11-25-2005, 08:52 PM
GRANTS PASS, OR—After once thinking that rainbow trout and steelhead should be grouped together for endangered species listings, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced it will distinguish the two species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
NOAA, which oversees efforts to restore the 10 groups of steelhead protected under the ESA, has formally proposed to adopt a different policy for designating populations for protection-one that's not based entirely on genetics and the ability to breed together. The new policy would also take physical and behavioral differences, like those between rainbows and steelhead, into account.
NOAA's decision, if formally approved in December, would prevent the need to list healthy populations of rainbow trout as a threatened or endangered species along with struggling populations of steelhead in the same rivers, or make exceptions to those listings.
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NOAA, which oversees efforts to restore the 10 groups of steelhead protected under the ESA, has formally proposed to adopt a different policy for designating populations for protection-one that's not based entirely on genetics and the ability to breed together. The new policy would also take physical and behavioral differences, like those between rainbows and steelhead, into account.
NOAA's decision, if formally approved in December, would prevent the need to list healthy populations of rainbow trout as a threatened or endangered species along with struggling populations of steelhead in the same rivers, or make exceptions to those listings.
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