North Olympic Peninsula Watershed Page

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• For Salmon and Habitat Information Resources, click here

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DRAFT, last updated Feb, 2007

Ozette Basin Watershed Page – WRIA 20, Tier 1

Recovery planning:

January 2007 internal working draft of the Lake Ozette Limiting Factors Analysis (LFA) (see "LFA Note" below)

• TOC through Chapter 1 (1.5 mb .pdf)
• Chapters 2 and 3 (1.7 mb .pdf)
• Chapter 4 (3.4 mb .pdf)
• Chapter 5 to end (6.5 mb .pdf)

LFA Note: NOAA Fisheries is posting the January 2007 internal working draft of the Lake Ozette Limiting Factors Analysis (LFA) for review by the Lake Ozette Steering Committee. The LFA identifies the physical, biological, or chemical features experienced by sockeye salmon that impact their viability at different life stages. This internal working draft LFA is being used by NOAA Fisheries to develop the draft recovery plan for Lake Ozette sockeye salmon, in cooperation with the Lake Ozette Steering Committee. Steering Committee members can use this internal working draft LFA to review the preliminary draft recovery plan that will be discussed at their next meeting in early 2007. A final draft version of the LFA will be available when the draft recovery plan is noticed in the Federal Register for public review and comment later in 2007. The draft LFA and draft recovery plan will be posted on NOAA's web site, as well as on this NOPLE web page.

To be added to the email list and receive meeting notifications and planning group details as they become available, email rosemary.furfey@noaa.gov. For more information, see also NOAA Salmon Recovery Planning and NOAA NMFS Technical Recovery Team (TRT) web pages.

A. Watershed Information:

1. General Watershed Description: Lake Ozette is located entirely within Olympic National Park in the northwest corner of the Olympic Peninsula, in Clallam County, Washington. It is the third largest natural lake in Washington State. Data suggests that historically, Lake Ozette supported a sockeye population of over ten thousand fish per year. Over the last fifty years, however, that number has declined to less than one thousand. On March 25, 1999, NOAA listed the Lake Ozette sockeye salmon population as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. For more information, see also the WDFW summary regarding Lake Ozette Sockeye.
   The Ozette Basin includes both the Ozette River watershed as well as the Lake Ozette watershed.
2. Stakeholders: Current land ownership within the Ozette Basin is distributed among private timber companies (primarily Green Crow, Rayonier, and Merrill & Ring) (72%), the National Park Service (NPS) (16%), Washington State Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) (11%), the Makah Indian Tribe (1%), and a relatively small number of smaller private landowners. The Ozette Basin is within the usual and accustomed management areas of both the Makah Tribe and Quileute Tribe.
3. Tier explanation (from NOPLE Salmon Habitat Recovery Strategy): The Ozette Basin is a Tier 1 (top priority) watershed for purposes of salmon habitat recovery funding via the Salmon Recovery Funding Board as explained under Prioritized Watersheds in the NOPLE Strategy.
4. Bibliography:
   • WDFW summary regarding Lake Ozette Sockeye
   • NOAA NMFS’ biological opinion regarding hatchery, research, and monitoring and evaluation activities
   • Lake Ozette Sockeye Limiting Factor Analysis (forthcoming and current priority to complete)
   • Lake Ozette Sockeye Recovery Plan (forthcoming, follows after LFA, and due December 2006)
   • Presentation by Ed Bowen on Invasive Knotweed
   • For more information about stocks, habitat, and watershed processes, also check out Documentation (Appendix E).
5. Relevant Hatchery Operations:
   • NOAA documents re Lake Ozette Sockeye Salmon Resource Management Plan - Hatchery and Genetic Management Plan Component.
   • Puget Sound and Coastal Washington Hatchery Reform Project, see Umbrella Creek Hatchery within North Coast area.
6. Current Harvest Impacts: There has been no harvest of Ozette Lake sockeye salmon for the past four brood cycle years (16 years). From WDFW summary regarding Lake Ozette Sockeye.

B. Salmon Habitat Recovery Priorities:

1. Salmonid stocks & their status. From State of Our Watersheds Report 2004, NWIFC SSHIAP, p. 132:
   

   SASSI Stocks (SaSI)	ESA Status	Origin	Prod_Type	1992 Stock Status	2002 (WDFW) Stock Status
   Ozette Coho (Map)		native	wild	unknown	unknown
   Ozette Fall Chum (Map)		native	wild	unknown	unknown
   Ozette Sockeye (Map)	threatened	native	composite	depressed	unknown
   Ozette Winter Steelhead (Map)		native	wild	unknown	unknown
   Ozette Coastal Cutthroat		native	wild		unknown (2000)

2. Priority salmon stocks. Recovery efforts will be focused on Ozette Sockeye because they are ESA-listed as threatened. For a summary regarding Lake Ozette Sockeye status, see WDFW summary regarding Lake Ozette Sockeye.
3. Priority Limiting Watershed Process & Habitat Features. Limiting Factor Analysis forthcoming.
4. Major actions to protect and improve: Recovery Plan forthcoming.
5. Priority actions and areas:To be determined.
6. Community issues: To be determined.

C. Recovery Projects:

• See Funded Salmon Habitat Recovery Projects
• Report on 2005 Knotweed Project by Clallam County Noxious Weed Control Board
  • Report.pdf (about 4 mb)
  • Attachments.pdf (about 1 mb)

D. Monitoring:

• Washington Department of Ecology (specific WRIA)
• WDOE 303(d) Map
• Streamkeepers of Clallam County

E. Emerging Issues: