Comment Period Will Remain Open 30 Days, Until April 23, 2009
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will reexamine its 1999 proposal to list some coastal cutthroat trout as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, and tomorrow officially reopens the proposal for additional public comments. The affected fish are the Southwestern Washington/Columbia River distinct population segment (DPS) of the coastal cutthroat trout.
The agency withdrew its listing proposal from consideration in 2002, but as a result of litigation is now reconsidering the withdrawal to examine whether the ocean and estuaries constitute a significant portion of the range of the population segment. If the areas are judged to meet this standard, the coastal cutthroat trout in them could be federally listed as threatened or endangered. The agency intends to publish a decision by fall 2009.
Coastal cutthroat trout are found in waters from Alaska to California and inland as far as the crest of the Cascades in Washington and Oregon. They are biologically classified into10 distinct population segments. The Southwestern Washington/Columbia River segment includes the Columbia River and its tributaries from the mouth of the Columbia to the Klickitat River on the Washington side of the river and to Fifteenmile Creek on the Oregon side; the Willamette River and its tributaries from the Willamettes confluence with the Columbia upstream to Willamette FallsWillapa Bay and its tributaries and Grays Harbor and its tributaries.
"Relatively little is known about the specific life history and habitat requirements of coastal cutthroat trout in the ocean and estuaries," said Robyn Thorson, director of the Fish and Wildlife Services Pacific Region. "The life history of these fish may be the most complex of any salmonid, and these details bear on whether this portion of the trouts range can be separately listed as threatened or endangered."
During the public comment period, the Fish and Wildlife Service is seeking information on:
- Marine and estuarine areas that could potentially be a significant portion of the range of the Southwestern Washington/Columbia River distinct population segment of the coastal cutthroat trout, and the suggested boundaries of those areas.
- Whether and why those marine and estuarine areas constitute a significant portion of the range of the Southwestern Washington/Columbia River DPS of coastal cutthroat trout as defined by sections 3(6) or 3(20) of the Endangered Species Act.
- Other information on the status, distribution, population trends, abundance, habitat conditions, or threats specific to those marine and estuarine areas that could constitute a significant portion of the range of the distinct population segment.
- Information on the effects of potential threat factors that are the basis for a species listing determination under the Endangered Species Act (the five listing factors) with respect to those marine and estuarine areas.
The five listing factors are: (a) The present or threatened destruction, modification, or curtailment of the species habitat or range; (b) Overutilization for commercial, recreational, scientific, or educational purposes; (c) Disease or predation; (d) Inadequacy of existing regulatory mechanisms; and (e) Other natural or manmade factors affecting its continued existence.
In 2002, the Fish and Wildlife Service withdrew its 1999 proposal to list the Southwest Washington/Columbia River DPS of coastal cutthroat trout after discovering that the trout were more numerous than was previously known and not declining in number as had been thought. The U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon upheld this decision following legal challenge in 2005. In April 2008, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the district courts decision in part and reversed the decision in part. The Ninth Circuit found no error in the Fish and Wildlife Services determination that the DPS as a whole did not merit listing, but held that the agency failed to consider whether the marine and estuarine portions of the DPS constitute a significant portion of the range. The listing decision was remanded to the district court, which in turn remanded the listing decision to the agency to reconsider whether this one portion of the trouts range would meet the criteria for listing.
At the conclusion of the Fish and Wildlife Services review a new determination on the April 5, 1999 proposed rule will be issued concerning whether the marine and estuarine areas of the Southwestern Washington/Columbia River DPS of the coastal cutthroat trout constitute a significant portion of the range of the DPS, and if so, whether such significant portion of the range warrants listing. The agencys determination will be based on a review of the best scientific and commercial information available, including all information received as a result of this notice.
Coastal cutthroat trout differ from all other trout by their profusion of small- to medium-sized spots of irregular shape. In addition, they do not develop the coloration associated with interior forms of cutthroat trout. While these trout are at sea and during seaward migrations, this coloration and spotting are obscured by the silvery skin color common to anadromous salmonids. At maturity, freshwater life-history forms of coastal cutthroat trout tend to be darker, with a "coppery or brassy" sheen.
Information and comments must be received by April 23, 2009, and submitted by one of the following methods:
* Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
* U.S. mail or hand-delivery: Public Comments Processing, Attn: FWS-R1-ES-2008?0128; Division of Policy and Directives Management; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, Suite 222; Arlington, VA 22203.
The agency will not accept e-mail or faxes. All comments will be posted on http://www.regulations.gov. This generally means that we will post any personal information you provide us (see the Public Comments section below for more information).
