Final Environmental Assessment Environmental Assessment to Analyze Impacts of NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Consideration of the Skagit River Steelhead Fishery Resource Management Plan under Limit 6 of the 4(d) Rule of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) Prepared by the National Marine Fisheries Service, West Coast Region April 2018 Cover Sheet Final Environmental Assessment Title of Environmental Review: Skagit River Steelhead Fishery Resource Management Plan (Skagit RMP) Distinct Population Segments: Puget Sound Steelhead DPS Responsible Agency and Official: Barry A. Thom Regional Administrator National Marine Fisheries Service West Coast Region 7600 Sand Point Way NE, Building 1 Seattle, Washington 98115 Contacts: James Dixon Sustainable Fisheries Division National Marine Fisheries Service West Coast Region 510 Desmond Drive SE, Suite 103 Lacey, Washington 98503 Legal Mandate: Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended and implemented – 50 CFR Part 223 Location of Proposed Activities: Skagit River Basin including Skagit Bay and Mainstem Skagit River in Puget Sound, Washington Activity Considered: The proposed resource management plan includes steelhead fisheries and associated activities in the Skagit Basin 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Purpose Of And Need For The Proposed Action 12 1.1 Background 12 1.2 Description of the Proposed Action 13 1.3 Purpose and Need for the Action 16 1.4 Project Area and Analysis Area 16 1.5 Relationship to Other Plans, Regulations, Agreements, Laws, Secretarial Orders and Executive Orders 18 1.5.1 North of Falcon Process 18 1.5.2 Executive Order 12898 18 1.5.3 Treaty of Point Elliot 19 1.5.4 United States v. Washington 19 1.5.5 Secretarial Order 3206 – American Indian Tribal Rights, Federal-Tribal Trust Responsibilities and the ESA 20 1.5.6 Federal Trust Responsibility 21 2. Alternatives Including The Proposed Action 21 2.1 Alternative 1 (No Action/Status Quo) – Do Not Approve the Skagit RMP Under the 4(d) Rule Limit 6 22 2.1.1 Bycatch of Steelhead in Puget Sound Fisheries 25 2.1.2 Fisheries Management 27 2.1.3 Reporting 27 2.1.4 Enforcement 28 2.1.5 Management of Adults on the Spawning Grounds 28 2.1.6 Research, Monitoring and Evaluation 28 2.2 Alternative 2 (Proposed Action/Preferred Alternative) – Approve the Skagit RMP Under the 4(d) Rule, Limit 6 29 2.2.1 Steelhead in Skagit River Fisheries 29 2.2.2 Fisheries Management 31 2.2.3 Reporting 32 2.2.4 Enforcement 32 2.2.5 Management of Adults on the Spawning Grounds 33 2.2.6 Consideration of Viable Salmonid Population Parameters 34 2.4 Alternative 4 (Escapement-Based Harvest Management) - Do Not Approve the Skagit RMP under the 4(d) Rule Limit 6, Recommend a Escapement-Based Management 37 3 2.3 Alternatives Considered but not Analyzed in Detail 39 2.4 Summary of Alternatives to be Analyzed 39 3. Affected Environment 43 3.1 Introduction 43 3.1.1 Scoping 44 3.2 Wildlife 45 3.2.1 Predator/Prey Relationships 45 3.2.2 Steelhead Carcass Nutrient Benefits 50 3.2.3 Transfer of Toxins from Steelhead to Wildlife 50 3.2.4 Harvest Habitat Disturbance 50 3.2.5 Marine Mammal and Seabird Bycatch 52 3.2.6 Derelict Fishing Gear 52 3.3 Fish 53 3.3.1 Listed Salmon and Steelhead 53 3.3.1.1. Puget Sound Steelhead DPS 54 3.3.1.2 Skagit River Steelhead 68 3.3.2 Non-listed Salmon 82 3.3.2.1 Coho Salmon 83 3.3.2.2 Chum Salmon 83 3.3.3 Other Fish 84 3.4 Marine Ecosystem and Fish Habitat Affected by Steelhead Fishing 91 3.4.1 Marine-derived Nutrients from Steelhead Spawners 91 3.5 Environmental Justice 92 3.5.1 Low Income 92 3.5.2 Minority 93 3.5.3 Native American 94 3.6 Cultural Resources 95 3.6.1 Treaty Indian Ceremonial and Subsistence Fish Uses 96 3.7 Socioeconomics and Tourism and Recreation 97 3.8 Climate Change 97 4. Environmental Consequences 98 4.1 Introduction 98 4.2 Wildlife 99 4.2.1 Predator/Prey Relationships 100 4 4.2.2 Steelhead Carcass Nutrient Benefits 105 4.2.3 Transfer of Toxins from Steelhead to Wildlife 106 4.2.4 Harvest Habitat Disturbance 107 4.2.5 Marine Mammal and Seabird Bycatch 110 4.2.6 Derelict Fishing Gear 111 4.3 Fish 113 4.3.1 Listed Salmon and Steelhead 113 4.3.1.2 Puget Sound Steelhead 113 4.3.1.1 Skagit River Steelhead 116 4.3.2 Non-listed Salmon 125 4.3.2.1 Coho Salmon 125 4.3.2.2 Chum Salmon 126 4.3.3 Other Fish 128 4.4 Marine Ecosystem and Fish Habitat 133 4.4.1 Marine Derived Nutrients from Steelhead Spawners 133 4.4 Environmental Justice 135 4.4.1 Low income 135 4.4.2 Minority 135 4.4.3 Native American – Federal trust responsibility 135 4.5 Cultural Resources 137 4.5.1 Treaty Indian Ceremonial and Subsistence Fish Uses 137 4.6 Socioeconomics and Tourism and Recreation 138 4.7 Climate Change 139 5. Cumulative Impacts 140 5.1 Geographic and Temporal Scales 141 5.2 Past Actions 141 5.3 Development and Habitat Loss 141 5.4 Hatcheries 142 5.5 Hydropower and Culvert Blockage 142 5.6 Harvest 143 5.7 Cumulative Effects by Resource 143 5.7.1 Wildlife 146 5.7.2 Fish 148 5.7.3 Environmental Justice 150 5 5.7.4 Cultural Resources 151 5.7.4.1 Treaty Indian Ceremonial and Subsistence Salmon Uses 151 5.7.5 Socioeconomics and Tourism and Recreation 151 6. Agencies Consulted 152 7. References 153 6 List of Tables Table 2-1. Fishing regime for incidental catch of listed Puget Sound natural origin steelhead, including the Skagit Basin. ........................................................................................................... 27 Table 2-2. Stepped fishing regime proposed for managing listed natural origin steelhead fisheries in the Skagit SMU (Sauk-Suiattle Indian Tribe et al. 2016), including maximum number of fish harvested and percentage of fish returning to the spawning grounds under the proposed harvest regime. .......................................................................................................................................... 31 Table 2-3. Intermediate fixed harvest rate fishing regime for listed Skagit River natural origin steelhead. ....................................................................................................................................... 36 Table 2-4. Escapement-based harvest management for listed Skagit River natural origin steelhead. ....................................................................................................................................... 38 Table 3-1. Resources Considered for Evaluation in this EA. ....................................................... 44 Table 3-2. Puget Sound steelhead 5-year mean fraction of natural-origin spawners for 22 of the 32 DIPs in the DPS for which data are available (NWFSC 2015). .............................................. 59 Table 3-3. 5-year geometric mean of natural spawner counts for Puget Sound steelhead. Numbers not in parentheses represent the estimated natural-origin spawners. This is the raw total spawner count, which is in parentheses, times the fraction of natural spawner estimate, if available. Percent change between the most recent two 5-year periods is shown on the far right (NWFSC 2015). ............................................................................................................................ 64 Table 3-4. Puget Sound steelhead DIP spawning escapements showing total Puget Sound and Five Primary MUs, 2011-2015. Source: (NWFSC 2015)............................................................. 65 Table 3-5. Terminal natural origin harvest rates for Puget Sound steelhead as calculated by the five watersheds: Skagit River summer/winter-run, Snohomish River winter-run, Green River winter-run, Puyallup River winter-run, and Nisqually River winter-run steelhead, 2007 – 2016 (NMFS 2017b). ............................................................................................................................. 67 Table 3-6. Skagit River natural origin steelhead spawning escapements from 2011 to 2015. Source: (Leland 2018)................................................................................................................... 71 Table 3-7. Juvenile O. Mykiss densities per linear meter of stream for sites in the Skagit River Basin, sampled 2011 and 2012. .................................................................................................... 75 Table 3-8. Acoustic tags deployed by month in natural origin adult steelhead during return years 2008 to 2011 (Pflug et al. 2013; Table 9). .................................................................................... 80 Table 3-9. Terminal listed natural origin harvest rates on Skagit River steelhead and average harvest for the five watersheds from 2011 to 2016 (NMFS 2017b). ............................................ 82 Table 3-10. Interaction and status of other fish species that may be affected by salmon and steelhead harvest in the project area. ............................................................................................ 84 Table 3-11. Redd counts from 2016 Skagit Basin bull trout spawning ground (index areas) surveys (Source: excerpt from Fowler (2017; Table 2)). .............................................................. 88 Table 3-12. Yearly bull trout redd counts from 2002 to 2016. (Source: excerpt from Fowler (2017; Table 3)). ........................................................................................................................... 88 Table 3-13. Percent of population below poverty level within the project area. .......................... 93 7 Table 3-14. Percent of minority persons by county and race within the project area. .................. 94 Table 4-1. Skagit Steelhead