Critical Habitat Proposed for
Washington's
Coastal-Puget Sound Population of Bull Trout,
6/22/04
followed by:
Critical Habitat Proposed for the Saint Mary and
Belly Rivers in Northwest
Montana
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service News Release.
Proposal will publish in the June 25 edition of
the Federal Register
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing
critical habitat for the
Coastal-Puget Sound population of bull trout,
which was listed as a
threatened species in 1999.
Bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus), is a
threatened species protected
under the Federal Endangered Species Act. The
Service's action is in
response to a lawsuit filed by the Alliance for
the Wild Rockies and
Friends of the Wild Swan.
The Coastal-Puget Sound population is located west
of the Cascade mountains
in the state of Washington. It includes bull trout
in the Puget Sound
Management Unit and the Olympic Peninsula
Management Unit. The Puget Sound
Management Unit includes all watersheds within the
Puget Sound basin and
the marine near-shore areas of Puget Sound. The
Olympic Peninsula
Management Unit includes all watersheds within the
Olympic Peninsula and
the near-shore marine waters of the Pacific Ocean,
Strait of Juan de Fuca
and Hood Canal.
The critical habitat proposal calls for a total of
2,290 miles of streams
in western Washington to be designated as bull
trout critical habitat,
along with 52,540 acres of lakes and reservoirs
and marine habitat
paralleling 985 miles of shoreline. Details of the
critical habitat
proposal will be included in the maps and
documents that are published
along with the rule in the Federal Register.
"Our proposal is based on the best available
science and includes areas
that contain qualities that may be essential to
the conservation and
recovery of bull trout in western Washington,"
said Dave Allen, Regional
Director of the Service's Pacific Region. "To
ensure that the final
critical habitat designation is as accurate as
possible we encourage people
to review our proposal in detail and provide
comments and any additional
information they believe is relevant."
When considering which areas to include in the
proposed critical habitat
rule, the Service required that areas contain one
or both of the following:
(1) spawning, rearing, foraging, or over-wintering
habitat to support
essential existing bull trout local populations;
(2) movement corridors
necessary for maintaining essential migratory
life-history forms of the
species.
The proposal excludes properties where special
management for bull trout
already exists, such as an approved Habitat
Conservation Plan (HCP),
designated private lands under state regulations
based on the Washington
Forest and Fish Report (FFR), Integrated Natural
Resource Management Plan
(INRMP), or other natural resource plan. These
plans, developed
cooperatively with the Service, demonstrate a
long-term commitment to
conserve and benefit the species and the habitat
on which it depends.
Today's proposal of critical habitat for the bull
trout exempts lands
covered by the Washington Department of Natural
Resources, City of Seattle
Cedar River Watershed, Tacoma Water, and Simpson
Timber Company HCPs;
private timber lands covered under the FFR-based
regulations; the Jim Creek
Naval Antenna Station near Arlington, Washington
covered under an INRMP;
and the Quinault Indian Reservation covered under
an approved Forest
Management Plan.
"We appreciate the initiative of the agencies and
tribes that have worked
cooperatively with us to protect bull trout," said
Ken Berg, Manager of the
Service's Western Washington Fish and Wildlife
Office. "We will continue,
between now and the final critical habitat
designation, to work with any
interested parties to develop special management
plans."
The public will have until August 25, 2004, to
comment on the proposal and
provide comments and additional information. An
economic analysis of the
critical habitat proposal will be prepared and
made available for public
comment before a final decision is made. The
Service may exclude areas
from the final designation if the benefit of
exclusion outweighs the
benefit of inclusion. Over the next few months,
the Service will be
considering whether all of the areas in both
management units are essential
to the conservation of the species.
The Coastal-Puget Sound population of bull trout
is one of five populations
of bull trout, which is protected as a threatened
species throughout its
range in the coterminous United States ? spanning
parts of Oregon,
Washington, Idaho, Montana and Nevada.
Two public information meetings and two public
hearings will occur in July
and August.
Public meetings are set for:
$ July 12, 2004 Sequim, Washington
Dungeness
River
6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Audubon Center
$ July 14, 2004 Edmonds,
Washington
Edmonds City Hall
4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
121 5th Avenue N.
Hearings are set for:
Aug. 10, 2004 Tumwater, WA
Comfort Inn
1 p.m. to 3 p.m. and
(Exit 101 off Interstate 5)
6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Information will be available one hour before the
start of each hearing.
Critical habitat is a term in the Endangered
Species Act. It identifies
geographic areas that contain features essential
for the conservation of a
threatened or endangered species and may require
special management
considerations. The designation of critical
habitat does not affect land
ownership or establish a refuge, wilderness,
reserve, preserve, or other
conservation area. It does not allow government or
public access to private
lands.
In 30 years of implementing the Endangered Species
Act, the Service has
found that the designation of critical habitat
provides little additional
protection to most listed species, while
preventing the Service from using
scarce conservation resources for activities with
greater conservation
benefits.
In almost all cases, recovery of listed species
will come through voluntary
cooperative partnerships, not regulatory measures
such as critical habitat.
Habitat is also protected through cooperative
measures under the Endangered
Species Act including Habitat Conservation Plans,
Safe Harbor Agreements,
Candidate Conservation Agreements and state
programs. In addition,
voluntary partnership programs such as the
Service's Private Stewardship
Grants and Partners for Fish and Wildlife program
also restore habitat.
Habitat for endangered species is provided on many
national wildlife
refuges, managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service and state wildlife
management areas.
The Alliance for the Wild Rockies and Friends of
the Wild Swan originally
sued the Service for not designating critical
habitat after listing bull
trout in 1999 as threatened throughout its range
in the lower 48 states. At
the time, the Service had been unable to complete
critical habitat
determinations because of budget constraints.
In accordance with a court settlement, reached in
January 2002 by Service,
the Alliance for the Wild Rockies and Friends of
the Wild Swan ? the
Service also committed to propose critical habitat
for the Jarbidge River
(Nevada) population of bull trout and the St.
Mary-Belly River (Montana)
population of bull trout. For the Jarbidge River
population, the Service
has proposed 131 miles of streams in Idaho and
Nevada as bull trout
critical habitat. For the St. Mary-Belly River
population, 88 miles of
streams and 6,295 acres of lakes in Montana are
proposed as critical
habitat for bull trout.
In November 2001, also in accordance with the
court settlement, the Service
proposed to designate 18,175 miles of rivers and
streams and 498,782 acres
of lakes and reservoirs in Oregon, Washington,
Idaho and Montana as
critical habitat for the Columbia River population
of bull trout. The
Service also proposed at that time to designate
396 miles of streams and
3,939 acres of lakes and marshes in Oregon as
critical habitat for the
Klamath River Basin population of bull trout.
Those proposals are expected
to be finalized in September 2004.
Bull trout have declined due to habitat
degradation and fragmentation,
blockage of migratory corridors, poor water
quality, past fisheries
management, and the introduction of non-native
species such as brown, lake,
and brook trout. While bull trout occur over a
large area, many of the
populations are small and isolated from each
other, making them more
susceptible to local extinctions.
Bull trout are members of the char subgroup of the
salmon family. They
require very cold, clean water to thrive and are
excellent indicators of
water quality and stream health. Char have
light-colored spots on a darker
background ? the reverse of the
dark-spots-on-light-background pattern of
trout and salmon. Bull trout have a large,
flattened head and pale-yellow
to crimson body spots on an olive green to brown
background. They lack
teeth in the roof of the mouth.
Some bull trout populations are migratory,
spending portions of their life
cycle in larger rivers, lakes or marine
environments before returning to
smaller streams to spawn, while others complete
their entire life cycle in
the same stream. They can grow to more than 20
pounds in lake environments
and live up to 12 years. Under exceptional
circumstances, they can live
more than 20 years.
The critical habitat proposal for the
Coastal-Puget Sound population of
bull trout, and for the Jarbidge River and St.
Mary-Belly River
populations, will be published in the Federal
Register on June 25, 2004
initiating a 60-day comment period that ends on
August 25, 2004. Comments
may be sent to John Young, Bull Trout Coordinator,
U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, 911 N.E. 11th Avenue, Portland, OR 97232.
Comments may also be
submitted on the Pacific Region's Bull Trout Web
site at
r1bulltroutch@r1.fws.gov or faxed to John Young at
503-231-6243.
Maps, fact sheets, photographs and other materials
relating to today's
announcement may be found on the Pacific Region's
Bull Trout Web site at
http://species.fws.gov/bulltrout. Television
stations interested in video
footage of bull trout may call the Service's
Regional External Affairs
Office at 503-231-6121.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the
principal Federal agency
responsible for conserving, protecting and
enhancing fish, wildlife and
plants and their habitats for the continuing
benefit of the American
people. The Service manages the 95-million-acre
National Wildlife Refuge
System, which encompasses 544 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.
-----------------------------***-----------------------------
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service News
Release
For Release on June 22, 2004
Contacts: Wade Fredenberg 406-758-6872
(R1) 04-64
Diane Katzenberger 303-236-4578
Critical Habitat Proposed for the Saint Mary and
Belly Rivers in Northwest
Montana
Proposed rule will publish in the Federal
Register on June 25
The U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing
critical habitat for bull
trout that encompasses 88 miles of streams and
6,295 acres of lakes in the
Saint Mary River and Belly River drainages
in northwest Montana. This
designation encompasses the Saint Mary River
Belly River population of the
species.
Bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) was
listed as a threatened species
under the Federal Endangered Species Act in
1999. The Service's action is
in response to a lawsuit filed by the Alliance
for the Wild Rockies and
Friends of the Wild Swan.
Approximately one-half of the Saint Mary River
drainage and the entire
headwaters of the Belly River watershed are in
Glacier National Park. Both
streams flow northward into Alberta, Canada where
they join the South
Saskatchewan River system and eventually flow to
Hudson Bay. The eastern
(downstream) reaches of the Saint Mary River
watershed lie entirely within
the boundaries of the Blackfeet Indian
Reservation. Details of the critical
habitat proposal will be included in the maps and
documents that are
published along with the rule in the Federal
Register.
When considering which areas to include in the
proposed critical habitat
rule, the Service required that areas contain one
or both of the following:
(1) spawning, rearing, foraging, or over-wintering
habitat to support
essential existing bull trout local populations;
(2) movement corridors
necessary for maintaining essential migratory
life-history forms of the
species.
"The Service is proposing only those specific
areas determined to be
essential to the bull trout's conservation, based
on the best scientific
information currently available," said Ralph
Morgenweck, the Service's
Director for the Mountain-Prairie Region. "To
ensure that the final
critical habitat designation is as accurate as
possible we encourage people
to review our proposal and provide comments and
any additional information
they believe is relevant. The Service will
consider all available
information before making a final decision."
The public will have until August 25, 2004, to
comment on the proposal and
provide comments and additional information. An
economic analysis of the
critical habitat proposal will be prepared and
made available for public
comment before a final decision is made. The
Service may exclude areas
from the final description if the benefit of
exclusion outweighs the
benefit of inclusion. Over the next few months,
the Service will be
considering whether all the areas proposed for
designation are essential to
the conservation of the species.
Critical habitat is a term in the Endangered
Species Act. It identifies
geographic areas that contain features essential
for the conservation of a
threatened or endangered species and may require
special management
considerations. The designation of critical
habitat does not affect land
ownership or establish a refuge, wilderness,
reserve, preserve, or other
conservation area. It does not allow government or
public access to private
lands.
In 30 years of implementing the Endangered Species
Act, the Service has
found that the designation of critical habitat
provides little additional
protection to most listed species, while
preventing the Service from using
scarce conservation resources for activities with
greater conservation
benefits.
In almost all cases, recovery of listed species
will come through voluntary
cooperative partnerships, not regulatory measures
such as critical habitat.
Habitat is also protected through cooperative
measures under the Endangered
Species Act including Habitat Conservation Plans,
Safe Harbor Agreements,
Candidate Conservation Agreements and state
programs. In addition,
voluntary partnership programs such as the
Service's Private Stewardship
Grants and Partners for Fish and Wildlife program
also restore habitat.
Habitat for endangered species is provided on many
national wildlife
refuges, managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service and state wildlife
management areas.
In January 2002, the Service and the Alliance for
the Wild Rockies and
Friends of the Wild Swan reached a court
settlement establishing a schedule
for the proposal of critical habitat for bull
trout. The two environmental
groups sued the Service for not designating
critical habitat after listing
bull trout in 1999 as threatened throughout its
range in the lower 48
states. At the time, the Service had been unable
to complete critical
habitat determinations because of budget
constraints.
In accordance with the court settlement, the
Service also proposed to
designate critical habitat for the Coastal-Puget
Sound (Washington)
population of bull trout and the Jarbidge River
(Nevada) populations of
bull trout. For the Coastal-Puget Sound
population, the Service proposed
2,290 miles of streams, 52,540 acres of lakes and
985 miles of marine
habitat that parallels 985 miles of shoreline in
western Washington as bull
trout critical habitat. For the Jarbidge River
population, 131 miles of
streams in Idaho and Nevada are proposed as
critical habitat for bull trout
are under consideration as critical habitat for
bull trout.
In November 2001, also in accordance with the
court settlement, the Service
proposed to designate 18, 175 miles of rivers and
streams and 498,782 acres
of lakes and reservoirs in Oregon, Washington,
Idaho and Montana as
critical habitat for the Columbia River population
of bull trout. The
Service also proposed at that time to designate
396 miles of streams and
33,939 acres of lakes and marshes in Oregon as
critical habitat for the
Klamath River Basin population of bull trout.
Those proposals are expected
to be finalized in September 2004.
Bull trout have declined due to habitat
degradation and fragmentation,
blockage of migratory corridors, poor water
quality, past fisheries
management, and the introduction of non-native
species such as brown, lake,
and brook trout. While bull trout occur over a
large area, many of the
populations are small and isolated from each
other, making them more
susceptible to local extinctions.
Bull trout are members of the char subgroup of the
salmon family. They
require very cold, clean water to thrive and are
excellent indicators of
water quality and stream health. Char have
light-colored spots on a darker
background, reversing the
dark-spots-on-light-background pattern of trout
and salmon. Bull trout have a large, flattened
head and pale-yellow to
crimson body spots on an olive green to brown
background. They lack teeth
in the roof of the mouth.
Some bull trout populations are migratory,
spending portions of their life
cycle in larger rivers, lakes or marine
environments before returning to
smaller streams to spawn, while others complete
their entire life cycle in
the same stream. They can grow to more than 20
pounds in lake environments
and live up to 12 years. Under exceptional
circumstances, they can live
more than 20 years.
The critical habitat proposal for the St.
Mary-Belly River, Coastal-Puget
Sound and Jarbidge River populations of bull trout
will be published in the
Federal Register on June 25, 2004 initiating a
60-day comment period that
ends on August 25, 2004. Comments may be sent to
John Young, Bull Trout
Coordinator, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 911
N.E. 11th Avenue,
Portland, OR 97232. Comments may also be submitted
on our Bull Trout
Website at or faxed to r1bulltroutch@r1.fws.gov
John Young at 503-231-6243.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the
principal Federal agency
responsible for conserving, protecting and
enhancing fish, wildlife and
plants and their habitats for the continuing
benefit of the American
people. The Service manages the 95-million-acre
National Wildlife Refuge
System, which encompasses 544 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.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section
107, any copyrighted
material herein is distributed without profit or
payment to those who have
expressed a prior interest in receiving this
information for non-profit
research and educational purposes only. For more
information go to:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
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