Oregon Administrative Rules › Chapter 635 - DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND WILDLIFE › Division 500 - FISH MANAGEMENT PLANS › Section 635-500-6625 - Implementing the Lower Columbia River and Oregon Coast White Sturgeon Conservation Plan

Current through Register Vol. 63, No. 7, July 1, 2024
(1)
Policy
. The Lower Columbia River and Oregon Coast White Sturgeon
			 Conservation Plan (LCROC White Sturgeon Plan) (State of Oregon 2011, available
			 at Department offices) implements the State's strategy for protecting and
			 enhancing Oregon white sturgeon in the lower Columbia River and in Oregon
			 coastal and marine habitats, in cooperation with other federal and local
			 partners, including Oregon Plan natural resource agencies. The LCROC White
			 Sturgeon Plan is consistent with the Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds and
			 the Lower Columbia River Conservation and Recovery Plan. This rule describes
			 the Commission's contribution toward this collective effort and directs the
			 Department's implementation of the LCROC White Sturgeon Plan. This rule
			 describes the Department's role in implementing the LCROC White Sturgeon Plan
			 consistent with the Department's statutory authorities and the Native Fish
			 Conservation Policy (OAR
			 635-007-0502 thru
			 635-007-0505). The rule is not
			 intended to be a rigid recipe but rather to identify the range of opportunities
			 the Department should pursue and how the effectiveness of those opportunities
			 should be evaluated, following the template first established in the Native
			 Fish Conservation Policy.
(2)
Description of the Species Management Unit and Populations
. All
			 white sturgeon in Oregon are represented by one Species Management Unit (SMU)
			 and one population. However, there are seven population segments within the SMU
			 that are managed as more discrete units: Lower Columbia/Oregon Coast;
			 Bonneville Reservoir; The Dalles Reservoir; John Day Reservoir; McNary
			 Reservoir; Middle Snake River (downstream from Hells Canyon Dam); and Mid Snake
			 Reservoirs (upstream from Hells Canyon Dam). The LCROC White Sturgeon Plan
			 addresses the Lower Columbia/Oregon Coast population segment (LCROC white
			 sturgeon), which is comprised of white sturgeon inhabiting the mainstem lower
			 Columbia River downstream from Bonneville Dam, adjacent Oregon freshwater
			 habitats (including the Willamette River downstream from Willamette Falls), and
			 Oregon coastal and marine habitats. It also addresses white sturgeon in the
			 Willamette River upstream from Willamette Falls, although this area is not part
			 of the SMU.
(3)
Desired
			 Status
.
(a) Broad Sense Goals. The
			 goals of the LCROC White Sturgeon Plan are to avoid any substantial reductions
			 in the Lower Columbia/Oregon Coast white sturgeon population segment; to
			 maintain a naturally reproducing population segment that makes full use of
			 natural habitats and provides ecological, economic, and cultural benefits to
			 Oregon residents; and to provide sustainable commercial and recreational
			 fishing opportunities. LCROC white sturgeon are important to Oregon and the
			 region as a whole. Ensuring persistence and genetic diversity of the species
			 and its ecological niche, now and for future generations, is necessary to
			 maintain the social, cultural and economic benefits this population segment
			 currently provides.
(b) Measurable
			 criteria for biological attributes are defined in Section 6 of the LCROC White
			 Sturgeon Plan. Primary Biological Attributes include:
(A) Abundance: number of individuals at a
			 given life stage.
(B) Distribution:
			 where and when individuals at each life stage are found throughout their
			 historic range.
(C) Diversity: the
			 level of genetic variation and how that variation is expressed within the
			 population segment.
(D)
			 Productivity: how well the population segment is able to sustain and/or
			 increase its abundance over time.
(E) Habitat: the quantity, quality and
			 distribution of habitat types important to various life stages.
(F) Persistence: the likelihood that the
			 population segment will maintain its existence and remain viable over
			 time.