OAR 635-500-6525: Rogue Spring Chinook Conservation Plan

(1) Background. The Rogue Spring Chinook Salmon Conservation Plan of 2007 (Rogue Spring Chinook Plan, available at Department offices) implements the Commission’s strategy for the management of this population of naturally produced native fish by the Department, in cooperation with other state, federal and local partners. The Rogue Spring Chinook Plan is based on the general premise that habitat management and fishery management are critical to ensure the conservation and enhancement of this population of native fish. The Commission believes that habitat management is most likely to be successful by working cooperatively with the United States Army Corps of Engineers on reservoir management issues in the Rogue River Basin, and by encouraging the maintenance and improvement of aquatic and riparian habitat as outlined by the Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds. This rule describes a strategy for the use of Department statutory authorities to implement the requirements of the Native Fish Conservation Policy (OAR 635-007-0502 thru 635-007-0505). The Rogue Spring Chinook Plan is not intended to be a rigid recipe, but does prescribe generalized management strategies the Department will pursue; and how the efficacy of those strategies and allied management actions will be evaluated. (2) Species Management Unit and Population Description. The Species Management Unit (SMU) for Rogue spring chinook salmon includes that area of the Rogue River Basin upstream of Gold Ray Dam. Gold Ray Dam is located on the Rogue River at river mile 126. Only one population of spring chinook salmon is present in the SMU. (3) Desired Status. The desired status goal is to manage Rogue spring chinook salmon and their habitat so that: (a) The population is sustained for a minimum of 100 years; (b) The productive capacity of the habitat is maintained in order to provide ecological, economic, and cultural benefits; and (c) The opportunities for sport and commercial fishers are consistent with population status. (d) The six measurable criteria that describe the desired status goal for Rogue spring chinook salmon are: (A) Abundance; (B) Migration timing; (C) Age composition; (D) Spawning distribution; (E) Spawner composition; and (F) Population persistence. (e) The above measurable criteria are defined in Table 9 of the Desired Biological Status section of the Rogue Spring Chinook Plan, and are adopted by reference into this rule. The desired status goal for the SMU shall be judged to be achieved upon attainment of all of the measurable criteria. Other criteria related to productivity (standardized rate of population growth) and survival rate to each critical life history stage may be developed in the future if new information becomes available, or may be developed in the event that the fish counting station at Gold Ray Dam becomes inoperable. Implementation of any new criteria, or the deletion of any current criteria, will necessitate modification of this rule. (4) Current Status. The current status of the Rogue Spring Chinook SMU, at the time of adoption of this rule, is described in Table 10 of the Current Status section of the Rogue Spring Chinook Plan. Criteria used to characterize current status shall be structured so as to allow for the direct comparison of current and desired status of the SMU. The Department shall annually update the current status of the SMU. Annual updates will serve as a measurement of progress toward desired status, and thus will not require rule modification of current status. (5) Primary Limiting Factors. (a) Numerous factors contribute to the gap between current and desired status of the Rogue spring chinook SMU. (b) The primary non-manageable limiting factor is marine survival rates associated with variable ocean conditions. At the time of adoption of this Conservation Plan, manageable primary limiting factors responsible for the gap between current and desired status are: (A) Limited spawning habitat; (B) Reservoir operation of Lost Creek Lake; and (C) Fishery impacts that exceed optimum for a portion of the population. (6) Management Strategies. Department staff shall attempt to implement the following management strategies as mechanisms designed to result in the attainment of desired status for the Rogue Spring Chinook SMU. These strategies are directed at primary and secondary factors that currently limit attainment of desired status, or are judged to be potential risks to attainment of desired status in future years: (a) Short-term Strategies (1 to 5 years): (A) Decrease rates of predation on naturally produced spring chinook salmon with intent to increase the survival rates of naturally produced spring chinook salmon. (b) Long-term Strategies (1 to 25 years): (A) Implement actions designed to ensure that Lost Creek Lake is managed to maintain a viable population of naturally produced spring chinook salmon that exhibits, as much as possible, historic life history characteristics and continue actions designed to protect habitat in the Rogue River downstream of Lost Creek Lake with intent to maintain and enhance quantity and quality of habitat available to naturally produced spring chinook salmon that spawn in the Rogue River Basin. (B) Manage spring chinook salmon of hatchery origin so as to minimize the risk of genetic changes among naturally produced fish and to maintain the genetic integrity, and life history characteristics, of that portion of the natural population that historically spawned in upstream areas prior to the construction of Lost Creek Dam with intent to maintain the genetic integrity of naturally produced spring chinook salmon. (C) Enhance the production of naturally produced spring chinook salmon in Big Butte Creek. The intent of this strategy is to increase the amount of habitat available for the production of naturally produced spring chinook salmon. (D) Manage fisheries to sustain productivity for all segments of the population of naturally produced spring chinook salmon, with a secondary objective of increasing harvest opportunities for hatchery fish produced to mitigate for blocked habitat. The intent of this strategy is to ensure sustainability of the historic life history characteristics of naturally produced spring chinook salmon while maximizing freshwater harvest opportunities for spring chinook salmon of hatchery origin. (7) Deterioration in Status. (a) Additional conservation actions, or plan modification, will be employed by the Department if monitoring shows the SMU status has dropped below criteria levels defined in Table 23 in the Criteria Indicating Deterioration in Status section of the Rogue Spring Chinook Plan and are adopted by reference into this rule. (b) Additional conservation actions to be taken will be dependent on Department assessments that predict which criteria will be reached and the degree of criteria deterioration. (c) Implementation of any new criteria, or the deletion of any current criteria, will necessitate modification of this rule. (8) Adaptive Management. The Department shall employ adaptive management principles within its statutory authority in support of achieving the desired status goal for the Rogue Spring Chinook SMU. The adaptive management approach employed by the Department will include five elements: research, monitoring, evaluation, reporting, and modification of corrective strategies. (a) Research: The Department shall identify and support research that, as funding and staffing allows, addresses uncertainties related to management strategies and actions needed to achieve desired status. Research needs, at the time of plan adoption, are identified in the Rogue Spring Chinook Plan (but which are not intended to be the exclusive research projects to be pursued). Future research needs may be identified, or research needs described at the time of plan adoption may be modified, as a result of periodic assessments of the Rogue Spring Chinook Plan. (b) Monitoring: The Department shall identify, implement, and support monitoring needed to assess the status of the Rogue Spring Chinook SMU relative to desired status criteria, current status criteria, and criteria indicating significant deterioration in status. Future monitoring needs may be identified during periodic assessments of the Rogue Spring Chinook Plan. (c) Evaluation: The Department shall identify and support evaluation that is needed, as funding and staffing allows, to determine the effectiveness of management strategies and actions in achieving intended outcomes. Future evaluation needs may be identified, or evaluation needs described at the time of plan adoption may be modified, as a result of periodic assessments of the Rogue Spring Chinook Plan. (d) Reporting: The Department will develop, and will make available to the public: (A) Annual reports of SMU status. Annual reports will present: (i) Current SMU status as assessed by monitoring; (ii) A summary of results from research or evaluation activities; and (iii) Department rationale associated with any adaptive changes made to management actions. (B) summary reports of SMU status. Summary reports will outline progress made towards attainment of desired status every five years; and (C) comprehensive assessments of the Conservation Plan efficacy. Comprehensive assessments of plan efficacy will be completed for intervals that do not exceed 15 years, beginning with the year 2020. (9) Process to Modify Strategies. (a) In the event that a status review indicates that criteria indicative of status deterioration will likely be realized, the Department will craft management options to address the need to temporarily modify the Rogue Spring Chinook Plan. These options will be presented in the annual report, and the Department will solicit public input prior to selection of a course of action. (b) In the event that a status review indicates that management strategies should be modified to ensure attainment of desired status, or in the event of critical changes in local, state, or federal laws, the Department will develop revised options for management strategies to address the need to modify the Rogue Spring Chinook Plan. These options will be presented in a special report, and the Department will solicit public input prior to selection of a course of action. (c) Specific management actions for management strategies adopted into rule may be modified by the Department under the principle of adaptive management. (d) Actions may be revised to improve performance, or actions may be terminated and be replaced by other actions that are determined to be more effective. (e) Rationale associated with any changes in management actions will be detailed in annual status reports developed by the Department, and where applicable, will be linked to findings from monitoring, evaluation, and research efforts. (10) Impact on Other Native Fish Species. Management strategies identified in the Rogue Spring Chinook Plan are likely to be collectively neutral or somewhat beneficial to other native fish species present in the SMU. New or modified management actions shall consider projected impacts to other native species of fish and if needed, will be modified to ensure compliance with: (a) Department policy; and (b) State, federal, and local laws.