Environmental Assessment Issuance of a Protected Species conservation and Recovery Grant to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (Award File NA10NMF4720037) to Conduct Research on Green Sturgeon on the West Coast of the United States

摘要

The purpose of the proposed action is to allow NMFS to carry out its responsibilities under Section 6 of the ESA, whereby NMFS is authorized to cooperate with states to the maximum extent practicable in carrying out programs for the conservation of threatened and endangered species and monitoring of candidate species. Scientific research is an important means of gathering valuable information about protected species to inform conservation and management measures and, ultimately, to recover listed species. In order to fully carry out these responsibilities, NMFS needs to take action in response to a request from WDFW for financial assistance to support a coast-wide monitoring program that will assess status and trends for future Population Viability Assessments and better manage threats to recovery of the North American green sturgeon population. Specifically, the funded work will (1) establish a cooperative coast-wide biotelemetry, tag, and biological data interchange system; (2) characterize important habitats with potential threats by studying fine scale spatial distribution and movement patterns of sturgeon; (3) design, evaluate and implement an approach to estimate coast-wide abundance and survival of Southern and Northern DPS green sturgeon; and (4) develop a Fisheries Management and Evaluation Plan for Washington coastal fisheries not covered by an ESA Section 7(a)(2) Biological Opinion that meets NMFS criteria for exemptions from take in the ESA 4(d) rule. Data gathered in this project will be critical for recovery planning by providing a reference from which recovery and impacts can be measured. Section 6(d) of the ESA allows NMFS to provide financial assistance to any State, through its respective State agency that has entered into a section 6 agreement with NMFS, to support conservation activities for threatened and endangered species, or to monitor the status of candidate species and recently de-listed species. There are currently no take prohibitions for threatened Green sturgeon; therefore, issuance of a scientific research permit under section 10(a)(1)(A) of the ESA for these activities is not required.