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LETTER FROM FRANK RUE, OFFICE OF THE COMMISSIONER, THE 

 DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME, JUNEAU, AK 



February 22, 1995 



Mr. William W. Stelle, Jr. 

 Northwest Regional Director 

 National Marine Fisheries Service 

 7600 Sand Point Way N.E. 

 Bin CI 5700 Building 1 

 Seanle, WA 98115 



Dear Mr. Stelle: 



This letter is written in response to your February 12 invitation to concerned parties to 

 comment on Federal Register Notice, 59 FR 66784, December 28, 1994, announcing the 

 National Marine Fishery Services's determination to reclassify listed Snake River chinook 

 salmon from threatened to endangered. Alaska's primary interest in this action is with the 

 Snake River fall chinook salmon stock. Actions taken by the National Marine Fishery Service 

 (NMFS) relative to Snake River fall chinook salmon have the potential to greatly affect our 

 Southeast Alaska salmon fishery where this stock is harvested at a very low rate. Past 

 actions taken by the NMFS due to concern over this stock have had significant effects on 

 the Southeast Alaska economy and life style, and we are concerned about future NMFS 

 actions, as these actions may also affect future jobs and families in Alaska. Our interest is 

 in ensuring that any decision regarding the reclassification of Snake River fall chinook follows 

 sound biological principles and be rigorously justified using the best available scientific and 

 commercial data. 



Fishery scientists of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game have reviewed the information 

 included in the notice, gathered additional information, and developed an analysis of the 

 NMFS intended action. The report developed by these fishery scientists is anached to this 

 lener. 



Our analysis led to two conclusions. First, the best available scientific and commercial data 

 indicates that the change of Snake River fall chinook from threatened status to endangered 

 status is not appropriate because the status of the currently defined ESU has improved since 

 listing and the likelihood of extinction has diminished considerably. And second, the Snake 

 River fall chinook ESU itself needs redefinition to include Lyons Ferry hatchery fish. 



Thank you for the opportunity to provide comments on this proposed federal action. 



Sincerely, 



Uiji^ U^^^ypr' 



Frank Rue 

 Commissioner 



ANALYSIS OF SNAKE RIVER FALL CHINOOK SALMON 



BACKGROUND 



Chinook aalmon Oncorhynchua tshavytMch* *r« r.*tlv. to the Columbia River 

 and its largest tributary, the Snake River. Three rune of chinoolt 

 salmon are recognized in the Snake River based upon entry time of adults 

 into fresh water (spring, summer, and fall). 



Historically, the Snake River supported the largest run of fall chinook 

 in the Columbia Basin. Fall chinook were widely distributed throughout 

 the Snake River and many of its tributaries. Fall chinook spawned and 

 reared from the confluence of the Snake and Columbia rivers upstream 

 some 615 miles to Shoshone Falls, Idaho. The most important spawning 



