The Rogue-South Coast Multi-Species Conservation and
Management Plan (RSP) (State of Oregon 2021, available at the
Department's Salem office or www.dfw.state.or.us) implements the State's
strategy for protecting, enhancing, and utilizing Oregon populations of winter
steelhead, summer steelhead, coho salmon, and coastal cutthroat trout along the
Oregon coast from Elk River near Cape Blanco to the Winchuck River.
(1) Policy. The RSP is based on the premise
that the
Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds provides the best
vehicle for securing partnerships, both private and governmental, to
successfully implement the actions called for in this plan. This rule describes
the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission's (Commission) contribution toward this
collective effort and directs the Department's implementation of the RSP. This
rule also describes the Department's role in implementing the RSP consistent
with the Department's statutory authorities,
Native Fish Conservation
Policy (OAR
635-007-0502 thru
635-007-0505) and
Climate
and Ocean Change Policy (OAR
635-900-0001 thru
635-900-0020). The rule is not
intended to be prescriptive but rather to identify the range of opportunities
the Department should pursue and how the effectiveness of those opportunities
should be evaluated, following the template first established in the
Native Fish Conservation Policy.
(2) Description of Species Management Units
(SMUs) and Populations. The Rogue-South Coast winter steelhead, summer
steelhead, coho, and coastal cutthroat trout SMUs (Plan SMUs) which are
addressed in the RSP are comprised of geographical strata and independent
populations, as listed in RSP Table 2.
(3) Desired Status. The desired status for
the Plan SMUs is to maintain or improve SMU status as described in RSP Table 7
and to maintain or improve outcomes for populations or strata based on
measurable criteria as described in RSP Table 8. Achieving desired status for
SMUs, strata, and populations will increase the ecological, economic, and
cultural benefits they provide and increase their resilience to climate and
ocean change.
(4) Current Status.
The status of the Plan SMUs at the time of the adoption of this rule is
described in the RSP. The Current Status chapter Overall Status Assessment
Approach section and RSP Table 4 summarize the biological attributes, criteria,
and metrics used to assess the status of each SMU. Those biological attributes,
criteria, and metrics are adopted by reference into this rule.
(5) Primary Limiting Factors.
(a) Numerous factors contribute to the gap
between current and desired status of populations comprising the Plan SMUs.
Marine survival associated with ocean conditions strongly influences
productivity and abundance for Plan SMUs. Although ocean conditions are not
manageable at the scale of this plan and are thus not considered a primary
limiting factor, attention to other limiting factors will be heightened during
periods of poor ocean conditions.
(b) Manageable limiting factors generally
causing the gap between current and desired status for the Plan SMUs are
broadly defined as:
(A) Habitat access
(upstream and downstream passage; access to off-channel habitat);
(B) Water quality;
(C) Water quantity;
(D) Physical habitat structure/complexity;
and
(E) Interactions with other
species (including predators).
(c) Primary and secondary limiting factors
are identified for each population within each SMU in the RSP Limiting Factors
chapter, Table 9. The Department will continue to help revise and identify new
management actions addressing these factors to aid in reaching desired status.
The Department may analyze the limiting factors at a finer, more localized
scale when selecting or prioritizing management actions for specific areas
within populations. These analyses may find primary and secondary factors
different at a local scale than what was found at the SMU or population
scale.
(6) Management
Strategies. Management strategies to address limiting factors for each
population are identified in the RSP Management Strategies and Actions chapter.
The Department will consider and attempt to implement these management
strategies designed for the Plan SMUs as a whole, and for constituent
populations as applicable, as mechanisms to reach the desired status.
Short-term (1 to 5 years) and long-term (1 to 25 years) strategies are
identified in seven categories:
(a) Habitat:
(A) Promote and implement a tiered approach
to habitat restoration efforts and funding to achieve maximum benefit for plan
species. Prioritize restoration actions, including actions identified in Coho
Strategic Action Plans, in the following order:
(i) actions to address primary limiting
factors in population areas with an independent coho salmon
population;
(ii) actions to address
primary limiting factors in other population areas; and
(iii) actions to address secondary limiting
factors for all population areas.
(B) Within the Rogue and Coastal strata,
identify watersheds that will be key to supporting plan populations in the
future, and focus habitat protection and restoration activities towards these
watersheds.
(C) Consistent with the
Department's mission, policies, and laws, continue to coordinate with and
advise other agencies, local governments, and regulatory entities to ensure
that habitat protection processes and actions provide the best possible
outcomes for native fish.
(D)
Exhibit leadership in coordinating the implementation of actions to adapt to
climate change.
(E) Encourage
citizen involvement to help implement habitat protection and restoration
actions.
(F) Promote beavers and
beaver-related pond habitat to increase water quantity and stream complexity,
primarily through riparian restoration and helping landowners learn to live
with beaver impacts.
(b)
Other Species:
(A) Support programs that
reduce conflict between predators and anglers.
(B) Assess predator impacts and feasibility
of management options with an over-arching science approach across
predators.
(C) Implement a
strategic approach to reducing impacts from non-native minnows, with a focus on
water quality to favor salmon and steelhead. Remove non-native minnows where
possible to reduce impacts on native fish.
(D) Prohibit the introduction of non-native
fin fish species into flowing waters, and develop and support programs designed
to decrease illegal introductions of non-native species.
(c) Hatchery:
(A) Manage hatchery programs to provide
optimal harvest opportunities and meet mitigation goals while being consistent
with desired status targets for wild populations.
(B) Manage hatchery programs to minimize risk
to the long-term adaptive capacity of wild populations.
(C) Manage for wild fish emphasis or mixed
emphasis in the appropriate Management Areas as outlined in RSP Figure 14 and
obtain Commission approval for starting new or eliminating existing hatchery
programs in a Management Area relative to those in RSP Table 14 (excluding
educational and research programs and conservation actions).
(d) Fishing:
(A) Manage recreational fisheries to provide
harvest and angling opportunities consistent with conservation of naturally
produced steelhead, coho salmon, and cutthroat trout, and achievement of
desired status goals for each SMU.
(B) Manage fisheries proactively for the
future and respond to changing environmental conditions.
(C) Collect appropriate data to manage wild
fisheries.
(e) Research
and Monitoring:
(A) Identify and implement
sustainable monitoring approaches that align with management and status
determination needs.
(B) Monitor
appropriate metrics to document changing climate and ocean conditions and the
impacts of those changes on plan species and their habitats.
(C) Prioritize research that resolves
critical uncertainties about SMU status and management strategy effectiveness.
(D) Conduct research to reduce key
uncertainties related to the response of plan species and their habitats to
climate and ocean change.
(f) Outreach/Enforcement:
(A) Encourage angler stewardship to reduce
impacts without adding layers of regulation and increase cooperation with
Oregon State Police to help enforce existing regulations.
(B) Increase and diversify public
participation in fishing and native fish conservation.
(C) Improve communication with the public;
provide more information through more diverse avenues of communication and
collect information to inform management.
(D) Encourage citizen involvement to help
implement habitat protection and restoration actions, and encourage landowner
participation in these critical actions.
(g) Facilities:
(A) Invest in infrastructure that best
supports the Department's mission.
(B) Develop and maintain public access to
increase fishing opportunity and improve angler experience.
(7) Adaptive Management.
The Department shall employ adaptive management principles within its statutory
authority in support of optimizing fisheries and achieving the desired status
goals for the SMUs. The Department's adaptive management of the SMUs will
include five elements: research; monitoring; evaluation; a feedback loop; and
reporting.
(a) Research. The Department shall
support high priority research that addresses uncertainties related to SMU or
population status and management strategies and actions needed to optimize
fisheries and achieve desired status as funding and staffing allow. 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 RSP
and with the development and update of research plans for the Department and
Oregon Hatchery Research Center.
(b) Monitoring. The Department shall continue
to identify, implement and support monitoring needed to assess the status of
SMUs, strata, or populations relative to desired status criteria, evaluate
habitat status trends and understand fishery characteristics as funding and
staffing allow. Future monitoring needs may be identified, or monitoring needs
described at the time of plan adoption may be modified, during periodic
assessments of the RSP and with the development and update of monitoring plans
for the Department.
(c) Evaluation.
The Department shall identify and support evaluation needed to apply research
and monitoring results to modify monitoring and management, re-assess status
and determine the effectiveness of management strategies and actions in
achieving their intended outcomes as funding and staffing allow. 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
RSP.
(d) Feedback Loop. The
Department shall review the results of reports and assessments identified in
OAR
635-500-6785(7)(e)
and modify management strategies and actions as appropriate and within its
statutory authority based on the review results. The Department shall implement
the Adaptive Management processes and recommend to other agencies or entities,
as necessary, appropriate modifications to management strategies and actions
needed to optimize fisheries and support attainment of the desired status goals
for each SMU. This feedback shall include refinement of management actions,
research, monitoring and evaluation programs and desired status criteria based
on the best available scientific information.
(A) The Department shall propose
modifications to the RSP if the listing status under the federal Endangered
Species Act changes for any species addressed in the RSP.
(B) If a status assessment described in OAR
635-500-6785(7)(e)
indicates deterioration of populations or SMUs, or a noticeable lack of
progress toward desired status, the Department will determine if the strategies
being used to achieve desired status need to be substantively changed or
modified. If so, a public process will be undertaken, with Commission approval
necessary for such changes.
(C) The
annual review of monitoring data necessary to produce annual reports described
in OAR
635-500-6785(7)(e)
will serve as an early warning system that will inform the need for additional
or modified research, monitoring, evaluation, or management actions. If review
of annually collected data or other information appears to show that measurable
criteria as identified in RSP Appendix VII - Management Triggers and Actions
are not being met, the Department will determine and implement necessary
modified actions. The modification of management actions will be detailed in
annual reports.
(e)
Reporting. Annual and periodic evaluations of RSP implementation and SMU status
shall be made available to the public. The Department shall prepare annual
reports and conduct a 12-year status assessment of SMUs and populations.
Additional assessments will be conducted as necessitated by new information or
significant population declines.
(8) Impact on Other Native Fish Species.
Management strategies identified in the RSP are likely to be beneficial to
other native, indigenous fish species present in the SMUs because they focus on
restoring natural processes. New or modified actions shall consider impacts to
other native, indigenous fish species, as appropriate, to minimize harm and
optimize benefits.