Environmental Assessment to analyze impacts of NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service proposed 4(d) determination under Limit 6 for 11 salmon hatchery programs in the Nooksack River Basin

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and Lummi Nation, and the Nooksack Indian Tribe jointly submitted 11 hatchery and genetic management plans for salmon hatchery programs in Puget Sound, as resource management plans. These plans describe each hatchery program in detail, including fish life stages produced and potential measures to minimize risks of negative impacts that may affect listed fish. NMFS’s determination of whether the plans achieve the conservation standards of the ESA, as set forth in Limit 6 of 4(d) rules for listed salmon and steelhead, is the Federal action requiring National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) compliance. The analysis within the environmental assessment (EA) informs NMFS, hatchery operators, and the public about the current and anticipated direct, indirect, and cumulative environmental effects of operating the 11 salmon hatchery programs in the Nooksack River Basin under the full range of alternatives.