To further improve the management of salmon. NMFS proposes to establish a dispute resolution 

 process, and integrate the scientific review, planning, and information management functions of 

 the Recovery Plan with the Northwest Power Planning Council's Fish and Wildlife Program. 

 Other Proposed Recovery Plan tasks include coordinating infomiation and data gathering 

 systems and consolidating regional efforts for biological analysis and modeling and hydrological 

 analysis. 



Delisting Criteria 



NMFS' recovery requirements and delisting criteria for ESA-listed Snake River Basin salmon 

 fall into two major categories: ( 1 ) Remedying the environmental (and other) factors that have 

 reduced the stocks to levels which are in danger of extinction; and (2) rebuilding populations to 

 levels where there is evidence of improved productivity, even when considering the potential 

 impacts of severe stochastic environmental events (e.g.. protracted drought, oceanic El Nino 

 effects, etc.). Both of these categories must be achieved in order to consider delisting. To 

 determine (2) above, NMFS proposes to use cohort replacement rates and numeric delisting 

 criteria. 



The natural cohort replacement rate describes the rate at which each subsequent cohort, or 

 generation, replaces the previous one. When this rate is exactly 1 .0. a population is neither 

 increasing nor decreasing. If the ratio remains less than 1.0 for extended periods, a population is 

 in decline, and could continue into extinction— a risk which originally led to listing Snake River 

 salmon. For population rebuilding, the natural cohort replacement rate must be greater than 1 . 

 For delisting to be considered, the eight-year geometric mean cohort replacement rate of a listed 

 species must exceed 1 .0. For Snake River spring/summer chinook salmon, this goal must also be 

 met for 80% of the index areas available for estimating cohort replacement rates. 



For sockeye salmon, the numerical escapement goal is an eight-year (approximately two- 

 generation) geometric mean of at least 1,000 natural spawners returning annually to Redfish 

 Lake and 500 naturally-produced spawners in each of two other Snake River Basin lakes. The 

 numerical escapement goal for Snake River fall chinook salmon is an eight-year geometric mean 

 of at least 2.500 naturally-produced spawners in the mainstem Snake River annually. Snake 

 River spring/summer chinook salmon have two numeric delisting criteria: both must be met for 

 delisting to be considered. The first numerical escapement goal for Snake River spring/summer 

 chinook salmon is an eight-year geometric mean corresponding to at least 60% of the pre- 1971 

 brood year average redd counts for 80% of the available index areas. The second numerical 

 escapement goal for spring/summer chinook salmon is an eight-year geometric mean equal to 

 60% of the 1962-1967 brood year average count of naturally-produced spawners past Ice Harbor 

 Dam (goal is equal to 3 1 ,440). 



Tributary Ecosystem 



Land and water management actions, including water withdrawals, unscreened water diversions, 

 stream channelization, road construction, timber harvest, livestock grazing, mining, and outdoor 

 recreation have degraded important salmon spawning and rearing habitats. To protect tributary 

 ecosystem health, NMFS proposes a three part approach: ( 1 ) Protect remaining high quality 

 habitat by ceasing activities that would degrade ecosystem functions and values that listed fish 

 need, (2) restore degraded habitats, and (3) provide connectivity between high quality habitats. 

 Federal lands and Federal actions should bear, as much as possible, the burdens of recovering 

 listed salmon species and their habitat. NMFS' March, 1995 biological opinion on eight Land 

 and Resource Management Plans in the Snake River Basin established guidelines to maintain or 

 improve aquatic habitats. These guidelines are in effect until geographically specific 



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