96 



necessary reductions among actions or life stages Schiewe 

 1392a) . As an alternative, NMFS has extended and refined the 

 qualitative goals used in 1992 based on experience from the 

 previous consultations and has expanded the scope c: the analysis 

 for both the Snake River spring/summer and fall cninooK salmon 

 species to consider simultaneously, to the degree possible, the 

 combined effects of all agency actions affecting the species. 

 The following report outlines the goals, rr.ethods ana information 

 that will be considered during the section 7 consultation process 

 regarding actions affecting Snake River salmon species in 1993. 



SNAKE RIVER SOCKEYE SALMON 



Notwithstanding the fact that no ocean-going sockeye salmon 

 adults spawned in Redfish Lake in 1991 or 1992, there is reason 

 to believe that juvenile Snake River sooceye salmon will be in 

 the Columbia River Basin in 1993. (In 1991 and 1992 the few 

 returning spawners were taken into a captive breeding program. I 

 Zver the last year, evidence has mounted that there is a 

 population of residual Snake River sockeye salmon in Redfish Lake 

 that produce ocean-migrating progeny (Schiewe 1993) and that this 

 residual population is part of the Snake River sockeye salmon 

 "evolutionarily significant unit" (ESU) . 3ecause this residual 

 population is a potential contributor, NMFS has therefore 

 concluded that it is prudent to treat these fish as members of 

 the ESU and to ensure their protection. 



NMFS also has concluded that there is the potential for adult 

 returns from anadromous parents spawning in 1989 or 1990. Adult 

 returns from residual sockeye salmon parents must be considered a 

 possibility as well (Schiewe 1993) . 



Because of the expectation that there may be both juvenile and 

 adult sockeye salmon from the Snake River in the Columbia River 

 Basin in 1993, it will be necessary to take measures to minimize 

 any adverse impact. Because so few fish remain, the approach 

 used for evaluating the impacts of an agency action on the listed 

 sockeye salmon species is expected to differ from the approach 

 used for evaluating impacts on Snake River spring/summer and fall 

 chinook salmon. The human- induced mortality of even one adult 

 fish, or an equivalent impact, is a matter of grave concern. 

 NMFS strongly recommends that all Federal agencies take measures 

 to reduce adverse human impacts on Snake River sockeye salmon to 

 minimal levels in order to insure that their actions are not 

 likely to jeopardize the continued existence of this species. 



SNAKE RIVER SPRING/SUMMER AND FALL CHINOOK SALMON 



For 1993 consultations for listed Snake River spring/summer and 

 fall chinook salmon, NMFS will analyze agency actions in two 



