Designated Critical Habitat; Central California Coast and Southern Oregon/Northern California Coast Coho Salmon

Résumé

The NMFS proposes to designate critical habitat for two Evolutionarily Significant Units (ESUs) of coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) pursuant to the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA). Critical habitat for the Central California Coast ESU encompasses accessible reaches of all rivers (including estuarine areas and tributaries) between Punta Gorda and the San Lorenzo River (inclusive) in California. Also included are two rivers entering San Francisco Bay: Mill Valley Creek and Corte Madera Creek. Critical habitat for the Southern Oregon/Northern California Coast ESU encompasses accessible reaches of all rivers (including estuarine areas and tributaries) between the Mattole River in California and the Elk River in Oregon, inclusive. The areas described in this proposed rule represent the current freshwater and estuarine range of the listed species. For both 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). NMFS has identified twelve dams in the range of these ESUs that currently block access to habitats historically occupi