Oregon Administrative Rules › Chapter 635 - DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND WILDLIFE › Division 500 - FISH MANAGEMENT PLANS › Section 635-500-6575 - Implementing the Lower Columbia River Conservation and Recovery Plan for Oregon Populations of Salmon and Steelhead

Current through Register Vol. 63, No. 7, July 1, 2024
(1) Policy. The Lower Columbia River
			 Conservation and Recovery Plan for Oregon Populations of Salmon and Steelhead
			 (Oregon LCR Recovery Plan) (State of Oregon 2010, available at Department
			 offices) implements the State's strategy for protecting and enhancing Oregon
			 populations of coho salmon, Chinook salmon, chum salmon, and steelhead trout in
			 the Lower Columbia, in cooperation with other federal and local partners,
			 including Oregon Plan natural resource agencies and NOAA Fisheries. The Oregon
			 LCR Plan is based on the premise that the Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds
			 provides the best vehicle for securing partnerships, both private and
			 governmental, to successfully implement the actions called for in this plan.
			 This rule describes the Commission's contribution toward this collective effort
			 and directs the Department's implementation of the Oregon LCR Recovery Plan.
			 This rule describes the Department's role in implementing the Oregon LCR
			 Recovery 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 Species Management Unit and Populations. The Species Management
			 Units (SMUs) for Oregon Lower Columbia salmon and steelhead are the Oregon
			 portions of the Lower Columba River Evolutionarily Significant Units (ESUs) for
			 coho and Chinook, the Columbia River ESU for chum, and the Lower Columbia River
			 and Southwest Washington Distinct Population Segments (DPSs) for steelhead that
			 are comprised of geographical strata and independent populations, as defined in
			 Chapter 2 of the Oregon LCR Plan. To avoid confusion and because the SMUs are
			 the same as the federal ESUs, or DPSs, designations, the term ESU will be used
			 to designate the SMUs for Oregon Lower Columbia salmon and steelhead.
(3) Desired Status. The desired status goal
			 for Oregon populations of Lower Columbia salmon and steelhead is two-tiered
			 such that:
(a) Delisting Goal. All ESUs
			 covered by the Oregon LCR Recovery Plan can be removed from the federal
			 Endangered Species Act threatened and endangered list. This shall be achieved
			 through the following:
(A) All independent
			 populations achieve the status called for under the Desired Status for
			 Delisting identified in Chapter 6 of the plan; and
(B) Significant improvements are achieved in
			 salmon and steelhead survival from actions implemented to reduce habitat,
			 hydrosystem, harvest, hatcheries, and/or predation threats, as identified in
			 Chapter 6 for each population; and