Fisheries Off West Coast States; West Coast Salmon Fisheries; Amendment 18 to the Pacific Coast Salmon Fishery Management Plan, 56547-56553 [2014-22442]
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Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 183 / Monday, September 22, 2014 / Proposed Rules
on the merits was reached. Unless the
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regarding entry-level driver training;
consideration of negotiated rulemaking
process. The correction involves a
clarification of the contractual
relationship that FMCSA has with the
convener, Mr. Richard Parker.
DATES: September 22, 2014.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.
Richard Clemente, Transportation
Specialist, FMCSA, Office of Bus and
Truck Standards and Operations, 202–
366–4325 or mcpsd@dot.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
For FMCSA’s notice published on
August 19, 2014, (79 FR 49044), the
following correction is made:
On page 49044, in column 3, the first
sentence of the last full paragraph, is
changed to read: ‘‘FMCSA has retained
a neutral convener, Mr. Richard Parker,
a professor of law at the University of
Connecticut School of Law, through a
contractor, Strategic Consulting
Alliances, LLC to undertake this initial
stage in the Reg Neg process.’’
By the Commission.
Karen V. Gregory,
Secretary.
[Docket No. 130123065–4768–01]
[FR Doc. 2014–22427 Filed 9–19–14; 8:45 am]
Fisheries Off West Coast States; West
Coast Salmon Fisheries; Amendment
18 to the Pacific Coast Salmon Fishery
Management Plan
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration
49 CFR Parts 380, 383, and 384
[Docket No. FMCSA–2007–27748]
asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with RULES
BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
50 CFR Part 660
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Proposed rule; request for
comments.
AGENCY:
NMFS proposes regulations to
implement Amendment 18 to the Pacific
Coast Salmon Fishery Management Plan
for Commercial and Recreational
Salmon Fisheries off the Coasts of
Washington, Oregon, and California
(FMP). Amendment 18, which was
transmitted by the Pacific Fishery
Management Council (PFMC) on June
10, 2014, revises the description and
identification of essential fish habitat
(EFH) for Pacific salmon managed under
the FMP, designates habitat areas of
particular concern (HAPCs), updates the
SUMMARY:
RIN 2126–AB66
Minimum Training Requirements for
Entry-Level Commercials Drivers’
License Applicants; Consideration of
Negotiated Rulemaking Process
Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration (FMCSA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice of intent; correction.
AGENCY:
This document makes a
correction to a notice published in the
Federal Register on August 19, 2014,
SUMMARY:
16:54 Sep 19, 2014
[FR Doc. 2014–22304 Filed 9–19–14; 8:45 am]
RIN 0648–BC95
BILLING CODE 6730–01–P
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Issued on: September 15, 2014.
Larry W. Minor,
Associate Administrator for Policy.
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56547
current information on fishing activities,
and updates the list of non-fishing
related activities that may adversely
affect EFH and potential conservation
and enhancement measures to minimize
those effects.
DATES: Comments on this proposed rule
must be received on or before October
22, 2014.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments,
identified by NOAA–NMFS–2014–0071,
by any one of the following methods:
• Electronic Submissions: Submit all
electronic public comments via the
Federal e-Rulemaking Portal https://
www.regulations.gov. To submit
comments via the e-Rulemaking Portal,
enter NOAA–NMFS–2014–0071 in the
search box. Locate the document you
wish to comment on from the resulting
list and click on the ‘‘Submit a
Comment’’ icon on the right of that line.
• Mail: William W. Stelle, Jr.,
Regional Administrator, West Coast
Region, NMFS, 7600 Sand Point Way
NE., Seattle, WA 98115–0070.
Instructions: Comments must be
submitted by one of the above methods
to ensure that the comments are
received, documented, and considered
by NMFS. Comments sent by any other
method, to any other address or
individual, or received after the end of
the comment period, may not be
considered. All comments received are
a part of the public record and will
generally be posted for public viewing
on https://www.regulations.gov without
change. All personal identifying
information (e.g., name, address, etc.)
submitted voluntarily by the sender will
be publicly accessible. Do not submit
confidential business information or
otherwise sensitive or protected
information. NMFS will accept
anonymous comments (enter N/A in the
required fields if you wish to remain
anonymous). Attachments to electronic
comments will be accepted in Microsoft
Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or Adobe
PDF file formats only.
Information relevant to this proposed
rule, which includes an EA with a
regulatory impact review (RIR), is
available for public review during
business hours at the office of the
PFMC, at 7700 NE Ambassador Place,
Suite 101, Portland, OR 97220, phone:
503–820–2280, and is posted on its Web
site (https://www.pcouncil.org/salmon/
fishery-management-plan/amendmentsin-development/). These documents are
also linked on the NMFS West Coast
Region Web site (https://
www.westcoast.fisheries.noaa.gov/
fisheries/salmon_steelhead/salmon_
and_steelhead_fisheries.html). Copies of
additional reports referred to in this
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Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 183 / Monday, September 22, 2014 / Proposed Rules
document may also be obtained from
the PFMC.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Peggy Mundy at 206–526–4323.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The identification and description of
EFH for salmon stocks managed under
the FMP were originally developed in
Amendment 14 to the FMP (66 FR
29238, May 30, 2001), and codified by
NMFS at 50 CFR 660.412 in 2008 (73 FR
60987, October 15, 2008). The
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act
(MSA) requires periodic review of EFH
provisions, and revision or amendment
of those provisions, as warranted, based
on available information (50 CFR
600.815(a)(10)). In 2009, the PFMC and
NMFS established and staffed a Pacific
Coast Salmon EFH Oversight Panel
(Panel) to review salmon EFH and new
information relevant to salmon EFH,
and to make recommendations as to
whether revisions would be appropriate.
The Panel recommended modifications
to Pacific salmon EFH in a final report
submitted to the PFMC (Stadler et al.
2011). At its April 2011 meeting, the
PFMC initiated an FMP amendment to
address the Panel’s recommendations.
The PFMC adopted modifications to
salmon EFH contained in Amendment
18 at their September 2013 meeting, and
transmitted the proposed amendment,
and a draft environmental assessment
(EA) to NMFS on June 10, 2014. NMFS
published a notice of availability and
request for comments in the Federal
Register (79 FR 34272, June 16, 2014);
after a 60-day comment period, no
comments were received. Amendment
18 was approved by the Secretary of
Commerce on September 12, 2014.
asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with RULES
Components of Amendment 18
Amendment 18, as proposed, would
modify the FMP in four sections,
including Appendix A. These
modifications, and their rationale, are
described below under the titles of the
affected FMP sections.
FMP Section 4.1.1—Identification and
Description
Prior to Amendment 18, estuarine and
marine EFH for salmon extends from the
nearshore and tidal submerged
environments within state territorial
waters out to the full extent of the
exclusive economic zone (200 nautical
miles) offshore of Washington, Oregon,
and California north of Point
Conception. The shoreward boundary is
vague and does not take into account
tidal fluctuations. Amendment 18
would add specificity to this boundary
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by describing it as extending from the
extreme high tide line in nearshore and
tidal submerged environments. The
offshore boundary remains the extent of
the U.S. exclusive economic zone
offshore of Washington, Oregon, and
California north of Point Conception,
but Amendment 18 would add the
metric equivalent of 370.4 km.
Due to the migratory nature of
salmon, some stocks managed by the
PFMC spend part of their life history
occupying Alaskan waters, but not all
salmon stocks found Alaskan waters are
PFMC-managed stocks. In the current
FMP, Pacific Coast salmon EFH is
described as including the marine areas
off Alaska designated as salmon EFH by
the North Pacific Fishery Management
Council (NPFMC), regardless of the
stocks for which the NPFMC designated
the EFH. Amendment 18 would clarify
that Pacific salmon EFH as designated
by the PFMC includes areas designated
as EFH by the NPFMC only for stocks
managed by the PFMC.
Prior to Amendment 18, freshwater
salmon EFH is identified as: all
currently viable water bodies and most
of the habitat historically accessible to
salmon (except above certain
impassable natural barriers).
Amendment 18 would change this
language to read: The geographic extent
of freshwater EFH is identified as all
water bodies currently or historically
occupied by PFMC-managed salmon in
Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and
California as identified in Table 1 of
Appendix A. The new language
eliminates the undefined term
‘‘currently viable,’’ and replaces it with
‘‘currently occupied’’ and the term
‘‘historically accessible’’ with
‘‘historically occupied.’’ These terms are
consistent with the definition of EFH at
50 CFR 600.10. It also clarifies that EFH
is designated for salmon stocks managed
under the FMP.
FMP Section 4.12—Adverse Effects of
Fishing on Essential Fish Habitat
Amendment 18 would make minor
changes to this section that are largely
editorial and grammatical.
FMP Section 4.14—Procedures for
Amending Salmon EFH
Amendment 18 would add new
section 4.14 to the FMP, to bring the
FMP into compliance with regulations
at 50 CFR 600.815(a)(10), which require
the FMP to outline the procedures the
PFMC will follow to review and revise
EFH information. Revisions to Pacific
Coast salmon EFH could be made when
the PFMC determines that such action is
warranted by new information that has
become available. Such new
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information is typically generated
during the periodic reviews, but could
come before the PFMC through other
established avenues. The process could
typically be accomplished via a threemeeting PFMC process and would
require PFMC advisory bodies to assess
and make recommendations to the
PFMC regarding changes to Appendix
A. Upon the PFMC’s adoption of any
revisions, further procedures may be
required to implement the revisions as
advised by the Secretary.
FMP Appendix A—Identification and
Description of Essential Fish Habitat,
Adverse Impacts, and Conservation
Measures
Under Amendment 18, Appendix A
would be revised, including a table
listing the freshwater EFH designations
using United States Geological Survey
(USGS) 4th field HUs. The information
used to revise Appendix A comes
largely from the Panel’s report (Stadler
et al. 2011) and is based on the best
scientific information available. The
proposed Appendix A can be found on
the PFMC’s Web site
(www.pcouncil.org). Amendment 18
includes revisions to the EFH
descriptions in Appendix A for
Chinook, coho, and pink salmon stocks
managed under the FMP to reflect
currently available information
regarding habitat currently or
historically occupied by salmon and
changes made by USGS to its HUs. As
a result, some HUs identified as EFH in
the current Amendment 18 would be
de-designated, others would be added,
and identifying information about some
HUs would be modified to reflect USGS’
new designations. The proposed
Appendix also designates five types of
habitat as HAPCs: Complex channels
and floodplain habitats, thermal refugia,
spawning habitat, estuaries, and marine
and estuarine submerged aquatic
vegetation. Amendment 18 makes only
minor changes to fishing activities
affecting salmon EFH; the description of
fishing activities is updated, impacts
from derelict gear is added, and harvest
of prey species is updated. The
Amendment expands the list of nonfishing activities that may affect salmon
EFH to include the following:
Alternative energy development, coal
export terminal facilities, culvert
construction, desalination, flood control
maintenance, liquefied natural gas
projects, overwater structures, pesticide
use, and power plant intakes.
Amendment 18 revises criteria for
considering designation of habitat above
impassable dams as EFH and updates
existing designations to reflect new
information.
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Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 183 / Monday, September 22, 2014 / Proposed Rules
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Changes to Regulations
This proposed Rule includes changes
to the existing regulations at 50 CFR
660.412 to implement Amendment 18.
These are described below.
• § 660.412—EFH identifications and
descriptions for Pacific salmon
This section is revised in its entirety
to update the specific EFH
identifications and descriptions for
Pacific salmon in Washington, Idaho,
Oregon, and California, as proposed in
Amendment 18 to the FMP. These
changes include adding specificity to
this boundary by describing it as
extending from the extreme high tide
line in nearshore and tidal submerged
environments; clarifying that Pacific
salmon EFH as designated by the PFMC
includes areas designated as EFH by the
NPFMC only for stocks managed by the
PFMC; and adding new language
eliminating the undefined term
‘‘historically accessible’’ with
‘‘historically occupied.’’ Table 1 has
been rewritten to update freshwater EFH
designations for Chinook, coho, and
pink salmon stocks managed under the
FMP using USGS 4th field HUs.
Classification
Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the
MSA, the NMFS Assistant
Administrator has determined that this
proposed rule is consistent with
Amendment 18, the Pacific Salmon
Fishery Management Plan, the MSA,
and other applicable law, subject to
further consideration after public
comment.
This proposed rule has been
determined to be not significant for
purposes of Executive Order 12866.
A Draft EA has been prepared for
Amendment 18; a copy of the Draft EA
is available online at https://
www.pcouncil.org/. The Draft EA
includes a regulatory impact review
(RIR) prepared by NMFS.
The Chief Counsel for Regulation of
the Department of Commerce certified
to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the
Small Business Administration that this
proposed rule, if adopted, would not
have a significant economic impact on
a substantial number of small entities.
The purpose of the Regulatory
Flexibility Act (RFA) is to relieve small
businesses, small organizations, and
small governmental entities of
burdensome regulations and recordkeeping requirements. Major goals of the
RFA are: (1) To increase agency
awareness and understanding of the
impact of their regulations on small
business, (2) to require agencies
communicate and explain their findings
to the public, and (3) to encourage
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16:54 Sep 19, 2014
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agencies to use flexibility and to provide
regulatory relief to small entities. The
RFA emphasizes predicting impacts on
small entities as a group distinct from
other entities and the consideration of
alternatives that may minimize the
impacts while still achieving the stated
objective of the action. An initial
regulatory flexibility analysis (IRFA) is
conducted unless it is determined that
an action will not have a ‘‘significant
economic impact on a substantial
number of small entities.’’
The objective of this proposed rule is
to revise and update the EFH provisions
of the Salmon FMP that were previously
approved by the Secretary of Commerce
in 2000 (66 FR 29238, May 30, 2001).
EFH provisions are required under the
MSA (16 U.S.C. 1802(b)(7)). This rule
would impact vessels harvesting salmon
from the ocean troll fishery. The
following fishery information is found
in the 2013 Stock Assessment and
Fisheries Evaluation report (PFMC
2014). In 2013, there were 2,270 permits
issued for this fishery, with a total
exvessel value of $34.1 million. Of the
2,270 permits, only 1,177 actually
landed salmon. In California, 670
vessels landed salmon for an exvessel
value of $23.6 million; in Oregon, 399
vessels landed salmon for an exvessel
value of $7.6 million; and in
Washington, 108 vessels landed salmon
for an exvessel value of $2.8 million.
Treaty Indian ocean fisheries landed
salmon with an exvessel value of $6.4
million.
On June 12, 2014, the Small Business
Administration (SBA) issued an interim
final rule revising the small business
size standards for several industries
effective July 14, 2014 (79 FR 33467
(June 12, 2014)). The rule increased the
size standard from $19.0 to $20.5
million for finfish fishing, from $5 to
$5.5 million for shellfish fishing, and
from $7.0 million to $7.5 million for
other marine fishing, for-hire
businesses, and marinas. Based on this
size standard, all vessels harvesting
salmon from the ocean troll fishery are
considered small under the Small
Business Administration approved
definition of a small fish harvester.
Therefore, there can be no
disproportionate impacts between small
and large vessels. Furthermore, there are
no disproportionate impacts based on
homeport, gear type, or vessel size from
the promulgation of this proposed rule.
This proposed rule would not result
in any immediate impacts on revenues
or costs for the small entities
participating in the Pacific salmon
fishery because it does not contain any
new management measures that would
have specific economic impact on the
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56549
fishery. However, future rulemakings
that are promulgated by NMFS on
behalf of the Secretary may be based in
part on the identification and
description of the EFH and such actions
would likely have specific measurable
impacts on the small entities
participating in the fishery.
As a result, an initial regulatory
flexibility analysis is not required and
none has been prepared. NMFS will
conduct the appropriate analyses for
any subsequent rulemakings stemming
from this proposed rule.
This proposed rule would not
establish any new reporting or
recordkeeping requirements. This
proposed rule does not include a
collection of information. No Federal
rules have been identified that
duplicate, overlap, or conflict with this
action.
This action is not expected to have
adverse effects on any listed species or
critical habitat. As described in the EA
for Amendment 18, this action may
have minimal effects on listed species in
freshwater areas where EFH
designations would change slightly
under the preferred alternative. NMFS
has consulted with itself under ESA
section 7 and prepared a memo
concluding that implementation of the
preferred alternative is not likely to
adversely affect any listed species or
critical habitat.
This proposed rule was developed
after meaningful collaboration with the
affected tribes, through the PFMC
process. Under the MSA at 16 U.S.C.
1852(b)(5), one of the voting members of
the PFMC must be a representative of an
Indian Tribe with Federally recognized
fishing rights from the area of the
PFMC’s jurisdiction.
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 660
Fisheries, Fishing, Recordkeeping and
reporting requirements.
Dated: September 16, 2014.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for
Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
For the reasons set out in the
preamble, 50 CFR part 660 is proposed
to be amended as follows:
PART 660—FISHERIES OFF WEST
COAST STATES
1. The authority citation for part 660
continues to read as follows:
■
Authority: 16 U.S.C. et seq. and 16 U.S.C.
773 et seq.
2. Section § 660.412 is revised to read
as follows:
■
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Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 183 / Monday, September 22, 2014 / Proposed Rules
§ 660.412 EFH identifications and
descriptions for Pacific salmon.
Essential fish habitat (EFH) is
identified for anadromous Pacific
salmon stocks managed by the Pacific
Fishery Management Council (PFMC)
under the Pacific Coast Salmon Fishery
Management Plan (FMP). These
managed salmon include most of the
Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus
tshawytscha) stocks and all of the coho
salmon (O. kisutch) stocks from
Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and
California; as well as pink salmon (O.
gorbuscha) stocks originating from
watersheds within Puget Sound east of,
and including, the Elwha River. The
geographic extent of freshwater EFH is
specifically identified in the FMP as all
water bodies currently or historically
occupied by PFMC-managed salmon in
Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and
California; including aquatic areas
above all artificial barriers that are not
specifically excluded. Freshwater EFH,
identified in Table 1 of this subpart H,
is described using fourth field
hydrologic unit codes developed by the
U.S. Geological Survey (defined in U.S.
Geological Survey and U.S. Department
of Agriculture, Natural Resources
Conservation Service: Federal
guidelines, requirements, and
procedures for the national Watershed
Boundary Dataset: U.S. Geological
Survey Techniques and Methods 11–A3,
2009). Table 1 also identifies the dams
that represent the upstream extent of
EFH in each hydrologic unit.
(a) Chinook salmon EFH includes all
water bodies currently or historically
occupied by PFMC-managed Chinook
salmon in Washington, Oregon, Idaho,
and California as identified in Table 1
of this subpart. Chinook salmon EFH
also includes the estuarine and marine
areas extending from the extreme high
tide line in nearshore and tidal
submerged environments within state
territorial waters out to the full extent of
the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) (200
nautical miles) offshore of Washington,
Oregon, and California north of Point
Conception; and the marine areas of
Alaska that are designated as Chinook
salmon EFH by the North Pacific
Fishery Management Council (NPFMC),
for stocks that are also managed by the
PFMC.
(b) Coho salmon EFH includes all
water bodies currently or historically
occupied by PFMC-managed coho
salmon in Washington, Oregon, Idaho,
and California as identified in Table 1
of this subpart. Coho salmon EFH also
includes the estuarine and marine areas
extending from the extreme high tide
line in nearshore and tidal submerged
environments within state territorial
waters out to the full extent of the EEZ
(200 nautical miles) offshore of
Washington, Oregon, and California
north of Point Conception; and the
marine areas of Alaska that are
designated as coho salmon EFH by the
NPFMC, for stocks that are also
managed by the PFMC.
(c) Puget Sound pink salmon EFH
includes all water bodies currently or
historically occupied by PFMC-managed
Puget Sound pink salmon in
Washington State as identified in Table
1 of this subpart. Puget Sound pink
salmon EFH also includes the estuarine
and marine areas extending from the
extreme high tide line in nearshore and
tidal submerged environments within
state territorial waters north and east of
Cape Flattery, Washington, including
Puget Sound, the Strait of Juan de Fuca
and Strait of Georgia; the waters of the
U.S. EEZ north of 48° N latitude to the
U.S.-Canada border; and marine areas of
Alaska that are designated as pink
salmon EFH by the NPFMC, for stocks
that are also managed by the PFMC.
TABLE 1 TO SUBPART H OF PART 660—PACIFIC SALMON EFH IDENTIFIED BY USGS HYDROLOGIC UNIT CODE (HUC)
4th Field hydrologic unit
code
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
State(s)
Chinook
salmon
Coho
salmon
Puget
Sound
pink
salmon
Impassable dam(s)
Chief Joseph .....................
Okanogan ..........................
Similkameen ......................
Methow ..............................
Lake Chelan ......................
Upper Columbia—Entiat ....
Wenatchee ........................
Moses Coulee ...................
Lower Crab ........................
Upper Columbia—Priest
Rapids.
Upper Yakima ....................
WA
WA
WA
WA
WA
WA
WA
WA
WA
WA
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
—
—
X
—
X
X
X
—
X
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
Chief Joseph Dam.
n/a.
n/a.
n/a.
n/a.
n/a.
n/a.
n/a.
n/a.
n/a.
17030001 ...........................
WA
X
X
—
17030002 ...........................
Naches ..............................
WA
X
X
—
17030003
17060101
17060102
17060103
17060104
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17020005
17020006
17020007
17020008
17020009
17020010
17020011
17020012
17020015
17020016
Hydrologic unit name
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
WA
OR/ID
OR/ID
OR/WA/ID
OR
X
X
X
X
X
X
—
—
X
X
—
—
—
—
—
17060105
17060106
17060107
17060108
17060110
17060201
17060202
17060203
17060204
17060205
17060206
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
Lower Yakima ....................
Hells Canyon .....................
Imnaha River .....................
Lower Snake—Asotin ........
Upper Grande Ronde
River.
Wallowa River ...................
Lower Grande Ronde ........
Lower Snake—Tucannon ..
Palouse River ....................
Lower Snake River ............
Upper Salmon ...................
Pahsimeroi .........................
Middle Salmon—Panther ..
Lemhi .................................
Upper Middle Fork Salmon
Lower Middle Fork Salmon
Keechelus Dam, Kachess
Dam (Kachess River).
Rimrock Dam (Tieton
River).
n/a.
Hells Canyon Dam.
n/a.
n/a.
n/a.
OR
OR/WA
WA
WA
WA
ID
ID
ID
ID
ID
ID
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
—
X
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
n/a.
n/a.
n/a.
n/a.
n/a.
n/a.
n/a.
n/a.
n/a.
n/a.
n/a.
E:\FR\FM\22SEP1.SGM
22SEP1
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Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 183 / Monday, September 22, 2014 / Proposed Rules
56551
TABLE 1 TO SUBPART H OF PART 660—PACIFIC SALMON EFH IDENTIFIED BY USGS HYDROLOGIC UNIT CODE (HUC)—
Continued
4th Field hydrologic unit
code
Hydrologic unit name
17060207 ...........................
Middle Salmon—Chamberlain.
South Fork Salmon ...........
Lower Salmon ...................
Little Salmon ......................
Upper Selway ....................
Lower Selway ....................
Lochsa ...............................
Middle Fork Clearwater .....
South Fork Clearwater ......
Clearwater .........................
Lower North Fork Clearwater.
Middle Columbia—Lake
Wallula.
Umatilla ..............................
17060208
17060209
17060210
17060301
17060302
17060303
17060304
17060305
17060306
17060308
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
17070101 ...........................
17070103 ...........................
asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with RULES
17070105
17070106
17070306
17080001
17080002
17080003
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
17080004
17080005
17080006
17090001
17090002
17090003
17090004
17090005
17090006
17090007
17090008
17090009
17090010
17090011
17090012
17100101
17100102
17100103
17100104
17100105
17100106
17100201
17100202
17100203
17100204
17100205
17100206
17100207
17100301
17100302
17100303
17100304
17100305
17100306
17100307
17100308
17100309
17100310
17100311
17100312
17110001
17110002
17110003
17110004
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
VerDate Sep<11>2014
Middle Columbia—Hood ...
Klickitat ..............................
Lower Deschutes ...............
Lower Columbia—Sandy ...
Lewis .................................
Lower Columbia—
Clatskanie.
Upper Cowlitz ....................
Cowlitz ...............................
Lower Columbia ................
Middle Fork Willamette ......
Coast Fork Willamette .......
Upper Willamette ...............
McKenzie ...........................
North Santiam ...................
South Santiam ...................
Middle Willamette ..............
Yamhill ...............................
Molalla—Pudding ..............
Tualatin ..............................
Clackamas .........................
Lower Willamette ...............
Hoh—Quillayute ................
Queets—Quinault ..............
Upper Chehalis ..................
Lower Chehalis ..................
Grays Harbor .....................
Willapa ...............................
Necanicum .........................
Nehalem ............................
Wilson—Trask—Nestucca
Siletz—Yaquina .................
Alsea ..................................
Siuslaw ..............................
Siltcoos ..............................
North Umpqua ...................
South Umpqua ..................
Umpqua .............................
Coos ..................................
Coquille ..............................
Sixes ..................................
Upper Rogue .....................
Middle Rogue ....................
Applegate ..........................
Lower Rogue .....................
Illinois .................................
Chetco ...............................
Fraser ................................
Strait of Georgia ................
San Juan Islands ...............
Nooksack ...........................
16:54 Sep 19, 2014
Jkt 232001
PO 00000
Chinook
salmon
Coho
salmon
Puget
Sound
pink
salmon
ID
X
—
—
n/a.
ID
ID
ID
ID
ID
ID
ID
ID
WA/ID
ID
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
—
—
—
X
X
—
X
X
X
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
n/a.
n/a.
n/a.
n/a.
n/a.
n/a.
n/a.
n/a.
n/a.
Dworshak Dam.
OR/WA
X
X
—
n/a.
OR
X
X
—
OR/WA
WA
OR
OR/WA
WA
OR/WA
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
—
—
—
—
—
—
McKay Dam (McKay
Creek).
n/a.
n/a.
n/a.
Bull Run Dam #2.
n/a.
n/a.
WA
WA
OR/WA
OR
OR
OR
OR
OR
OR
OR
OR
OR
OR
OR
OR
WA
WA
WA
WA
WA
WA
OR
OR
OR
OR
OR
OR
OR
OR
OR
OR
OR
OR
OR
OR
OR
CA/OR
OR
CA/OR
CA/OR
WA
WA
WA
WA
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
....................
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
—
X
X
X
X
—
—
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
X
—
X
n/a.
n/a.
n/a.
n/a.
Dorena Dam.
n/a.
Cougar Dam 1.
Big Cliff Dam 2.
n/a.
n/a.
n/a.
n/a.
n/a.
n/a.
n/a.
n/a.
n/a.
n/a.
n/a.
n/a.
n/a.
n/a.
n/a.
n/a.
n/a.
n/a.
n/a.
n/a.
n/a.
n/a.
n/a.
n/a.
n/a.
n/a.
Lost Creek Dam.
Emigrant Dam.
Applegate Dam.
n/a.
n/a.
n/a.
n/a.
n/a.
n/a.
n/a.
E:\FR\FM\22SEP1.SGM
22SEP1
State(s)
Frm 00028
Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
Impassable dam(s)
56552
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 183 / Monday, September 22, 2014 / Proposed Rules
TABLE 1 TO SUBPART H OF PART 660—PACIFIC SALMON EFH IDENTIFIED BY USGS HYDROLOGIC UNIT CODE (HUC)—
Continued
4th Field hydrologic unit
code
17110005
17110006
17110007
17110008
17110009
17110010
Hydrologic unit name
State(s)
Chinook
salmon
Coho
salmon
Puget
Sound
pink
salmon
Impassable dam(s)
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
Upper Skagit ......................
Sauk ..................................
Lower Skagit ......................
Stillaguamish .....................
Skykomish .........................
Snoqualmie ........................
WA
WA
WA
WA
WA
WA
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
17110011 ...........................
17110012 ...........................
Snohomish .........................
Lake Washington ...............
WA
WA
X
X
X
X
X
....................
17110013
17110014
17110015
17110016
17110017
17110018
17110019
17110020
17110021
18010101
18010102
18010103
18010104
18010105
18010106
18010107
18010108
18010109
18010110
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
Duwamish ..........................
Puyallup .............................
Nisqually ............................
Deschutes ..........................
Skokomish .........................
Hood Canal .......................
Puget Sound ......................
Dungeness—Elwha ...........
Crescent—Hoko ................
Smith River ........................
Mad—Redwood .................
Upper Eel ..........................
Middle Fork Eel .................
Lower Eel ..........................
South Fork Eel ..................
Mattole ...............................
Big—Navarro—Garcia .......
Gualala—Salmon ..............
Russian ..............................
WA
WA
WA
WA
WA
WA
WA
WA
WA
CA/OR
CA
CA
CA
CA
CA
CA
CA
CA
CA
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
....................
X
X
X
X
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
18010206
18010207
18010208
18010209
18010210
18010211
18010212
18020104
18020111
18020115
18020116
18020125
18020126
18020151
18020152
18020153
18020154
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
Upper Klamath ..................
Shasta ...............................
Scott ..................................
Lower Klamath ..................
Salmon ..............................
Trinity .................................
South Fork Trinity ..............
Sacramento—Stone Corral
Lower American ................
Upper Stony ......................
Upper Cache .....................
Upper Yuba .......................
Upper Bear ........................
Cow Creek .........................
Cottonwood Creek .............
Battle Creek .......................
Clear Creek—Sacramento
River.
CA/OR
CA
CA
CA/OR
CA
CA
CA
CA
CA
CA
CA
CA
CA
CA
CA
CA
CA
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
18020155 ...........................
Paynes Creek—Sacramento River.
Thomes Creek—Sacramento River.
Big Chico Creek—Sacramento River.
Butte Creek .......................
Honcut Headwaters—
Lower Feather.
Upper Coon—Upper Auburn 4.
Upper Putah ......................
Lower Sacramento ............
Middle San Joaquin—
Lower Chowchilla 5.
CA
X
—
—
Gorge Lake Dam.
n/a.
n/a.
n/a.
n/a.
Tolt Dam (S. Fork Tolt
River).
n/a.
Cedar Falls (Masonry)
Dam (Cedar River).
n/a.
n/a.
n/a.
n/a.
n/a.
n/a.
n/a.
n/a.
n/a.
n/a.
Robert W. Matthews Dam.
Scott Dam.
n/a.
n/a.
n/a.
n/a.
n/a.
n/a.
Coyote Valley Dam (E.
Fork Russian R.) Warm
Springs Dam (Dry Cr.).
Keno Dam.
Dwinnell Dam.
n/a.
n/a.
n/a.
Lewiston Dam.
n/a.
n/a.
Nimbus Dam.
Black Butte Dam.
Capay Dam 3.
n/a.
Camp Far West Dam.
n/a.
n/a.
n/a.
Keswick Dam (Sacramento
R.), Whiskeytown Dam
(Clear Creek).
n/a.
CA
X
—
—
n/a.
CA
X
—
—
n/a.
CA
CA
X
X
—
—
—
—
CA
X
—
—
n/a.
Feather River Fish Barrier
Dam.
n/a.
CA
CA
CA
X
X
X
—
—
—
—
—
—
E:\FR\FM\22SEP1.SGM
22SEP1
18020156 ...........................
18020157 ...........................
asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with RULES
18020158 ...........................
18020159 ...........................
18020161 ...........................
18020162 ...........................
18020163 ...........................
18040001 ...........................
VerDate Sep<11>2014
16:54 Sep 19, 2014
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Sfmt 4702
Monticello Dam.
n/a.
Buchanan Dam
(Chowchilla River), Bear
Dam (Bear Creek),
Owens Dam (Owens
Creek), Mariposa Dam.
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 183 / Monday, September 22, 2014 / Proposed Rules
56553
TABLE 1 TO SUBPART H OF PART 660—PACIFIC SALMON EFH IDENTIFIED BY USGS HYDROLOGIC UNIT CODE (HUC)—
Continued
4th Field hydrologic unit
code
Hydrologic unit name
State(s)
Chinook
salmon
Coho
salmon
Puget
Sound
pink
salmon
Impassable dam(s)
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
Lower San Joaquin River 5
San Joaquin Delta .............
Fresno River ......................
Upper Merced ....................
CA
CA
CA
CA
X
X
X
X
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
18040009 ...........................
Upper Tuolumne ................
CA
X
—
—
18040010
18040011
18040012
18040013
18050001
18050002
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
...........................
Upper Stanislaus ...............
Upper Calaveras ...............
Upper Mokelumne .............
Upper Cosumnes ..............
Suisun Bay ........................
San Pablo Bay ..................
CA
CA
CA
CA
CA
CA
X
X
X
X
X
X
—
—
—
—
—
X
—
—
—
—
—
—
18050003 ...........................
18050004 ...........................
18050005 ...........................
Coyote ...............................
San Francisco Bay ............
Tomales—Drake Bays ......
CA
CA
CA
X
X
X
X
X
X
—
—
—
18050006 ...........................
San Francisco Coastal
South.
Monterey Bay 6 ..................
CA
—
X
—
n/a.
n/a.
Hidden Dam.
Crocker—Huffman Diversion Dam.
La Grange Dam
(Tuolumne R.).
Goodwin Dam.
New Hogan Dam.
Camanche Dam.
n/a.
n/a.
San Pablo Dam (San
Pablo Cr.).
LeRoy Anderson Dam.
n/a.
Nicasio Dam (Nicasio Cr.),
Peters Dam (Lagunitas
Cr.).
n/a.
CA
—
X
—
Newell Dam (Newell Cr.).
18040002
18040003
18040007
18040008
18060015 ...........................
1 Cougar
Dam is a barrier to coho salmon only. Chinook salmon are trapped and hauled above the dam.
2 Big Cliff Dam is a barrier to coho salmon only. Chinook salmon are trapped and hauled above the dam.
3 Capay Dam was selected as the upstream extent of EFH because it was identified as a complete barrier by NMFS biologists and is located
in the vicinity of the historical upstream extent of Chinook salmon distribution.
4 Natural ‘‘lower falls’’ are downstream of any artificial barriers that would meet the criteria for designating them as the upstream extent of EFH;
therefore, the upstream extent of EFH within this HU is at the ‘‘lower falls’’.
5 EFH for Chinook salmon in the Middle San Joaquin-Lower Chowchilla HU (18040001) and Lower San Joaquin River HU (18040002) includes
the San Joaquin River, its eastern tributaries, and the lower reaches of the western tributaries. Although there is no evidence of current or historical Chinook salmon distribution in the western tributaries (Yoshiyama et al. 2001), the lower reaches of these tributaries could provide juvenile
rearing habitat or refugia from high flows during floods as salmon migrate along the mainstem in this area.
6 EFH for coho salmon in the Monterey Bay HU does not include the sections south of the Pajaro HU (18060002).
[FR Doc. 2014–22442 Filed 9–19–14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
50 CFR Part 697
[Docket No. 0912011421–0200–01]
RIN 0648–AY41
Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative
Management Act Provisions; Weakfish
Fishery
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Proposed rule; withdrawal.
asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with RULES
AGENCY:
NMFS withdraws a proposed
rule proposing a 100 lb (45 kg) per day
or trip commercial possession limit for
weakfish (Cynoscion regalis) caught in
the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and
setting the recreational possession limit
at 1 fish per person per day or trip. The
SUMMARY:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
16:54 Sep 19, 2014
Jkt 232001
intent of the proposed rule was to
modify regulations for the Atlantic
coastal stock of weakfish to be more
compatible with Addendum IV to
Amendment 4 of the Atlantic States
Marine Fisheries Commission’s
(Commission) Interstate Fishery
Management Plan (ISFMP). The
Commission has now concluded that
existing Federal regulations are
conservationally equivalent to state
regulations; therefore, changes to
current EEZ regulations are no longer
needed. Such action is authorized under
the Atlantic Coastal Fisheries
Cooperative Management Act (Atlantic
Coastal Act).
DATES: The proposed rule published on
May 12, 2010 (75 FR 26703) is
withdrawn as of September 22, 2014.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Steve Meyers, (301) 427–8500.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
At the request of the Commission,
NMFS explored management measures
to modify weakfish conservation
measures in the EEZ under the authority
PO 00000
Frm 00030
Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
of the Atlantic Coastal Act, 16 U.S.C.
5103, which states that, in the absence
of an approved and implemented
Fishery Management Plan under the
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act
(Magnuson-Stevens Act) (16 U.S.C. 1801
et seq.) and, after consultation with the
appropriate Fishery Management
Council(s), the Secretary of Commerce
(Secretary) may implement regulations
to govern fishing in the EEZ (i.e., from
3 to 200 nm offshore).
On November 3, 2009, the
Commission adopted Addendum IV to
Amendment 4 to the ISFMP for
Weakfish (Addendum IV), in response
to the stock status of weakfish. A peerreviewed assessment found the
weakfish stock to be depleted. The
decline in biomass reflects a sustained
rise in natural mortality after 1995,
rather than fishing mortality, which has
been modest and stable over the same
time period. As a result, the
Commission’s Weakfish Management
Board approved management measures
to reduce exploitation by more than 50percent in both the recreational and
commercial sectors. Addendum IV
E:\FR\FM\22SEP1.SGM
22SEP1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 183 (Monday, September 22, 2014)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 56547-56553]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-22442]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 660
[Docket No. 130123065-4768-01]
RIN 0648-BC95
Fisheries Off West Coast States; West Coast Salmon Fisheries;
Amendment 18 to the Pacific Coast Salmon Fishery Management Plan
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Proposed rule; request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: NMFS proposes regulations to implement Amendment 18 to the
Pacific Coast Salmon Fishery Management Plan for Commercial and
Recreational Salmon Fisheries off the Coasts of Washington, Oregon, and
California (FMP). Amendment 18, which was transmitted by the Pacific
Fishery Management Council (PFMC) on June 10, 2014, revises the
description and identification of essential fish habitat (EFH) for
Pacific salmon managed under the FMP, designates habitat areas of
particular concern (HAPCs), updates the current information on fishing
activities, and updates the list of non-fishing related activities that
may adversely affect EFH and potential conservation and enhancement
measures to minimize those effects.
DATES: Comments on this proposed rule must be received on or before
October 22, 2014.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by NOAA-NMFS-2014-0071,
by any one of the following methods:
Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal https://www.regulations.gov. To submit comments via the e-Rulemaking Portal,
enter NOAA-NMFS-2014-0071 in the search box. Locate the document you
wish to comment on from the resulting list and click on the ``Submit a
Comment'' icon on the right of that line.
Mail: William W. Stelle, Jr., Regional Administrator, West
Coast Region, NMFS, 7600 Sand Point Way NE., Seattle, WA 98115-0070.
Instructions: Comments must be submitted by one of the above
methods to ensure that the comments are received, documented, and
considered by NMFS. Comments sent by any other method, to any other
address or individual, or received after the end of the comment period,
may not be considered. All comments received are a part of the public
record and will generally be posted for public viewing on https://www.regulations.gov without change. All personal identifying
information (e.g., name, address, etc.) submitted voluntarily by the
sender will be publicly accessible. Do not submit confidential business
information or otherwise sensitive or protected information. NMFS will
accept anonymous comments (enter N/A in the required fields if you wish
to remain anonymous). Attachments to electronic comments will be
accepted in Microsoft Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or Adobe PDF file
formats only.
Information relevant to this proposed rule, which includes an EA
with a regulatory impact review (RIR), is available for public review
during business hours at the office of the PFMC, at 7700 NE Ambassador
Place, Suite 101, Portland, OR 97220, phone: 503-820-2280, and is
posted on its Web site (https://www.pcouncil.org/salmon/fishery-management-plan/amendments-in-development/). These documents are also
linked on the NMFS West Coast Region Web site (https://
www.westcoast.fisheries.noaa.gov/fisheries/salmonsteelhead/
salmonandsteelheadfisheries.html). Copies of
additional reports referred to in this
[[Page 56548]]
document may also be obtained from the PFMC.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Peggy Mundy at 206-526-4323.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The identification and description of EFH for salmon stocks managed
under the FMP were originally developed in Amendment 14 to the FMP (66
FR 29238, May 30, 2001), and codified by NMFS at 50 CFR 660.412 in 2008
(73 FR 60987, October 15, 2008). The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act (MSA) requires periodic review of EFH
provisions, and revision or amendment of those provisions, as
warranted, based on available information (50 CFR 600.815(a)(10)). In
2009, the PFMC and NMFS established and staffed a Pacific Coast Salmon
EFH Oversight Panel (Panel) to review salmon EFH and new information
relevant to salmon EFH, and to make recommendations as to whether
revisions would be appropriate. The Panel recommended modifications to
Pacific salmon EFH in a final report submitted to the PFMC (Stadler et
al. 2011). At its April 2011 meeting, the PFMC initiated an FMP
amendment to address the Panel's recommendations. The PFMC adopted
modifications to salmon EFH contained in Amendment 18 at their
September 2013 meeting, and transmitted the proposed amendment, and a
draft environmental assessment (EA) to NMFS on June 10, 2014. NMFS
published a notice of availability and request for comments in the
Federal Register (79 FR 34272, June 16, 2014); after a 60-day comment
period, no comments were received. Amendment 18 was approved by the
Secretary of Commerce on September 12, 2014.
Components of Amendment 18
Amendment 18, as proposed, would modify the FMP in four sections,
including Appendix A. These modifications, and their rationale, are
described below under the titles of the affected FMP sections.
FMP Section 4.1.1--Identification and Description
Prior to Amendment 18, estuarine and marine EFH for salmon extends
from the nearshore and tidal submerged environments within state
territorial waters out to the full extent of the exclusive economic
zone (200 nautical miles) offshore of Washington, Oregon, and
California north of Point Conception. The shoreward boundary is vague
and does not take into account tidal fluctuations. Amendment 18 would
add specificity to this boundary by describing it as extending from the
extreme high tide line in nearshore and tidal submerged environments.
The offshore boundary remains the extent of the U.S. exclusive economic
zone offshore of Washington, Oregon, and California north of Point
Conception, but Amendment 18 would add the metric equivalent of 370.4
km.
Due to the migratory nature of salmon, some stocks managed by the
PFMC spend part of their life history occupying Alaskan waters, but not
all salmon stocks found Alaskan waters are PFMC-managed stocks. In the
current FMP, Pacific Coast salmon EFH is described as including the
marine areas off Alaska designated as salmon EFH by the North Pacific
Fishery Management Council (NPFMC), regardless of the stocks for which
the NPFMC designated the EFH. Amendment 18 would clarify that Pacific
salmon EFH as designated by the PFMC includes areas designated as EFH
by the NPFMC only for stocks managed by the PFMC.
Prior to Amendment 18, freshwater salmon EFH is identified as: all
currently viable water bodies and most of the habitat historically
accessible to salmon (except above certain impassable natural
barriers). Amendment 18 would change this language to read: The
geographic extent of freshwater EFH is identified as all water bodies
currently or historically occupied by PFMC-managed salmon in
Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and California as identified in Table 1 of
Appendix A. The new language eliminates the undefined term ``currently
viable,'' and replaces it with ``currently occupied'' and the term
``historically accessible'' with ``historically occupied.'' These terms
are consistent with the definition of EFH at 50 CFR 600.10. It also
clarifies that EFH is designated for salmon stocks managed under the
FMP.
FMP Section 4.12--Adverse Effects of Fishing on Essential Fish Habitat
Amendment 18 would make minor changes to this section that are
largely editorial and grammatical.
FMP Section 4.14--Procedures for Amending Salmon EFH
Amendment 18 would add new section 4.14 to the FMP, to bring the
FMP into compliance with regulations at 50 CFR 600.815(a)(10), which
require the FMP to outline the procedures the PFMC will follow to
review and revise EFH information. Revisions to Pacific Coast salmon
EFH could be made when the PFMC determines that such action is
warranted by new information that has become available. Such new
information is typically generated during the periodic reviews, but
could come before the PFMC through other established avenues. The
process could typically be accomplished via a three-meeting PFMC
process and would require PFMC advisory bodies to assess and make
recommendations to the PFMC regarding changes to Appendix A. Upon the
PFMC's adoption of any revisions, further procedures may be required to
implement the revisions as advised by the Secretary.
FMP Appendix A--Identification and Description of Essential Fish
Habitat, Adverse Impacts, and Conservation Measures
Under Amendment 18, Appendix A would be revised, including a table
listing the freshwater EFH designations using United States Geological
Survey (USGS) 4th field HUs. The information used to revise Appendix A
comes largely from the Panel's report (Stadler et al. 2011) and is
based on the best scientific information available. The proposed
Appendix A can be found on the PFMC's Web site (www.pcouncil.org).
Amendment 18 includes revisions to the EFH descriptions in Appendix A
for Chinook, coho, and pink salmon stocks managed under the FMP to
reflect currently available information regarding habitat currently or
historically occupied by salmon and changes made by USGS to its HUs. As
a result, some HUs identified as EFH in the current Amendment 18 would
be de-designated, others would be added, and identifying information
about some HUs would be modified to reflect USGS' new designations. The
proposed Appendix also designates five types of habitat as HAPCs:
Complex channels and floodplain habitats, thermal refugia, spawning
habitat, estuaries, and marine and estuarine submerged aquatic
vegetation. Amendment 18 makes only minor changes to fishing activities
affecting salmon EFH; the description of fishing activities is updated,
impacts from derelict gear is added, and harvest of prey species is
updated. The Amendment expands the list of non-fishing activities that
may affect salmon EFH to include the following: Alternative energy
development, coal export terminal facilities, culvert construction,
desalination, flood control maintenance, liquefied natural gas
projects, overwater structures, pesticide use, and power plant intakes.
Amendment 18 revises criteria for considering designation of habitat
above impassable dams as EFH and updates existing designations to
reflect new information.
[[Page 56549]]
Changes to Regulations
This proposed Rule includes changes to the existing regulations at
50 CFR 660.412 to implement Amendment 18. These are described below.
Sec. 660.412--EFH identifications and descriptions for
Pacific salmon
This section is revised in its entirety to update the specific EFH
identifications and descriptions for Pacific salmon in Washington,
Idaho, Oregon, and California, as proposed in Amendment 18 to the FMP.
These changes include adding specificity to this boundary by describing
it as extending from the extreme high tide line in nearshore and tidal
submerged environments; clarifying that Pacific salmon EFH as
designated by the PFMC includes areas designated as EFH by the NPFMC
only for stocks managed by the PFMC; and adding new language
eliminating the undefined term ``historically accessible'' with
``historically occupied.'' Table 1 has been rewritten to update
freshwater EFH designations for Chinook, coho, and pink salmon stocks
managed under the FMP using USGS 4th field HUs.
Classification
Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the MSA, the NMFS Assistant
Administrator has determined that this proposed rule is consistent with
Amendment 18, the Pacific Salmon Fishery Management Plan, the MSA, and
other applicable law, subject to further consideration after public
comment.
This proposed rule has been determined to be not significant for
purposes of Executive Order 12866.
A Draft EA has been prepared for Amendment 18; a copy of the Draft
EA is available online at https://www.pcouncil.org/. The Draft EA
includes a regulatory impact review (RIR) prepared by NMFS.
The Chief Counsel for Regulation of the Department of Commerce
certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business
Administration that this proposed rule, if adopted, would not have a
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.
The purpose of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) is to relieve
small businesses, small organizations, and small governmental entities
of burdensome regulations and record-keeping requirements. Major goals
of the RFA are: (1) To increase agency awareness and understanding of
the impact of their regulations on small business, (2) to require
agencies communicate and explain their findings to the public, and (3)
to encourage agencies to use flexibility and to provide regulatory
relief to small entities. The RFA emphasizes predicting impacts on
small entities as a group distinct from other entities and the
consideration of alternatives that may minimize the impacts while still
achieving the stated objective of the action. An initial regulatory
flexibility analysis (IRFA) is conducted unless it is determined that
an action will not have a ``significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities.''
The objective of this proposed rule is to revise and update the EFH
provisions of the Salmon FMP that were previously approved by the
Secretary of Commerce in 2000 (66 FR 29238, May 30, 2001). EFH
provisions are required under the MSA (16 U.S.C. 1802(b)(7)). This rule
would impact vessels harvesting salmon from the ocean troll fishery.
The following fishery information is found in the 2013 Stock Assessment
and Fisheries Evaluation report (PFMC 2014). In 2013, there were 2,270
permits issued for this fishery, with a total exvessel value of $34.1
million. Of the 2,270 permits, only 1,177 actually landed salmon. In
California, 670 vessels landed salmon for an exvessel value of $23.6
million; in Oregon, 399 vessels landed salmon for an exvessel value of
$7.6 million; and in Washington, 108 vessels landed salmon for an
exvessel value of $2.8 million. Treaty Indian ocean fisheries landed
salmon with an exvessel value of $6.4 million.
On June 12, 2014, the Small Business Administration (SBA) issued an
interim final rule revising the small business size standards for
several industries effective July 14, 2014 (79 FR 33467 (June 12,
2014)). The rule increased the size standard from $19.0 to $20.5
million for finfish fishing, from $5 to $5.5 million for shellfish
fishing, and from $7.0 million to $7.5 million for other marine
fishing, for-hire businesses, and marinas. Based on this size standard,
all vessels harvesting salmon from the ocean troll fishery are
considered small under the Small Business Administration approved
definition of a small fish harvester. Therefore, there can be no
disproportionate impacts between small and large vessels. Furthermore,
there are no disproportionate impacts based on homeport, gear type, or
vessel size from the promulgation of this proposed rule.
This proposed rule would not result in any immediate impacts on
revenues or costs for the small entities participating in the Pacific
salmon fishery because it does not contain any new management measures
that would have specific economic impact on the fishery. However,
future rulemakings that are promulgated by NMFS on behalf of the
Secretary may be based in part on the identification and description of
the EFH and such actions would likely have specific measurable impacts
on the small entities participating in the fishery.
As a result, an initial regulatory flexibility analysis is not
required and none has been prepared. NMFS will conduct the appropriate
analyses for any subsequent rulemakings stemming from this proposed
rule.
This proposed rule would not establish any new reporting or
recordkeeping requirements. This proposed rule does not include a
collection of information. No Federal rules have been identified that
duplicate, overlap, or conflict with this action.
This action is not expected to have adverse effects on any listed
species or critical habitat. As described in the EA for Amendment 18,
this action may have minimal effects on listed species in freshwater
areas where EFH designations would change slightly under the preferred
alternative. NMFS has consulted with itself under ESA section 7 and
prepared a memo concluding that implementation of the preferred
alternative is not likely to adversely affect any listed species or
critical habitat.
This proposed rule was developed after meaningful collaboration
with the affected tribes, through the PFMC process. Under the MSA at 16
U.S.C. 1852(b)(5), one of the voting members of the PFMC must be a
representative of an Indian Tribe with Federally recognized fishing
rights from the area of the PFMC's jurisdiction.
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 660
Fisheries, Fishing, Recordkeeping and reporting requirements.
Dated: September 16, 2014.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
For the reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 660 is
proposed to be amended as follows:
PART 660--FISHERIES OFF WEST COAST STATES
0
1. The authority citation for part 660 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 16 U.S.C. et seq. and 16 U.S.C. 773 et seq.
0
2. Section Sec. 660.412 is revised to read as follows:
[[Page 56550]]
Sec. 660.412 EFH identifications and descriptions for Pacific salmon.
Essential fish habitat (EFH) is identified for anadromous Pacific
salmon stocks managed by the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC)
under the Pacific Coast Salmon Fishery Management Plan (FMP). These
managed salmon include most of the Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus
tshawytscha) stocks and all of the coho salmon (O. kisutch) stocks from
Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and California; as well as pink salmon (O.
gorbuscha) stocks originating from watersheds within Puget Sound east
of, and including, the Elwha River. The geographic extent of freshwater
EFH is specifically identified in the FMP as all water bodies currently
or historically occupied by PFMC-managed salmon in Washington, Oregon,
Idaho, and California; including aquatic areas above all artificial
barriers that are not specifically excluded. Freshwater EFH, identified
in Table 1 of this subpart H, is described using fourth field
hydrologic unit codes developed by the U.S. Geological Survey (defined
in U.S. Geological Survey and U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural
Resources Conservation Service: Federal guidelines, requirements, and
procedures for the national Watershed Boundary Dataset: U.S. Geological
Survey Techniques and Methods 11-A3, 2009). Table 1 also identifies the
dams that represent the upstream extent of EFH in each hydrologic unit.
(a) Chinook salmon EFH includes all water bodies currently or
historically occupied by PFMC-managed Chinook salmon in Washington,
Oregon, Idaho, and California as identified in Table 1 of this subpart.
Chinook salmon EFH also includes the estuarine and marine areas
extending from the extreme high tide line in nearshore and tidal
submerged environments within state territorial waters out to the full
extent of the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) (200 nautical miles)
offshore of Washington, Oregon, and California north of Point
Conception; and the marine areas of Alaska that are designated as
Chinook salmon EFH by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council
(NPFMC), for stocks that are also managed by the PFMC.
(b) Coho salmon EFH includes all water bodies currently or
historically occupied by PFMC-managed coho salmon in Washington,
Oregon, Idaho, and California as identified in Table 1 of this subpart.
Coho salmon EFH also includes the estuarine and marine areas extending
from the extreme high tide line in nearshore and tidal submerged
environments within state territorial waters out to the full extent of
the EEZ (200 nautical miles) offshore of Washington, Oregon, and
California north of Point Conception; and the marine areas of Alaska
that are designated as coho salmon EFH by the NPFMC, for stocks that
are also managed by the PFMC.
(c) Puget Sound pink salmon EFH includes all water bodies currently
or historically occupied by PFMC-managed Puget Sound pink salmon in
Washington State as identified in Table 1 of this subpart. Puget Sound
pink salmon EFH also includes the estuarine and marine areas extending
from the extreme high tide line in nearshore and tidal submerged
environments within state territorial waters north and east of Cape
Flattery, Washington, including Puget Sound, the Strait of Juan de Fuca
and Strait of Georgia; the waters of the U.S. EEZ north of 48[deg] N
latitude to the U.S.-Canada border; and marine areas of Alaska that are
designated as pink salmon EFH by the NPFMC, for stocks that are also
managed by the PFMC.
Table 1 to Subpart H of Part 660--Pacific Salmon EFH Identified by USGS Hydrologic Unit Code (HUC)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Puget Sound
4th Field hydrologic unit code Hydrologic unit name State(s) Chinook Coho salmon pink Impassable dam(s)
salmon salmon
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17020005............................. Chief Joseph........... WA X X -- Chief Joseph Dam.
17020006............................. Okanogan............... WA X -- -- n/a.
17020007............................. Similkameen............ WA X -- -- n/a.
17020008............................. Methow................. WA X X -- n/a.
17020009............................. Lake Chelan............ WA X -- -- n/a.
17020010............................. Upper Columbia--Entiat. WA X X -- n/a.
17020011............................. Wenatchee.............. WA X X -- n/a.
17020012............................. Moses Coulee........... WA X X -- n/a.
17020015............................. Lower Crab............. WA X -- -- n/a.
17020016............................. Upper Columbia--Priest WA X X -- n/a.
Rapids.
17030001............................. Upper Yakima........... WA X X -- Keechelus Dam, Kachess
Dam (Kachess River).
17030002............................. Naches................. WA X X -- Rimrock Dam (Tieton
River).
17030003............................. Lower Yakima........... WA X X -- n/a.
17060101............................. Hells Canyon........... OR/ID X -- -- Hells Canyon Dam.
17060102............................. Imnaha River........... OR/ID X -- -- n/a.
17060103............................. Lower Snake--Asotin.... OR/WA/ID X X -- n/a.
17060104............................. Upper Grande Ronde OR X X -- n/a.
River.
17060105............................. Wallowa River.......... OR X X -- n/a.
17060106............................. Lower Grande Ronde..... OR/WA X X -- n/a.
17060107............................. Lower Snake--Tucannon.. WA X X -- n/a.
17060108............................. Palouse River.......... WA X -- -- n/a.
17060110............................. Lower Snake River...... WA X X -- n/a.
17060201............................. Upper Salmon........... ID X -- -- n/a.
17060202............................. Pahsimeroi............. ID X -- -- n/a.
17060203............................. Middle Salmon--Panther. ID X -- -- n/a.
17060204............................. Lemhi.................. ID X -- -- n/a.
17060205............................. Upper Middle Fork ID X -- -- n/a.
Salmon.
17060206............................. Lower Middle Fork ID X -- -- n/a.
Salmon.
[[Page 56551]]
17060207............................. Middle Salmon-- ID X -- -- n/a.
Chamberlain.
17060208............................. South Fork Salmon...... ID X -- -- n/a.
17060209............................. Lower Salmon........... ID X -- -- n/a.
17060210............................. Little Salmon.......... ID X -- -- n/a.
17060301............................. Upper Selway........... ID X X -- n/a.
17060302............................. Lower Selway........... ID X X -- n/a.
17060303............................. Lochsa................. ID X -- -- n/a.
17060304............................. Middle Fork Clearwater. ID X X -- n/a.
17060305............................. South Fork Clearwater.. ID X X -- n/a.
17060306............................. Clearwater............. WA/ID X X -- n/a.
17060308............................. Lower North Fork ID X -- -- Dworshak Dam.
Clearwater.
17070101............................. Middle Columbia--Lake OR/WA X X -- n/a.
Wallula.
17070103............................. Umatilla............... OR X X -- McKay Dam (McKay
Creek).
17070105............................. Middle Columbia--Hood.. OR/WA X X -- n/a.
17070106............................. Klickitat.............. WA X X -- n/a.
17070306............................. Lower Deschutes........ OR X X -- n/a.
17080001............................. Lower Columbia--Sandy.. OR/WA X X -- Bull Run Dam 2.
17080002............................. Lewis.................. WA X X -- n/a.
17080003............................. Lower Columbia-- OR/WA X X -- n/a.
Clatskanie.
17080004............................. Upper Cowlitz.......... WA X X -- n/a.
17080005............................. Cowlitz................ WA X X -- n/a.
17080006............................. Lower Columbia......... OR/WA X X -- n/a.
17090001............................. Middle Fork Willamette. OR X -- -- n/a.
17090002............................. Coast Fork Willamette.. OR X -- -- Dorena Dam.
17090003............................. Upper Willamette....... OR X X -- n/a.
17090004............................. McKenzie............... OR X X -- Cougar Dam \1\.
17090005............................. North Santiam.......... OR X X -- Big Cliff Dam \2\.
17090006............................. South Santiam.......... OR X X -- n/a.
17090007............................. Middle Willamette...... OR X X -- n/a.
17090008............................. Yamhill................ OR X X -- n/a.
17090009............................. Molalla--Pudding....... OR X X -- n/a.
17090010............................. Tualatin............... OR X X -- n/a.
17090011............................. Clackamas.............. OR X X -- n/a.
17090012............................. Lower Willamette....... OR X X -- n/a.
17100101............................. Hoh--Quillayute........ WA X X -- n/a.
17100102............................. Queets--Quinault....... WA X X -- n/a.
17100103............................. Upper Chehalis......... WA X X -- n/a.
17100104............................. Lower Chehalis......... WA X X -- n/a.
17100105............................. Grays Harbor........... WA X X -- n/a.
17100106............................. Willapa................ WA X X -- n/a.
17100201............................. Necanicum.............. OR X X -- n/a.
17100202............................. Nehalem................ OR X X -- n/a.
17100203............................. Wilson--Trask--Nestucca OR X X -- n/a.
17100204............................. Siletz--Yaquina........ OR X X -- n/a.
17100205............................. Alsea.................. OR X X -- n/a.
17100206............................. Siuslaw................ OR X X -- n/a.
17100207............................. Siltcoos............... OR ............ X -- n/a.
17100301............................. North Umpqua........... OR X X -- n/a.
17100302............................. South Umpqua........... OR X X -- n/a.
17100303............................. Umpqua................. OR X X -- n/a.
17100304............................. Coos................... OR X X -- n/a.
17100305............................. Coquille............... OR X X -- n/a.
17100306............................. Sixes.................. OR X X -- n/a.
17100307............................. Upper Rogue............ OR X X -- Lost Creek Dam.
17100308............................. Middle Rogue........... OR X X -- Emigrant Dam.
17100309............................. Applegate.............. CA/OR X X -- Applegate Dam.
17100310............................. Lower Rogue............ OR X X -- n/a.
17100311............................. Illinois............... CA/OR X X -- n/a.
17100312............................. Chetco................. CA/OR X X -- n/a.
17110001............................. Fraser................. WA X X -- n/a.
17110002............................. Strait of Georgia...... WA X X X n/a.
17110003............................. San Juan Islands....... WA -- X -- n/a.
17110004............................. Nooksack............... WA X X X n/a.
[[Page 56552]]
17110005............................. Upper Skagit........... WA X X X Gorge Lake Dam.
17110006............................. Sauk................... WA X X X n/a.
17110007............................. Lower Skagit........... WA X X X n/a.
17110008............................. Stillaguamish.......... WA X X X n/a.
17110009............................. Skykomish.............. WA X X X n/a.
17110010............................. Snoqualmie............. WA X X X Tolt Dam (S. Fork Tolt
River).
17110011............................. Snohomish.............. WA X X X n/a.
17110012............................. Lake Washington........ WA X X ............ Cedar Falls (Masonry)
Dam (Cedar River).
17110013............................. Duwamish............... WA X X X n/a.
17110014............................. Puyallup............... WA X X X n/a.
17110015............................. Nisqually.............. WA X X X n/a.
17110016............................. Deschutes.............. WA X X ............ n/a.
17110017............................. Skokomish.............. WA X X X n/a.
17110018............................. Hood Canal............. WA X X X n/a.
17110019............................. Puget Sound............ WA X X X n/a.
17110020............................. Dungeness--Elwha....... WA X X X n/a.
17110021............................. Crescent--Hoko......... WA X X -- n/a.
18010101............................. Smith River............ CA/OR X X -- n/a.
18010102............................. Mad--Redwood........... CA X X -- Robert W. Matthews Dam.
18010103............................. Upper Eel.............. CA X X -- Scott Dam.
18010104............................. Middle Fork Eel........ CA X X -- n/a.
18010105............................. Lower Eel.............. CA X X -- n/a.
18010106............................. South Fork Eel......... CA X X -- n/a.
18010107............................. Mattole................ CA X X -- n/a.
18010108............................. Big--Navarro--Garcia... CA X X -- n/a.
18010109............................. Gualala--Salmon........ CA X X -- n/a.
18010110............................. Russian................ CA X X -- Coyote Valley Dam (E.
Fork Russian R.) Warm
Springs Dam (Dry Cr.).
18010206............................. Upper Klamath.......... CA/OR X X -- Keno Dam.
18010207............................. Shasta................. CA X X -- Dwinnell Dam.
18010208............................. Scott.................. CA X X -- n/a.
18010209............................. Lower Klamath.......... CA/OR X X -- n/a.
18010210............................. Salmon................. CA X X -- n/a.
18010211............................. Trinity................ CA X X -- Lewiston Dam.
18010212............................. South Fork Trinity..... CA X X -- n/a.
18020104............................. Sacramento--Stone CA X -- -- n/a.
Corral.
18020111............................. Lower American......... CA X -- -- Nimbus Dam.
18020115............................. Upper Stony............ CA X -- -- Black Butte Dam.
18020116............................. Upper Cache............ CA X -- -- Capay Dam \3\.
18020125............................. Upper Yuba............. CA X -- -- n/a.
18020126............................. Upper Bear............. CA X -- -- Camp Far West Dam.
18020151............................. Cow Creek.............. CA X -- -- n/a.
18020152............................. Cottonwood Creek....... CA X -- -- n/a.
18020153............................. Battle Creek........... CA X -- -- n/a.
18020154............................. Clear Creek--Sacramento CA X -- -- Keswick Dam (Sacramento
River. R.), Whiskeytown Dam
(Clear Creek).
18020155............................. Paynes Creek-- CA X -- -- n/a.
Sacramento River.
18020156............................. Thomes Creek-- CA X -- -- n/a.
Sacramento River.
18020157............................. Big Chico Creek-- CA X -- -- n/a.
Sacramento River.
18020158............................. Butte Creek............ CA X -- -- n/a.
18020159............................. Honcut Headwaters-- CA X -- -- Feather River Fish
Lower Feather. Barrier Dam.
18020161............................. Upper Coon--Upper CA X -- -- n/a.
Auburn \4\.
18020162............................. Upper Putah............ CA X -- -- Monticello Dam.
18020163............................. Lower Sacramento....... CA X -- -- n/a.
18040001............................. Middle San Joaquin-- CA X -- -- Buchanan Dam
Lower Chowchilla \5\. (Chowchilla River),
Bear Dam (Bear Creek),
Owens Dam (Owens
Creek), Mariposa Dam.
[[Page 56553]]
18040002............................. Lower San Joaquin River CA X -- -- n/a.
\5\.
18040003............................. San Joaquin Delta...... CA X -- -- n/a.
18040007............................. Fresno River........... CA X -- -- Hidden Dam.
18040008............................. Upper Merced........... CA X -- -- Crocker--Huffman
Diversion Dam.
18040009............................. Upper Tuolumne......... CA X -- -- La Grange Dam (Tuolumne
R.).
18040010............................. Upper Stanislaus....... CA X -- -- Goodwin Dam.
18040011............................. Upper Calaveras........ CA X -- -- New Hogan Dam.
18040012............................. Upper Mokelumne........ CA X -- -- Camanche Dam.
18040013............................. Upper Cosumnes......... CA X -- -- n/a.
18050001............................. Suisun Bay............. CA X -- -- n/a.
18050002............................. San Pablo Bay.......... CA X X -- San Pablo Dam (San
Pablo Cr.).
18050003............................. Coyote................. CA X X -- LeRoy Anderson Dam.
18050004............................. San Francisco Bay...... CA X X -- n/a.
18050005............................. Tomales--Drake Bays.... CA X X -- Nicasio Dam (Nicasio
Cr.), Peters Dam
(Lagunitas Cr.).
18050006............................. San Francisco Coastal CA -- X -- n/a.
South.
18060015............................. Monterey Bay \6\....... CA -- X -- Newell Dam (Newell
Cr.).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Cougar Dam is a barrier to coho salmon only. Chinook salmon are trapped and hauled above the dam.
\2\ Big Cliff Dam is a barrier to coho salmon only. Chinook salmon are trapped and hauled above the dam.
\3\ Capay Dam was selected as the upstream extent of EFH because it was identified as a complete barrier by NMFS biologists and is located in the
vicinity of the historical upstream extent of Chinook salmon distribution.
\4\ Natural ``lower falls'' are downstream of any artificial barriers that would meet the criteria for designating them as the upstream extent of EFH;
therefore, the upstream extent of EFH within this HU is at the ``lower falls''.
\5\ EFH for Chinook salmon in the Middle San Joaquin-Lower Chowchilla HU (18040001) and Lower San Joaquin River HU (18040002) includes the San Joaquin
River, its eastern tributaries, and the lower reaches of the western tributaries. Although there is no evidence of current or historical Chinook
salmon distribution in the western tributaries (Yoshiyama et al. 2001), the lower reaches of these tributaries could provide juvenile rearing habitat
or refugia from high flows during floods as salmon migrate along the mainstem in this area.
\6\ EFH for coho salmon in the Monterey Bay HU does not include the sections south of the Pajaro HU (18060002).
[FR Doc. 2014-22442 Filed 9-19-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
