NOAA, state seek to
maintain funding for coastal coho despite
non-re-listing
By Joel
Gallob Of the News-Times, 2/10/06
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration is working with the State of Oregon
to amend the agreement by which the agency has
authorized the use of federal endangered species
restoration funds for the state's coho runs to
continue in effect now that the runs are no longer
deemed endangered.
"We have a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with
the State of Oregon and we - NOAA - and the state
are working together to amend that agreement so
that money can be used on the coast," explained
Rosemary Furfey, salmon recovery coordinator for
NOAA Fisheries Service.
Louise Solliday, a natural resource adviser to
Governor Ted Kulongoski, is working from the state
side of that MOU "to keep restoration money used
on the coast as it is currently being used," said
Furfey.
The Oregon coast coho
population was formally deemed no longer
endangered by NOAA Fisheries last week, ending a
years-long legal struggle over the Endangered
Species Act status of the coastal coho.
NOAA Fisheries, based in part on its own analysis,
in part on an analysis done by the Oregon
Department of Fish and Wildlife, concluded the
Evolutionarily Significant Unit (ESU) formed by
the Oregon coast coho is no longer endangered. The
coastal coho's abundance levels are a fraction of
their historic levels, but are higher than they
were in the 1990s. The two agencies concluded the
coastal coho have survived an extended downturn in
ocean conditions and have restabilized at a new,
lower-level plateau - and are likely to survive
new ups and downs in ocean conditions and fresh
water habitat.
NOAA and the Oregon Department of Fish and
Wildlife are developing a conservation plan for
the coho, Furfey said, and coastal habitat will
play a key role in it. "We want to make sure they
get money for it," she stated. A final draft of
that conservation plan is due to be released in
July or August 2006.
Furfey was interviewed by the News-Times at the
Coastal Coho Stakeholders Team meeting held
Friday, Jan. 20 at the Hallmark Inn in Newport.
With the ending of the endangered species listing
for the coast coho ESU, Furfey noted, the
protections of the Endangered Species Act no
longer apply to the ESU. There is no longer an ESA
requirement for consultation between other
government agencies and NOAA before other agencies
take actions that might affect the coastal coho.
Similarly, the act's tough legal prohibition
against any "take" (defined as any killing,
harming, or altering of habitat) of the coastal
coho no longer applies.
But, noted Furfey, the Magnuson-Stevens Act still
applies, including its provisions regarding
Essential Fish Habitat. "NOAA continues to possess
authority under Magnuson Stevens, and Essential
Fish Habitat consultations will continue. We will
have a letter from NOAA going to the other
stakeholders," she said, reminding them of that
law's provisions.
The 1996 reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens
Act required the designation of Essential Fish
Habitat by the federal regulators of the Pacific
Fishery Management Council. The PFMC recently
identified a number of different kinds of undersea
areas off the West Coast as essential habitat for
various kinds of fish, including salmon. That
designation, Furfey said, "goes up the rivers and
includes all the salmon species, Chinook and coho
included, as well as the near shore area."
The PFMC wrote, and in October released, an
Environmental Impact Statement for its proposed
"preferred alternative" among several possible
approaches it had looked at for designation of
Essential Fish Habitat on the West Coast. In a
complex document with several maps, the PFMC
identified various areas of the ocean and sea
floor as likely to receive various kinds of
protection, through limitations on human
activities, including trawling and non-trawl
fishing.
But that does not provide protection against
freshwater salmon fishing, or the alteration of
freshwater habitat. Paul Engelmeyer, manager of
the Tenmile Fish Sanctuary near Yachats and a
spokesman for the Native Fish Society, was less
optimistic than Furfey.
"Will the money be there in three or four years
when we are still dealing with recovering these
stocks? It's difficult for me to believe it will
be, now, with the de-listing. It was not
warranted. And the stakeholder process is still in
motion, its outcome is uncertain. I'm not sure all
the stakeholders agree we need to deal with
habitat issues. The rough road is still ahead of
us," he stated.
Still, said Furfey, NOAA will continue to be
involved with the coastal coho, both under its
authority through the Magnuson Stevens act and
through its relationship with the State of Oregon
- and with congressional funding sources.
Joel Gallob is a reporter for the News-Times. He
can be reached at 265-8571 ext. 223 or
joel.gallob@lee.net.
