Issuance of an Endangered Species Act Section 10(a)(1)(A) Enhancement Permit to the United States Corps of Engineers for Operation of the Russian River Steelhead Program at the Don Clausen Hatchery
The USACE/CDFW proposes to rear hatchery steelhead to produce fish for harvest in sport fisheries in the Russian River. Hatchery production is required to “mitigate” for the loss in natural steelhead production due to the construction of Warm Springs and Coyote Valley dams by the USACE.
The hatchery program releases up to 500,000 yearling steelhead smolts at the Don Clausen Fish Hatchery (DCFH), aka Warm Springs Hatchery, located at Warm Springs dam on Dry Creek, and the Coyote Valley Fish Facility (CVFF) located on the East Fork of Russian River in the upper basin below Coyote Valley dam (Figure 1). Of the 500,000 smolts released, a maximum of 200,000 may be released at DCFH and up to 300,000 at CVFF so long as Program performance metrics identified in the Hatchery Genetic Management Plan (Appendix A) are achieved. Until the metrics are achieved, hatchery production will be limited to 400,000 fish (200,000 from each facility). The goal of the Program is to provide adult steelhead for harvest by sport fishers in the Russian River.
The Program will be operated consistent with the recommendations of the California Hatchery Scientific Review Group (CA HSRG) and the Hatchery Scientific Review Group (HSRG) of the Columbia River. Operating the program consistent with the recommendations of these two HSRGs is expected to reduce effects to naturally produced Russian River steelhead and thereby support restoration efforts for this species (CA HSRG 2012, HSRG 2014).
The Program will be operated as an integrated type as defined by the HSRG (2014): “In an ideal integrated program natural-origin (NOR) and hatchery-origin fish (HOR) represent two components of a single gene pool that is adapted to the natural habitat.”
The DCFH and CVFF components will be integrated with the Dry Creek and Upper Russian River steelhead populations, respectively. Program integration is achieved by incorporating NOR adults into the broodstock and controlling the proportion of the HOR adults spawning naturally. NOR adults for the two programs would come from fish arriving at the two hatcheries, traps, seines or from sport fishers.
The program proposes to conduct monitoring to quantify program effects to ESA-listed species and inform the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) on Program progress and need for additional actions to achieve performance metrics.
NMFS is reviewing the ESA section 10(a)(1)(A) permit application submitted by the USACE and CDFW to evaluate whether the application meets applicable criteria specified in section 10(a)(1)(A) of the ESA and NMFS’ implementing regulations. Under the proposed action, NMFS will determine if the HGMP meets the criteria of the ESA, and if it meets these requirements, NMFS will issue an ESA section 10(a)(1)(A) enhancement permit. The draft EA analyzes two alternatives for comment, prior to a decision by NMFS whether to approve the proposed hatchery program. Additionally, NMFS is reviewing the effects of the Program under section 7 of the ESA to determine whether issuance of the enhancement permit is likely to jeopardize the continued existence of any endangered or threatened species or result in destruction or adverse modification of any critical habitat.
The following hatchery production activities, as described in the HGMP, have the potential to affect the CCC steelhead DPS, CCC Coho Salmon Evolutionary Significant Unit (ESU) and CC Chinook ESU (Appendix A):
● Collection and transport of broodstock including natural origin juveniles,
● Holding, identification, and spawning of adult fish,
● Egg incubation and rearing,
● Marking of hatchery-origin juveniles,
● Juvenile and adult releases, and
● Monitoring and evaluation to assess Program performance and effects to ESA listed species.