Designated Critical Habitat: Critical Habitat for 19 Evolutionarily Significant Units of Salmon and Steelhead in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and California

NMFS is designating critical habitat for 19 evolutionarily significant units (ESUs) of chinook (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), chum (O. keta), coho (O. kisutch), and sockeye salmon (O. nerka) and steelhead trout (O. mykiss) previously listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Critical habitat occurs in the states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and California and encompasses accessible reaches of all rivers (including estuarine areas and tributaries) within the range of each listed ESU. Critical habitat is also designated in Ozette Lake for that sockeye salmon ESU. The areas described in this final rule represent the current freshwater and estuarine range of the listed species. For all ESUs, critical habitat includes all waterways, substrate, and adjacent riparian zones below longstanding, naturally impassable barriers (i.e., natural waterfalls in existence for at least several hundred years). After considering public comments and reviewing additional scientific information, NMFS has modified various aspects of the proposed designations, including a revised description of adjacent riparian zones and the exclusion of Indian lands from critical habitat. The economic (and other) impacts resulting from this critical habitat designation are expected to be minimal.