Notice of Availability of the Draft Recovery Plan for Three of the Five Distinct Population Segments of Bull Trout (Salvelinus confluentus) for Review and Comment

Résumé

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, announce the availability of 25 chapters of the draft recovery plan for the bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) for public review and comment. Bull trout are char which are native to the Pacific northwest and western Canada. We identified five distinct population segments of bull trout in five States (Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington), and listed the fish under the Endangered Species Act (Act) (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) by distinct population segments during 1998 and 1999. The final listing resulted in all bull trout in the coterminous United States being listed as threatened. At this time, the draft recovery plan addresses three of the five distinct population segments, the Klamath, Columbia, and St. Mary-Belly Rivers. Draft recovery plan chapters for the remaining distinct population segments will become available for public review in approximately 1 year. Because bull trout in the coterminous United States are widely distributed within a large area, the recovery plan is organized into multiple chapters. The introductory chapter (Chapter 1) discusses programmatic issues that broadly apply to bull trout in the coterminous United