The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today published a notice in the Federal Register to reopen a public comment period on a proposal to protect the Southwest Washington/Columbia River population of coastal cutthroat trout under the Endangered Species Act. The Service will decide by June 23, 2002, whether to list this population of coastal cutthroat trout, which was proposed for federal protection as a threatened species in 1999.
The Service is reopening the public comment period for 30 days to gather the latest information on the species and its status. At least one year of additional data is available since public comments were requested in 1999, including recent information on the status of the population collected by the State of Washington. In October 2000, the Service was directed to suspend work on the proposed listing due to budgetary limitations.
In the lower 48 states, coastal cutthroat occurs between northern California and northern Washington. Only the Southwest Washington/Columbia River population is under review for a listing decision. This population of coastal cutthroat trout extends from the vicinity of Grays Harbor, Washington, and the drainage of the Chehalis River in the north, south to the mouth of the Columbia River and east to The Dalles Dam. The proposed area includes metropolitan Portland south to Willamette Falls.
The Southwest Washington/Columbia River cutthroat population was proposed for listing because of widespread declines in its abundance as a result of habitat loss.
The agency
