Evaluation of the Duwamish-Green Hatcheries
June 28, 2019
NOAA Fisheries' evaluation and Record of Decision under NEPA of ten Duwamish-Green hatchery programs.
In the spring of 2017, NOAA Fisheries released for public comment its draft EIS analyzing effects of our proposed approval of 10 hatchery programs in the Duwamish-Green watersheds of Washington state. The programs are described in Hatchery and Genetics Management Plans (HGMPs), prepared by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), Muckleshoot Indian Tribe, and Suquamish Tribe (the co-managers).
In December 2018, NOAA Fisheries released a draft supplemental EIS, which analyzed the effects of an additional alternative that was not analyzed in the draft EIS. The analysis of the new alternative in the draft supplemental EIS included an increased number of fall Chinook salmon that would be produced by the Soos Creek Chinook salmon hatchery program to increase prey availability for Southern Resident Killer Whales.
In 2019, NOAA Fisheries completed its final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and Biological Opinion under the ESA evaluating effects of our proposed approval of 10 hatchery programs in the Duwamish-Green River basin of Puget Sound, in Washington State. Public comments on the draft EIS and draft supplemental EIS were considered and are addressed in this final EIS.
NMFS also released for public comment a Proposed Evaluation and Pending Determination, for evaluation of the hatchery programs under the ESA. Our evaluation was informed by the HGMPs and our Biological Opinion. The final Evaluation and Recommended Determination was completed in 2020.
For more information on this process, please contact Charlene Hurst, NMFS, by phone at (503) 230-5409, or e-mail to Charlene.n.hurst@noaa.gov
Supporting Materials
NOAA Fisheries provides the information below as background material. The public comment period on the draft EIS ended in January 2018.