Biological Opinion and Magnuson-Stevens Act, Essential Fish Habitat Consultation.Livestock Grazing on Lands Administered by the Bureau of Land Management in the John Day River Basin, Oregon 2000 and 2001

摘要

On April 24, 2000, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) received a letterfrom the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Prineville District, Central Oregon Resource Area (CORA) requesting formal consultation regarding the potential effects of proposed livestock grazing activities on BLM-administered allotments in the John Day River (JDR) basin on Middle Columbia River (MCR) steelhead and their designated critical habitat. The accompanying draft biological assessment (BA) described the proposed livestock grazing actions and the environmental baseline, and addressed the effects of those actions on MCR steelhead and their designated critical habitat on BLM-administered lands in the JDR basin. In that draft BA, the BLM determined that 138 livestock grazing allotments may affect MCR steelhead or their habitat and that grazing on 127 of those allotments were may affect, but not likely to adversely affect (NLAA) MCR steelhead or their habitat. After further discussion and exchange of information, BLM and NMFS agreed that 109 of the 138 may affect allotments were NLAA and 29 were likely to adversely affect (LAA). On June 7, 2000, NMFS received a revised draft BA incorporating additional information and the changes in effects determinations. NMFS received the final version of the BA describing BLM grazing actions for 2000 on June 26, 2000. NMFS issued a June 28, 2000, letter concurring that livestock grazing for 2000 on 109 BLM-administered allotments is NLAA MCR steelhead or their designated critical habitat. The remaining 29 LAA allotments are addressed in this biological opinion (Opinion). Because the grazing actions on BLM-administered grazing allotments and their effects on MCR steelhead or their designated critical habitat are not expected to change between 2000 and 2001, except on the Big Baldy allotment (4052), this Opinion covers those actions through 2001.