ODFW---Public Comment for Coastal Multi-Species Conservation & Management Plan

2/18/2014

Important Update:

Coastal Multi-Species Conservation and Management Plan

To facilitate review and comment on the Plan, the comment deadline is being extended through March 10, 2014. The input received in the open houses, as well as written comments submitted, will be used in developing a Proposed Plan for presentation to the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission in late Spring 2014.

Both the full Plan and an Executive Summary can be found at:
http://www.dfw.state.or.us/fish/CRP/coastal_multispecies.asp

Please submit comments to: [email protected] through March 10, 2014.

The draft Coastal Multi-Species Conservation and Management Plan, which outlines conservation and fishing management direction for salmon, steelhead and sea-run cutthroat trout along much of the Oregon coast, is now available for public review and comment. Click here to obtain a copy of the draft and learn about public open houses and written comment opportunities.

The draft Coastal Multi-Species Conservation and Management Plan is now available for public review and comment. The draft Executive Summary and full plan are located below on this web page under Documents: Public Review Draft of CMP. The public may provide comments by attending a scheduled open house (dates, times, and locations are at the bottom of this web page) or by submitting comments by February 10, 2014 to: [email protected]. Note that there will be further public input opportunities when the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission reviews and potentially adopts the plan during several of their regular monthly meetings (tentative dates and times for these meetings are also indicated at the bottom of this web page).

Receive Updates of the Coastal Multi-Species Conservation and Management Plan by E-mail
(when prompted in the sign-up process, select this update under "Fishing Resources")

The Coastal Multi-Species Conservation and Management Plan (CMP) is being developed to understand and determine the fish management needs for the conservation of anadromous salmonids along much of the Oregon coast. The CMP will also be used to determine fish management actions relative to present and future fishing opportunities in this area.

The CMP will address the following Species Management Units (SMU): Chinook salmon (spring and fall populations), chum salmon, steelhead (summer and winter populations), and cutthroat trout. The area covered by the plan ranges from the Necanicum River in the north to Elk River in the south. A conservation assessment and plan for coho salmon have already been developed and adopted by the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission (OFWC). Therefore, the CMP will not assess or address coho populations, although some coho information will be included for a complete “picture” of all anadromous salmonids. Given the inherent complexity of incorporating the management of multiple species for both conservation and utilization (e.g., harvest and hatcheries) purposes into a plan, a time-sequenced public process is being used to ensure stakeholders and the general public have multiple opportunities for review and input as ODFW develops the CMP. The initial focus of plan development was on technical analyses and preparation of an initial draft plan (dated 6/5/13, available below) that depicts the full, coast-wide conservation and utilization approach across basins and species. The initial draft CMP was developed with the input of four Stakeholder Teams distributed along the coast, an independent, scientific opinion survey west of the Cascades, and habitat experts working on the coast. The stakeholders and an independent science team (i.e., the Independent Multidisciplinary Science Team [IMST]) have reviewed and commented on the initial draft, and the plan is currently being revised and another, second draft will be distributed for wider public comment (scheduled for late 2013 or early 2014), including approximately six to eight town-hall meetings in coastal communities. After public input is received, the plan will be revised again and presented to the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission for final review and adoption.

In a related process, public proposals, submitted as part of the 2012 public process to develop statewide angling regulations (which will take effect in 2013), that addressed conservation or fishery management issues for species covered in the CMP received initial ODFW staff review. Those proposals which passed review were deferred into the CMP development process in order to assure that they did not conflict with the direction which will be established by this CMP. These deferred proposals will be considered and evaluated during the plan development process. Proposals that are consistent with the CMP will be presented to the OFWC for inclusion in angling regulations taking effect in 2014 or 2015.

Species/Units covered

Chinook salmon (Coastal SMU, spring and fall populations)
Chum salmon (Coastal SMU)
Steelhead (Coastal SMU, summer and winter populations)
Cutthroat Trout (Coastal SMU)

Contact
[email protected]

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