU (the Skagit and Snohomish Rivers) mitigated the immediacy of 
extinction risk, although there was significant concern regarding the 
sustainability of other steelhead runs in the ESU (most notably the 
Deer Creek summer and Lake Washington winter steelhead stocks, and 
stocks in the Hood Canal area). Given the lack of strong trends in 
abundance for the major stocks and the apparent limited contribution of 
hatchery fish to natural production, the BRT concluded that most winter 
steelhead stocks in the Puget Sound ESU appeared to be naturally self-
sustaining.
    The BRT noted concern about the potential threat to the genetic 
integrity of Puget Sound steelhead posed by past and present hatchery 
practices in the Puget Sound area. Hatchery production in this ESU is 
widespread and managed to support harvest. Most of the hatchery fish 
propagated in the Puget Sound region are winter steelhead derived from 
a single stock (the Chambers Creek hatchery stock) that is indigenous 
to the ESU but generally is not native to the local river basins where 
it is propagated. The summer steelhead hatchery programs in the Puget 
Sound area are derived from an out-of-ESU stock (the Skamania summer 
steelhead stock from the Columbia River). The Skamania hatchery stock 
has generally been introduced in river systems where summer steelhead 
did not naturally exist, although it has been introduced in some Puget 
Sound river basins having native summer steelhead populations (e.g., 
the Skagit, Stillaguamish, and Snohomish Rivers). The Washington 
Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) employs a hatchery management 
strategy of promoting isolation between hatchery and natural stocks by 
releasing smolts early and selecting for advanced spawn timing in 
winter steelhead hatchery programs. This separation in run timing is 
intended to allow for high rates of selective harvest on returning 
hatchery fish, while limiting harvest mortality on wild stocks; and to 
minimize competition (as smolts and adults) and

[[Page 17225]]

opportunities for interbreeding between naturally spawning hatchery 
fish and wild fish. However, the BRT noted that separation of run 
timing is seldom complete. Naturally spawning hatchery fish comprise a 
substantial proportion of the spawning escapement in many of the rivers 
in the ESU, possibly competing with, and posing genetic risks to, the 
local steelhead populations. Additionally, the BRT discussed evidence 
for hatchery introgression in some natural Puget Sound winter steelhead 
populations (Phelps et al., 1994).
    Informed by the BRT's findings (Busby et al., 1996), NMFS concluded 
that the Puget Sound steelhead ESU did not warrant listing under the 
ESA (61 FR 41541; August 9, 1996), but expressed concern regarding the 
sustainability of summer steelhead populations and potentially adverse 
impacts from hatchery practices in Puget Sound.

Analysis of Petition

    NMFS evaluated whether the information presented in the petition 
concerning Puget Sound steelhead met the ESA's standard for 
``substantial information'' The agency also reviewed other information 
readily available to NMFS scientists (i.e., currently within agency 
files) to determine whether there is general agreement with the 
information presented in the petition.
    The petition restates several of the findings of the 1996 status 
review for the Puget Sound steelhead ESU, including the BRT's ESU 
delineation, evaluation of extinction risk, and consideration of 
artificial propagation. Most significantly, the petition provides 10 
years of new harvest, spawning escapement, and total-run-size data for 
nine Puget Sound steelhead stocks (provided to the petitioner by WDFW). 
The petition concludes that new status information describes 
significant short- and long-term downward trends in nearly all river 
systems where the WDFW data are available, despite significant 
reductions in recreational and tribal harvest rates on wild steelhead. 
The petition asserts that there is only one river system, the Skagit 
River, with a steelhead population large enough to appear resilient to 
adverse environmental conditions and depensatory (small population 
size) risks. The petition argues that the spatial structure of the 
Puget Sound ESU has been severely degraded in the period since the 1996 
status review, with four geographic regions at risk of extirpation: the 
Juan de Fuca Strait, Bellingham Bay, Hood Canal, and South Puget Sound. 
The petition argues that populations are at such low levels of 
abundance that catastrophic events, environmental variability, and 
depensation confer a high level of extinction risk into the foreseeable 
future.
    The petition also describes risks to the diversity of the Puget 
Sound steelhead ESU. Hybridization between O. mykiss and coastal 
cutthroat trout (O. clarki) is described as a threat to diversity, as 
well as potentially confounding factor in evaluating abundance 
information that may include visually indistinguishable O. mykiss, 
hybrids, and cutthroat trout. The petition underscores concerns 
described in the 1996 status review regarding adverse impacts from 
hatchery fish. Additionally, the petition describes new information 
suggesting that early winter-run hatchery steelhead males hold over in 
freshwater for an extended period of time and spawn with late winter-
run wild steelhead females (McMillan, 2004), and hatchery juveniles 
residualizing and competing with native rainbow trout and steelhead 
(McMichael et al., 1997; Viola and Schuck, 1995). The petition notes 
that hatchery smolt production has increased since the 1996 status 
review, and that the proportion of hatchery-origin smolts and naturally 
spawning adults has increased. The petition asserts that the large-
scale hatchery steelhead programs in the Puget Sound area provide no 
benefit to the viability of the Puget Sound ESU, but rather have 
negative impacts including: widespread genetic introgression 
compromising local adaptations; competition with wild fish as juveniles 
and adults; and predation on wild steelhead fry by residualized 
hatchery steelhead smolts.
    In addition to the petition narrative and the new harvest and run 
size data provided, the information presented in the petition includes: 
(1) a WDFW report on the genetic relationship among anadromous and 
resident O. mykiss in the Cedar River and Lake Washington in Puget 
Sound; (2) a paper by the petitioner (Sam Wright) advocating for the 
management of salmonid populations in terms of smolt production rather 
than traditional metrics of numbers of recruits or adult spawners; and 
(3) a copy of comments submitted by the petitioner (Wright, 2004) 
regarding NMFS' proposed policy for the consideration of hatchery-
origin fish in ESA listing determinations for Pacific salmon and 
steelhead (69 FR 31354; June 3, 2004). The petition concludes, based on 
the information presented in the petition, that the Puget Sound 
steelhead ESU is in danger of extinction throughout all or a 
significant portion of its range or is likely to become so in the 
foreseeable future.

Petition Finding

    After reviewing the information contained in the petition and 
reviewing information readily available to NMFS scientists (i.e., 
currently within agency files), NMFS determines that the petition to 
list the Puget Sound steelhead presents substantial scientific and 
commercial information indicating that the petitioned action may be 
warranted. In accordance with section 4(b)(3)(B) of the ESA and NMFS' 
implementing regulations (50 CFR 424.14(b)(2)), NMFS will commence a 
review of the status of the Puget Sound O. mykiss ESU and make a 
determination of whether the petitioned action is warranted.

Listing Factors and Basis for Determination

    Under section 4(a)(1) of the ESA, NMFS is to determine whether a 
species is a threatened or endangered species because of any of the 
following factors: (1) the present or threatened destruction, 
modification, or curtailment of a species' habitat or range; (2) 
overutilization for commercial, recreational, scientific, or 
educational purposes; (3) disease or predation; (4) inadequacy of 
existing regulatory mechanisms; or (5) other natural or manmade factors 
affecting the species' continued existence. Under section 4(b)(1)(A) of 
the ESA, listing determinations are to be made based solely on the best 
available scientific and commercial data after conducting a review of 
the status of the species and after taking into account any efforts 
being made by any state or foreign nation to protect the species.

Information Solicited

    To ensure that the updated status review is complete and based on 
the best available and most recent scientific and commercial data, NMFS 
is soliciting information and comments (see DATES and ADDRESSES) 
concerning the Puget Sound ESU of O. mykiss, inclusive of the 
anadromous and resident life history forms. NMFS is particularly 
interested in information that has become available since, or was 
otherwise not considered in, the 1996 steelhead status review.

Biological Information

    NMFS is soliciting pertinent information on the viability of 
naturally spawned and hatchery populations within these ESUs such as: 
data on population abundance, recruitment, productivity, escapement, 
and

[[Page 17226]]

reproductive success (e.g., spawner-recruit or spawner-spawner 
survivorship, fecundity, smolt production estimates, and smolt-to-adult 
ocean survival rates); historical and present data on hatchery fish 
releases, outmigration, survivorship, returns, straying rates, 
replacement rates, and reproductive success in the wild; data on age 
structure and migration patterns of juveniles and adults; meristic, 
morphometric, and genetic studies; information on harvest rates on 
hatchery and wild fish; and spatial or temporal trends in the 
accessibility, quality and quantity of freshwater, estuarine, and 
marine habitats.
    NMFS also requests information regarding the ecological and genetic 
relationship of hatchery and natural populations in the Puget Sound 
area, including: the stock origin and broodstock practices of 
individual hatchery programs; the degree of known or inferred genetic 
divergence between hatchery and natural stocks; behavioral, 
morphological, and life-history traits of hatchery stocks, and the 
degree of ecological divergence between hatchery and natural stocks; 
the potential risks and benefits posed by specific artificial 
propagation programs to naturally spawned populations; and planned 
changes in hatchery management that may contribute to, or hinder, the 
viability of the Puget Sound O. mykiss ESU.
    NMFS is also soliciting pertinent information about resident 
rainbow trout populations (above and below natural and man-made 
barriers to fish passage) and their relationship with the anadromous 
life-history form within the geographic range occupied by the ESU. 
Specifically, NMFS is seeking information regarding: the range, 
distribution, and habitat-use patterns of resident rainbow trout 
populations; the abundance, density, and presence/absence of resident 
rainbow trout; genetic or other relevant data indicating the amount of 
reproductive exchange between the two life-history forms; the frequency 
with which a given life-history produces offspring of the opposite 
life-history form; the historic and current degree of relatedness 
between steelhead and resident rainbow trout life history forms; the 
existence of natural and man-made barriers to passage for anadromous 
and resident populations; the relationship of resident fish located 
above impassible natural and man-made barriers to anadromous and 
resident populations below such barriers to fish passage; and the 
spatial and temporal trends in the quality and quantity of freshwater 
habitat.

Information Regarding Protective Efforts

    Section 4(b)(1)(A) of the ESA requires the Secretary to make 
listing determinations solely on the basis of the best scientific and 
commercial data available after conducting a review of the status of a 
species and after taking into account efforts being made to protect the 
species. Therefore, in making its listing determinations, NMFS first 
assesses the status of the species and identifies factors that have led 
to its current status. NMFS then assesses conservation measures to 
determine whether they ameliorate a species' extinction risk (50 CFR 
424.11(f)). In judging the efficacy of conservation efforts, NMFS 
considers the following: the substantive, protective, and conservation 
elements of such efforts; the degree of certainty that such efforts 
will reliably be implemented; the degree of certainty that such efforts 
will be effective in furthering the conservation of the species; and 
the presence of monitoring provisions to determine effectiveness of 
recovery efforts and that permit adaptive management (68 FR 15100; 
March 28, 2003). In some cases, conservation efforts may be relatively 
new or may not have had sufficient time to demonstrate their biological 
benefit. In such cases, provisions of adequate monitoring and funding 
for conservation efforts are essential to ensure that the intended 
conservation benefits will be realized. NMFS encourages all parties to 
submit information on ongoing efforts to protect and conserve steelhead 
and rainbow trout populations in Puget Sound, as well as information on 
recently implemented or planned activities (i.e., since the 1996 status 
review) and their likely impact(s).

Information Regarding Potential Critical Habitat

    Critical habitat is defined in section 3 of the ESA as: (1) the 
specific areas within the geographical area occupied by the species, at 
the time it is listed in accordance with the ESA, on which are found 
those physical or biological features (a) essential to the conservation 
of the species and (b) which may require special management 
considerations or protection; and (2) specific areas outside the 
geographical area occupied by the species at the time it is listed upon 
a determination that such areas are essential for the conservation of 
the species. Once critical habitat is designated, section 7 of the ESA 
requires Federal agencies to ensure that they do not fund, authorize or 
carry out any actions that are likely to destroy or adversely modify 
that habitat. This requirement is in addition to the section 7 
requirement that Federal agencies ensure that their actions do not 
jeopardize the continued existence of listed species.
    Section 4(a)(3)(a) of the ESA requires that, to the extent prudent 
and determinable, critical habitat be designated concurrently with the 
listing of a species. Designations of critical habitat must be based on 
the best scientific data available and must take into consideration the 
economic, national security, and other relevant impacts of specifying 
any particular area as critical habitat. In advance of any 
determination to propose listing the Puget Sound O. mykiss ESU under 
the ESA, NMFS is soliciting information that would assist the agency in 
developing a critical habitat proposal.
    Joint NMFS U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service regulations for listing 
endangered and threatened species and designating critical habitat (50 
CFR 424.12(b)) state that the agency ``shall consider those physical 
and biological features that are essential to the conservation of a 
given species and that may require special management considerations or 
protection (referred to above as ``essential physical and biological 
features''). Pursuant to the regulations, such requirements include, 
but are not limited to the following: (1) space for individual and 
population growth, and for normal behavior; (2) food, water, air, 
light, minerals, or other nutritional or physiological requirements; 
(3) cover or shelter; (4) sites for breeding, reproduction, rearing of 
offspring, germination, or seed dispersal; and generally, (5) habitats 
that are protected from disturbance or are representative of the 
historic geographical and ecological distributions of a species. These 
regulations emphasize that the agency shall focus on essential features 
within the specific areas considered for designation. These features 
``may include, but are not limited to, the following: spawning sites, 
feeding sites, seasonal wetland or dryland, water quality or quantity, 
geological formation, vegetation type, tide, and specific soil types.'' 
For other ESUs of West Coast O. mykiss, NMFS has identified the 
following physical or biological features as essential to their 
conservation: (1) Freshwater spawning sites with water quantity and 
quality conditions and substrate supporting spawning, incubation and 
larval development. (2) Freshwater rearing sites with water quantity 
and floodplain connectivity to form and maintain physical habitat 
conditions and support juvenile growth and mobility; water

[[Page 17227]]

quality and forage supporting juvenile development; and natural cover 
such as shade, submerged and overhanging large wood, log jams and 
beaver dams, aquatic vegetation, large rocks and boulders, side 
channels, and undercut banks. (3) Freshwater migration corridors free 
of obstruction with water quantity and quality conditions and natural 
cover such as submerged and overhanging large wood, aquatic vegetation, 
large rocks and boulders, side channels, and undercut banks supporting 
juvenile and adult mobility and survival. (4) Estuarine areas free of 
obstruction with water quality, water quantity, and salinity conditions 
supporting juvenile and adult physiological transitions between fresh- 
and saltwater; natural cover such as submerged and overhanging large 
wood, aquatic vegetation, large rocks and boulders, and side channels; 
and juvenile and adult forage, including aquatic invertebrates and 
fishes, supporting growth and maturation. (5) Nearshore marine areas 
free of obstruction with water quality and quantity conditions and 
forage, including aquatic invertebrates and fishes, supporting growth 
and maturation; and natural cover such as submerged and overhanging 
large wood, aquatic vegetation, large rocks and boulders, and side 
channels. (6) Offshore marine areas with water quality conditions and 
forage, including aquatic invertebrates and fishes, supporting growth 
and maturation. NMFS is soliciting comment on the applicability of 
these features to Puget Sound O. mykiss and is also soliciting 
information regarding the specific areas within the geographical area 
occupied by Puget Sound O. mykiss where such essential physical and 
biological features may be found.
    Section 4(b)(2) of the ESA requires the Secretary to consider the 
``economic impact, impact on national security, and any other relevant 
impact,'' of designating a particular area as critical habitat. Section 
4(b)(2) further authorizes the Secretary to exclude any area from a 
critical habitat designation if the Secretary finds that the benefits 
of exclusion outweigh the benefits of designation, unless excluding 
that area will result in extinction of the species. We seek information 
regarding the benefits of designating specific areas geographically 
within the Puget Sound O. mykiss ESU as critical habitat (i.e., 
specific areas within the river basins of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, 
Puget Sound, and Hood Canal, Washington, as far west as the Elwha 
River, and as far north as the Nooksack River and the United States/
Canada border). We also seek information on the economic impact of 
designating particular areas as part of the critical habitat 
designation. In keeping with the guidance provided by the Office of 
Management and Budget (2000, 2003), we seek information that would 
allow the monetization of these effects to the extent possible, as well 
as information on qualitative impacts to economic values. We are also 
seeking information on impacts to national security and any other 
relevant impacts of designating critical habitat in these areas.
    In accordance with the Secretarial Order on American Indian Tribal 
Rights, Federal-Tribal Trust Responsibilities, and the Endangered 
Species Act (June 5, 1997), if it is determined that the Puget Sound O. 
mykiss ESU warrants listing we will coordinate with Federally 
recognized American Indian Tribes on a government-to-government basis 
to determine how to make critical habitat assessments in areas that may 
impact tribal trust resources. In accordance with our regulations (50 
CFR 424.13) we will consult as appropriate with affected states, 
interested persons and organizations, other affected Federal agencies, 
and, in cooperation with the Secretary of State, with the country or 
countries in which the species concerned are normally found or whose 
citizens harvest such species from the high seas. Data reviewed may 
include, but are not limited to, scientific or commercial publications, 
administrative reports, maps or other graphic materials, information 
received from experts, and comments from interested parties.

Identification of Peer Reviewers

    On July 1, 1994, NMFS, jointly with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service, published a series of policies regarding listings under the 
ESA, including a policy for peer review of scientific data (59 FR 
34270). The intent of the peer review policy is to ensure that listings 
are based on the best scientific and commercial data available. On 
December 15, 2004, the Office of Management and Budget issued a ``Final 
Information Quality Act Bulletin for Peer Review,'' which establishes 
peer review requirements for Federal agencies before disseminating 
important scientific information. If NMFS determines that listing is 
warranted, the agency will solicit the expert opinions of qualified 
specialists, concurrent with the public comment period following the 
publication of a proposed rule. In advance of any such determination, 
NMFS is soliciting the names and affiliations of experts from the 
academic and scientific community, Native American tribal groups, 
federal and state agencies, and the private sector, as potential 
reviewers.

References

    Copies of the petition and related materials are available on the 
Internet at https://www.nwr.noaa.gov, or upon request (see ADDRESSES 
section above).

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.

    Dated: March 30, 2005.
William T. Hogarth,
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 05-6714 Filed 4-4-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S