Federal Agency Programs in Living Aquatic Resources and Aquatic Habitat Protection

DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR

Bureau of Indian Affairs

Activities Related to Living Aquatic Resources. Generations of Native Americans have developed lifestyles, cultures, religious beliefs, and customs around their relationships with aquatic resources. Key aquatic resources -- which continue to provide a base of sustenance, cultural enrichment, economic support, and employment for many tribes -- include anadromous salmonids, Great Lakes fish, and a variety of inland fish, including some listed as threatened or endangered species. The primary program through which the Federal Government fulfills its trust responsibilities to Indians in the area of aquatic resources, and through which tribal responsibilities and roles in aquatic resource management are funded, is the Fish, Wildlife, and Recreation Program administered by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA).

Fulfillment of tribal management responsibilities requires direct tribal involvement in the development and implementation of a variety of technical and administrative functions including conservation enforcement and judicial services programs, harvest management planning, population dynamics studies, stock-recruitment assessments, habitat inventories, data collection, management information system development, public relations programs, and inter-tribal and inter-agency coordination efforts.

Statutory Authority. The Snyder Act of 1921 (42 Stat. 208; 25 U.S.C. 13), as broadened by the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 (48 Stat.948; 25 U.S.C. 461 et seq.) and the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975 (88 Stat.2203; 25 U.S.C. 450) establish basic authority for the Secretary of the Interior to provide services to Federally-recognized Indian tribes. Treaties between Indian tribes and the Federal Government, protected by Article VI of the U.S. Constitution, form the foundation of the Federal Government's trust responsibility. Through numerous court interpretations of Indian treaties (e.g., U.S. v. Oregon, U.S. v. Washington, and Lac Courte Oreilles v. Voigt), tribes are obligated or mandated to take various actions necessary for the management, conservation, and enhancement of aquatic resources. Statutory authorities include the Pacific Salmon Treaty Act of 1985 (99 Stat. 7), the Pacific Northwest Power Planning and Conservation Act of 1980 (16 U.S.C. 839 et seq.), the Salmon and Steelhead Conservation and Enhancement Act of 1980 (16 U.S.C. 3301 et seq.), and the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1976 (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.).

Ten-Year History of Budget and Personnel Levels. Funds identified in BIA's budget for "Wildlife and Parks" include aquatic resources activities.

Five-Year History of Personnel by Civil Service Grade. The Fish, Wildlife, and Recreation Program staff at the Central Office consists of a GM/480/14 and a GS/480/13 fish and wildlife specialists. The remainder of the BIA professional staff in the field of aquatic resources, which totals less than ten, is distributed among various area offices and agencies. Indian tribes and inter-tribal organizations, on the other hand, employ hundreds of biologists, technicians, and other resource professionals, notably in the Pacific Northwest and Great Lakes regions, to carry out a variety of management activities. The BIA role focuses on program administration and on tribal contract monitoring and compliance.

National Policy or Goals Studies. The goal of the Fish, Wildlife, and Recreation Program is to fulfill the Federal Government's trust responsibilities relating to fish, wildlife, and recreational resources that are important to the sustenance, cultural enrichment, and economic support of Indians, including protection of Indian hunting and fishing rights, and to promote the conservation, development, and use of these resources for the maximum benefit of Indians now and in the future. This goal is carried out primarily through the Indian Self-Determination Act of 1976 which allows tribes and inter-tribal organizations to contract with the Bureau and other Federal agencies to carry out programs which would otherwise be performed by Federal agency personnel. The Program promotes the development of tribal capabilities, provides for active tribal participation in fulfilling trust responsibilities and obligations of the United States, and affords tribes flexibility in pursuing self-determination strategies and in developing reservation economies. Interagency and State-Federal Coordination Mechanisms. The BIA coordinates with Federal and State resource management agencies in addressing Indian rights and resource-related matters, and encourages the development of associated government-to-government relationships.

Periodic or Annual Reports.

a) Monthly, quarterly, and annual tribal contract monitoring reports are maintained in BIA area offices.

b) Periodic reports covering various aspects of the Fish, Wildlife, and Recreation Program are maintained in the BIA Central Office.

c) Annual Natural Resources Information System Reports including some aquatic resources-related information are maintained in the BIA Central Office.

Bureau of Land Management

Activities Related to Living Aquatic Resources. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is responsible for managing resources on 270 million acres of public lands which includes 175,313 miles of fishable streams; 2,400,000 acres of lakes; and 196,000 acres of reservoirs. BLM has specific responsibility for managing all fish habitat on these public lands, including habitat for candidate, threatened, and endangered fishes. Major fishery habitat management objectives are to protect and improve suitable aquatic habitat by coordinating with the management of other resources, implementing specific habitat management and improvement measures, and coordinating with other agencies and organizations with fishery interests.

Statutory Authority. Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, as amended (43 U.S. C. 1701 et seq.).

Ten-Year History of Budget and Personnel Levels. The number of professional fishery scientists employed by BLM rose from 0 in 1962 to 56 in 1981. This declined to 31 permanent full-time employees by the beginning of FY1985. The appropriated funds do not include fishery-related activities of BLM's riparian/wetland program (where fishery funds could not be separately identified). However, funded and contracted research are included. Personnel are actual fishery biologists.

Five-Year History of Personnel by Civil Service Grade. Data are unavailable. Employees are located in the 11 Western States and Alaska; more than 40 percent are in Oregon.

National Policy or Goals Studies. Available from: Division of Wildlife and Fisheries (240), Bureau of Land Management, DOI. Washington, DC 20240.

a) Fish and Wildlife 2000: A Plan for the Future. Bureau of Land Management, DOT, 1987.

b) Anadromous Fish Habitat Management on Public Lands: A Strategy for the Future. Bureau of Land Management, DOI, 1987.

c) Fisheries Habitat Management on Public Land: A Strategy for the Future. Bureau of Land Management, DOI, 1988.

d) BLM Manual (Sec. 6720 -- aquatic resource management; Sec. 6500 -- wildlife and fisheries habitat management; Sec. 1737 -- riparian area management [draft]).

Interagency and State-Federal Coordination Mechanisms. BLM works closely with State fishery agencies responsible for management of resident fish species. MOUs and CAs coordinate fishery activities with various State agencies, the Forest Service, Bureau of Reclamation, National Park Service, Corps of Engineers, FWS, NMFS, and the Pacific Marine Fisheries Commission. These agreements call for annual meetings, field-level coordination, project review, and general interagency coordination.

Periodic or Annual Reports. Available from: Division of Wildlife and Fisheries (240), Bureau of Land Management, DOI, Washington, DC 20240.

Status Reports: Wildlife and Fisheries Program (prepared annually in November containing information on BLM's fisheries habitat management and development programs)

Bureau of Reclamation

Activities Related to Living Aquatic Resources. The Bureau of Reclamation's living aquatic resource programs include management of water projects such as minimum flow evaluations and implementation; water acquisition for flow augmentation; aquatic habitat restoration, mitigation, and enhancement; fish hatchery modifications; adult and juvenile fish passage installation at various barriers; endangered fish studies; and other miscellaneous aquatic resource and habitat concerns.

The Central Valley Restoration Fund was established in FY1994 to provide funding from project beneficiaries for habitat restoration, improvement and acquisition, and other fish and wildlife restoration activities in the Central Valley Project (CVP) area of California. Payments from project beneficiaries include surcharges, higher charges on water transferred to non-CVP users, and tiered water prices, and to the extent required in Appropriations Acts, additional annual mitigation and restoration payments . With the passage of the Act in late 1992, the funding for fishery and habitat concerns was increased dramatically.

Statutory Authority. Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act of 1934, as amended (16 U.S.C. 661 et seq.); Pacific Northwest Power Planning and Conservation Act of 1980 (16 U.S.C. 839 et seq.); Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.); Colorado River Storage Project Act of 1956 (43 U.S.C. 620g); the Central Valley Project Improvement Act (Title 34, Pub. L. 102-575); and mitigation provisions of numerous other laws.

Ten-Year History of Budget and Personnel Levels. These figures include contract, transfer funding, design, construction, and operation and maintenance costs. Specific data on costs and FTEs are presented below.

Five-Year history of Personnel by Civil Service Grade. Not available.

National Policy or Goals Studies. None.

Interagency and State-Federal Coordination Mechanisms. MOUs, MOAs, and CAs coordinate living aquatic resource activities between the Bureau of Reclamation and other Federal programs or concerned States. Reclamation's continued emphasis remains on the conservation and enhancement of fish and wildlife resources in conjunction with the management of water and land resources.

Specific examples of Reclamation's living aquatic resources efforts include 1 ) Shasta Dam -- construction of a temperature control device, which will regulate water temperature, encouraging spawning of the endangered winter-run chinook salmon; 2) Coleman National Fish Hatchery -- modernization of the facility to improve survival, smolt quality, and release size; 3) Red Bluff Diversion Dam -- development of effective fish passage facilities to allow maximum natural fish production; 4) Trinity River Restoration Program -- restoration and improvement of salmon, steelhead trout, and wildlife habitat; 5) Columbia/Snake River Salmon Recovery Project -- implementation of priority recovery measures for threatened and endangered species of Snake River sockeye salmon and spring/summer and fall chinook salmon, and acquisition of water for flow augmentation in the Snake River; and 6) Central Valley Project -- anadromous fish program to enhance the populations of steelhead trout, striped bass, sturgeon, and American shad.

Periodic or Annual Reports. None.

Fish and Wildlife Service

Activities Related to Living Aquatic Resources. The Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is the major Federal agency involved with freshwater fishery management. A "Fisheries" activity is funded under the Service's Resource Management appropriation. In FY1994, the FWS completed the Action Plan (Plan) for Fishery Resources and Aquatic Ecosystems. The Plan establishes a blueprint for an ecosystem-based approach to conserving, restoring, and enhancing fishery and marine mammal resources. The Plan provides the focus for the direction of the fishery program. FWS efforts will be directed to conservation, restoration, and enhancement of priority aquatic ecosystems where there is a Federal interest, including:

• -areas that contain threatened or endangered species, or declining native species that could be subject to Federal listing in the future;

• -interjurisdictional and transboundary waters;

• -Federal project mitigation areas;

• -National Wildlife Refuges; and

• -Tribal lands and waters.

This activity includes fish culture and production at fish hatcheries operated by the FWS and/or various States; provision of technical fishery management assistance and coordination of Federal/State/Tribal interagency fishery management programs in which the FWS is involved; prevention, monitoring, and control of non-indigenous species; and protection and maintenance of marine mammals at optimum sustainable population levels.

A "Refuges and Wildlife" activity is funded under the Service's Resource Management appropriation. Refuges and Wildlife has responsibility for enforcement of Federal laws pertaining to fisheries (primarily the Lacey Act). Also included in this activity is the management of the National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS) which includes 91.9 million acres of land and water in 50 States and 3 territories. Currently, within the NWRS are 505 refuges and a larger number of waterfowl production areas in 183 midwestern counties. More than a third of the system (38+ million acres) is "aquatic", principally coastal and inland marshes, lakes, estuaries, and marine habitats. Units of the NWRS provide important habitat for aquatic birds (migratory waterfowl, shorebirds, and seabirds), fresh and saltwater fish, and numerous aquatic species, including rare desert fishes, sea turtles, and marine mammals. Much of the better coastal habitat in Alaska has been included within the NWRS. All of these coastal areas have the conservation of marine birds and mammals and their habitats included in the purposes for which they were established. Aquatic resources on many refuges also provide important recreational opportunity.

The FWS also administers the Federal Aid to Sport Fish Restoration (Dingell-Johnson or D/J) Program which provides grants to State fishery agencies on a cost-sharing basis for management of fishery resources. Three subactivities administered under Ecological Services -- specifically Environmental Contaminants, Endangered Species, and Habitat Conservation -- relate, in part, to aquatic resources.

The Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) established Federal responsibility for marine mammals. Under the MMPA, the Secretary of the Interior, through the FWS, is responsible for protecting, conserving, and managing polar bears, sea and marine otters, walruses, dugongs, and manatees. The MMPA stipulates that marine mammals be maintained at optimum sustainable population levels. The MMPA also requires that the health and stability of ecosystems, upon which these animals depend, be maintained.

Statutory Authority. Extensive portions of Title 16 of the U.S. Code.

Ten-Year History of Budget and Personnel Levels. Only direct appropriations are presented. Excluded are reimbursable and contributed funds from various Federal and other agencies for hatchery and other fishery work. All amounts are thousands of dollars.

Five-Year History of Personnel by Civil Service Grade. The Fisheries Program does not retain records sufficient for providing this information.

National Policy or Goals Studies. Available from: Gary Edwards, Acting Director, Fisheries, FWS, telephone (202) 208-6394.

a) National Recreational Fisheries Policy, June 1988.

b) A Review of Maintenance Needs at National Fish Hatcheries. Report to Congress (annual).

c) Statement of Responsibilities and Role for the Fishery Resources Program, January 31, 1985.

d) Artificially Propagated Fish for National Fishery Programs; An Analysis of Source, Cost, Purpose and Use. Report to Congress, January 1986.

e) Action Plan for Fishery Resources and Aquatic Ecosystems, FY1994.

f) Findings, Conclusions, and Recommendations of the Intentional Introduction Policy Review, March 1994. Available from: Chief of Federal Aid, Fisheries, FWS, telephone (202) 208-2156.

g) Report of the Overview Committee for Pittman-Robertson/Dingell-Johnson Federal Aid Programs, 1978.

h) Federal Aid in Fish and Wildlife Restoration Programs, Environmental Impact Statement, 1978.

i) A National Overview of Fishery Research Funded by the Dingell-Johnson Program. Fisheries, vol 7, no. 1 (1982): 3-6.

Interagency and State-Federal Coordination Mechanisms. The FWS cooperates with numerous Federal, State, and other agencies in a wide range of fishery-related activities. The FWS's interaction with States is governed by the "Department of the Interior: Fish and Wildlife Policy: State-Federal Relation-ships," published in the Federal Register (48 Federal Register 11642-11645, March 18, 1983). CAs, in the form of MOUs, are the principal mechanisms used to formalize coordination of fishery management-related activities between FWS and other entities.

Periodic or Annual Reports. Available from: Gary Edwards, Acting Director, Fisheries, FWS, telephone (202) 208-6394.

a) Fish and Fish Egg Distribution Report of the National Fish Hatchery System (annual). Available from: Chief of Federal Aid, Fisheries, FWS, telephone (202) 208-2156.

b) Federal Aid in Fish and Wildlife Restoration (Annual report on Pittman-Robertson/Dingell-Johnson Programs, last published in 1987).

c) Current Federal Aid Research Report - Fish, Division of Federal Aid (annual).

U.S. Geological Survey

Activities Related to Living Aquatic Resources. The Water Resources Division within the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is engaged in several activities related to surface water quality and its suitability as habitat for aquatic life. Data collection programs provide information on toxic substances as well as physical-chemical properties of surface waters and sediments. Specific information has been collected under the National Water Quality Assessment Program and the National Stream Quality Accounting Network Program (area appraisals of about 16 river basins). Major studies include the San Francisco Bay Program, Potomac River Estuary Study, Tampa Bay (Charlotte Harbor) Study, and Chesapeake Bay major tributaries scientific investigations program. In 1986, the USGS began the pilot phase of a National Water Quality Assessment Program, to provide nationally consistent descriptions of the current status of water quality for a significant part of the nation's water resources, to define trends in water quality. Such information would be of considerable value to those agencies charged with examining the condition of living aquatic resources and their habitats.

Statutory Authority. USGS water resources research and assessment programs are authorized by the Act of March 3, 1879 (43 U.S.C. 31), as amended by annual appropriations legislation.

Ten-Year History of Budget and Personnel Levels. Not separately identified.

Five-Year History of Personnel by Civil Service Grade. Not separately identified.

National Policy or Goals Studies. None

Interagency and State-Federal Coordination Mechanisms. The USGS is the lead agency for water information coordination government-wide. Federal agencies with water-related missions participate in the Water Information Coordination Program as required by Office of Management and Budget Memorandum No. 92-01.

The USGS and NOAA participate in a formal interagency coordinating committee which meets regularly to exchange information regarding a variety of programs of mutual interest. Water resources investigations that are pertinent to aquatic habitat are discussed on a routine basis.

The USGS Federal-State Cooperative Program is an ongoing partnership for conducting water resources investigations, using a 50-50 cost-sharing arrangement. Other Federal, State, and local agencies contribute to investigations of regional and local water problems and conditions. More than 1,000 State and local agencies work with the USGS to produce water resources information that USGS archives and distributes to all levels of government and the private sector through hard copy and digital media.

Periodic or Annual Reports. USGS publishes annually several hundred reports which address a broad spectrum of water resources conditions, problems, and issues having varying significance to living aquatic resources and related habitats. A few of these reports relate to direct appraisals of cause and effect relationships with respect to biota. The subject matter of many of these reports, especially those dealing with water quality, is of interest to other individuals and agencies engaged in living aquatic resources research and investigations. Additional information on such USGS reports may be obtained from Assistant Chief Hydrologist for Scientific Information Management, 440 National Center 12201 Sunrise Valley Drive, Reston, VA 22092.