FEIS to analyze impacts of NOAA NMFS Proposed 4(d) Determination under limit 6 for five early winter steelhead hatchery programs in Puget Sound

The WDFW and the Puget Sound treaty tribes jointly submitted five hatchery and genetic management plans for steelhead hatchery programs in Puget Sound, as resource management plans. These plans describe each hatchery program in detail, including fish life stages produced and potential measures to minimize risks of negative impacts that may affect listed fish. NMFS’s determination of whether the plans achieve the conservation standards of the ESA, as set forth in Limit 6 of 4(d) rules for listed salmon and steelhead, is the Federal action requiring NEPA compliance. The analysis within the EIS informs NMFS, hatchery operators, and the public about the current and anticipated direct, indirect, and cumulative environmental effects of operating the five Puget Sound steelhead hatchery programs under the full range of alternatives.