The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced today that a petition to list the summer-run kokanee salmon population in Issaquah Creek, Washington, for protection under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) does not contain substantial scientific information to warrant further review.
The Service made the determination in response to a petition received on March 16, 2000, from Save Lake Sammamish, Washington Trout, Sierra Club Cascade Chapter, Washington Environmental Council, Friends of the Earth, King County Conservation Voters, and Defenders of Wildlife to list the Issaquah Creek summer-run kokanee population under the ESA.
The Service determined that the petition does not present enough information showing that this population of kokanee salmon qualifies as a listable entity (species, subspecies, or distinct population segment). The Service reviewed whether the Iassqaquah Creek population would qualify under the ESA as a distinct population segment (DPS) by examining three criteria: (1) discreteness of the population segment in relation to the remainder of the taxon to which it belongs; (2) significance of the population segment in relation to the remainder of the taxon; and (3) conservation status of the population segment in relation to the Acts standards for listing. Criteria for all three elements must be satisfied to list a DPS.
The best available information suggests this population does not occur in a unique ecological setting and its loss would not result in a significant gap in the range of the taxon. Further, the petition demonstrated no genetic significance of this individual population. Since the population cannot be defined as a DPS, making it ineligible for listing, the Service will not move forward with a full 12-month status review.
The kokanee and the sockeye salmon are two forms of the same species (Oncorhynchus nerka). Kokanee are non-anadromous, meaning they spend their entire lives in freshwater habitats. Sockeye salmon, on the other hand, are anadromous, meaning they hatch and rear in freshwater habitats and then migrate to the ocean to spend two to three years in marine waters before returning to freshwater to spawn.
Although very similar to sockeye salmon, kokanee are usually smaller in size when mature. The adult kokanee typically has a bright red body with an olive green head, but the Issaquah Creek summer-run kokanee also have spots on their backs from head to tail. The summer-run kokanee is one of three races of kokanee in the Lake Washington and Lake Sammamish watershed.
The Services determination on the petition, called a 90-day finding, was published in todays Federal Register.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting, and enhancing fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 97-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System, which encompasses 548 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands, and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resources offices, and 81 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces Federal wildlife laws; administers the Endangered Species Act; manages migratory bird populations; restores nationally significant fisheries; conserves and restores wildlife habitat, such as wetlands; and helps foreign and Native American tribal governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Assistance Program, which distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to State fish and wildlife agencies.
