Decision Support for Barrier/Dam Modification and Removal: Great Lakes Basin Protocol for Information Sharing, Review and Input

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1 Decisin Supprt fr Barrier/Dam Mdificatin and Remval: Great Lakes Basin Prtcl fr Infrmatin Sharing, Review and Input February 2013 Great Lakes fisheries are a shared resurce. The Great Lakes Fishery Cmmissin (cmmissin) was established by treaty between Canada and the United States in Its duties include cntrl f sea lamprey ppulatins in the Great Lakes basin, cnducting and crdinating fishery research, cmmunicating with gvernments, and facilitating cperative fishery management by the Prvince f Ontari, the eight Great Lakes states and tw U. S. tribal rganizatins, as utlined in A Jint Strategic Plan fr Management f Great Lakes Fisheries. Prblem Statement: Decisins t remve r mdify de-fact barriers may nt adequately cnsider brader Great Lakes management bjectives and prgram csts. Mdificatins t barriers may include structural changes t barriers that affect fish passage such as fishways, bypass channels and ntching r peratinal plicy changes that affect fish passage such as regulating flws and levels, fishway peratins r trap and transfer. Slutin imprve decisins thrugh infrmatin sharing, review and input: the purpse f this prtcl is t imprve management decisins by ensuring all affected Great Lakes fishery management agencies are infrmed f prpsals t mdify r remve dams r barriers that may affect the Fish Cmmunity Objectives f a particular Great Lake, as utlined by A Jint Strategic Plan fr Management f Great Lakes Fisheries (Jint Strategic Plan). Decisin Authrity: the respnsible agency will retain final decisin-making authrity. Guiding Principles fr Infrmatin Sharing, Review and Input: 1. It is assumed that the Respnsible Agency will apply this prtcl within its wn cnsultatin prcess as mandated by plicy r legislatin and that lake cmmittee pinins abut the prpsed actin des nt preclude ther cnsultative prcesses (including First Natins, Métis r Tribal cnsultatin and accmmdatin as required), legislatin, r legally-binding agreements. 2. The respnsible agency has the legal respnsibility t manage its public trust resurces and will maintain its authrity and decisin making regardless f the respnses f any lake cmmittee cmments.

2 3. Lake cmmittees will be included in the frmal (nrmal) cnsultatin prcess (as defined by the respnsible agency) and when pssible, be engaged prir t frmal cnsultatin. 4. Lake cmmittees can act as an initial pint f cntact fr ther interested parties f the cmmissin, including the Sea Lamprey Cntrl Bard (SLCB) and the Barrier Task Frce. 5. The lake cmmittee may share briefing material prvided by the respnsible agency and seek the supprt and invlvement f the lake technical cmmittee(s), the SLCB, the Barrier Task Frce r thers. 6. SLCB and the Barrier Task Frce may prvide cmments directly t the respnsible agency r thrugh the lake cmmittee. 7. Cmments frm the lake cmmittee shall nt be cnsidered binding. 8. It is expected that due t the cmplex multi-jurisdictinal nature f dam remval/mdificatin prpsals, cmments frm the lake cmmittees may nt be the nly cmments received by the respnsible agency. 9. Timelines fr evaluatin f ptins and decisin making invlving ther jurisdictins might require lake cmmittees and interested cmmittees f the cmmissin t cnsult utside f their nrmal meeting schedules. 10. Timelines will vary based n jurisdictinal (respnsible agency) plicy and the cmplexity f the individual prject; therefre, specific timelines have nt been included in this dcument. Backgrund: Barrier Management Cntext Management decisins related t barrier remval, mdificatin, r maintenance can be cmplex. In sme cases, a barrier may serve as a critical tl t achieve sme fish cmmunity bjectives while simultaneusly impeding thers. Dams and ther anthrpgenic barriers physically and bilgically alter riverine ecsystems by fragmenting habitat and blcking seasnal migratins f Great Lakes fishes and ther aquatic rganisms that rely n tributaries fr spawning r ther stages f their life histry. Natural and man-made structures als play an imprtant rle in cntrlling sea lamprey ppulatins thrughut the Great Lakes Basin by effectively blcking the upstream migratin f sea lampreys in sme Great Lakes tributaries. Many existing barriers have been integrated int the sea lamprey cntrl prgram, prviding lw-cst, effective sea lamprey cntrl. Barriers may als mitigate the spread f ther invasive species, such as Asian carp and fish pathgens. There is increasing interest frm gvernments (federal, prvincial/state, municipal), nngvernment rganizatins and private rganizatins and individuals in dam remval, particularly thse structures that are near r past their estimated life expectancy. In the future, it is expected that agencies signatry t the Jint Strategic Plan will review an increasing number f prpsals t remve r mdify de fact sea lamprey barriers, and that these prpsals may riginate either frm within a member agency r thrugh stakehlder interests. 2

3 Prtcl Overview Figure 1 - Ten Basic Elements. 1. Prpsal Develpment 2. Early engagement f lake cmmittee 3. Early engagement f ther GLFC grups 4. Respnsible agency frmal cnsultatin prcess 5. Frmal ntificatin and infrmatin sent t lake cmmittee 6. Lake cmmittee frmal review 7. Other GLFC grups frmal review 8. Lake cmmittee frmal respnse 9. Other GLFC grups frmal respnse 10. Respnsible agency decisin Respnsible Agency - Ntificatin Prtcl (prir t barrier remval/mdificatin): The respnsible agency shuld ntify affected lake cmmittees by letter (Element 5) when prpsing a barrier/dam mdificatin r remval that may have an impact n Great Lake fish cmmunity bjectives. The ntificatin can be dne within the existing state r prvincial frmal cnsultatin prcess (Element 4) r as a special early ntificatin (Element 2). The Cuncil f Great Lakes Fishery Agencies recmmends engaging the affected lake cmmittee infrmally, early in the prcess at the cncept r prject develpment stage (Element 1). The respnsible agency shuld prvide a briefing package (Element 5) t the apprpriate lake cmmittee with sufficient backgrund infrmatin n the prject. At a minimum, the briefing package shuld include: Lcatin f the structure Basic descriptin f the structure, including fish passage characteristics Prject descriptin - full r partial barrier remval and timing. Age and engineering evaluatin 3

4 Ownership Stakehlder interest and invlvement Impetus fr remval r mdificatin (e.g. eclgy, public safety, etc.) Ptential impact n fish cmmunity bjectives, target waterbdy management bjectives, and system prcesses t include cnnectivity, hydrlgy, material transprt (sediment and wdy debris), gemrphlgy, water quality and energy flw. A cst/benefit analysis (where pssible) encmpassing all f the abve Lake Cmmittee Review and Input Prtcl: Lake cmmittees will act as the pint f cntact t ther interested cmmittees f the cmmissin, including the SLCB and the Barrier Task Frce. Early Infrmal Review and Respnse (Element 2): When engaged early at the pre-prpsal stage, the lake cmmittee may prvide feedback t the respnsible agency t help understand cst/benefits, infrm the design and develpment f the prject. The lake cmmittee may seek additinal advice and supprt frm lake technical cmmittee(s), the SLCB and the Barrier Task Frce (Element 3). Frmal Prpsal Review (Element 6): The lake cmmittee will review the prject and determine if: a. The prject IS cnsistent with Fish Cmmunity Objectives assciated with the apprpriate Great Lake(s). b. The prject IS NOT cnsistent with Fish Cmmunity Objectives assciated with the apprpriate Great Lake(s). Frmal Respnse (Element 8): The lake cmmittee will prvide a frmal respnse t the respnsible agency expressing supprt, cncern, r an bjectin t the prject and cpy CLC and SLCB. Other interested parties may als respnd directly t the respnsible agency r thrugh the lake cmmittee (Element 9). Respnsible Agency Decisin (Element 10): The respnsible agency has decisin authrity. The Cuncil f Lake Cmmittees encurages the use f structured decisin making r an equivalent decisin analysis tl t manage cmplex multi-jurisdictinal issues. If a pending decisin culd result in significant impacts t the sea lamprey cntrl prgram r ptentially cmprmise fish cmmunity bjectives as identified thrugh the cnsultatin prcess, the lake cmmittee shuld receive early ntificatin. 4

5 Appendix A: Definitins Barrier Task Frce established in 1991 by the Great Lakes Fishery Cmmissin t crdinate cnstructin, peratin and maintenance f sea lamprey barriers. De fact Barriers Natural r man-made in-stream structures that als functin as barriers fr fish and wildlife species in Great Lake tributaries. Cuncil f Great Lakes Fishery Agencies (CGLFA) The Cuncil f Great Lakes Fishery Agencies serves as the keeper f A Jint Strategic Plan fr Management f Great Lakes Fisheries and cnsists f fishery department head fr agencies signatry t the jint strategic plan. Cuncil f Lake Cmmittees (CLC) - The Cuncil f Lake Cmmittees is cmpsed f representatives frm fishery management agencies belnging t Lake Cmmittees (see: ). Fish Cmmunity Objectives (FCO) cmmn bjectives established by Lake Cmmittees fr existing and desired fish cmmunities. Accmpanying bjectives are descriptins f issues which affect, prevent, r inhibit realizatin f bjectives, and strategies fr reslutin f thse issues. Issues include such stresses as habitat degradatin, ver harvest, fragmentatin and intrductin and impact f nn-native rganisms. Great Lakes Fishery Cmmissin an internatinal bdy established in 1955 by Canada and the United States, which includes amng its duties: the determinatin and recmmendatin f measures t maximize sustained prductivity f fish stcks in the Great Lakes. A Jint Strategic Plan fr Management f Great Lakes Fisheries A nn-binding agreement amng Great Lakes fishery management agencies t ensure cperative and crdinated fishery management in the Great Lakes. (see: Lake Cmmittee: The multiagency lake management cmmittee cmprised f lake managers fr each agency that has management authrity fr that particular lake. There is ne lake cmmittee fr each Great Lake The lake cmmittees are respnsible fr reviewing and executing plicy changes that affect fisheries management f the given lake, acting in part n technical infrmatin prvided by the lake technical cmmittees. See Appendix B fr current agency representatin f each lake cmmittee. Lake Technical Cmmittees - Cmmittees established by the lake cmmittees t plan and implement fisheries assessment and research prgrams, analyze relevant data, and reprt n prgress twards achieving FCOs and Envirnmental Objectives. Wrk by the lake technical cmmittees help infrm plicy actins cnsidered by the lake cmmittee. Respnsible Agency State/prvincial r ther agency that wns the dam prpsed fr remval/mdificatin, r that therwise has legal authrity ver the dam remval/mdificatin prcess. In the event that the agency with legal authrity is nt signatry t the Jint Strategic Plan, the agency signatry t the Jint Strategic Plan with the gegraphic jurisdictin fr the barrier is cnsidered t be the respnsible agency. 5

6 Sea Lamprey Cntrl Bard (SLCB) - assists the Great Lakes Fishery Cmmissin in the develpment and implementatin f strategies and plicies related t the cntrl f sea lamprey fr the management f Great Lakes fish cmmunities. Structured Decisin Making (SDM) SDM is a frmal prcess fr making cmplex decisins, and allws fr the explicit incrpratin f technical infrmatin, lcal values, knwledge and plicies. Expertise fr cnducting SDM is available thrugh the Quantitative Fisheries Center, MI State University. Fr mre infrmatin, see 6

7 Appendix B Lake Cmmittee Agencies and Member Cntacts Lake Ontari Cmmittee Lake Erie Cmmittee Lake Hurn Cmmittee Lake Michigan New Yrk, Steve LaPan, srlapan@gw.dec.state.ny.us Ontari, Andy Tdd, andy.tdd@ntari.ca Michigan, Tdd Kalish, kalisht@michigan.gv New Yrk, Dn Einhuse, dweinhu@dw.dec.state.ny.us Ohi, Jeff Tysn, jeff.tysn@dnr.state.h.us Ontari, Bruce Hawkins, bruce.w.hawkins@ntari.ca Pennsylvania, Dave Mik, dmik@pa.gv Michigan, Tdd Grischke, grischket@michigan.gv Ontari, David McLeish, david.mcleish@ntari.ca Chippewa-Ottawa Resurce Authrity, Tm Grenfl, tgrenfl@sault.cm Illinis, Steve Rbillard, steve.rbillard@illinis.gv Indiana, Jeremy Price, jprice@dnr.in.gv Michigan, Tdd Kalish, kalisht@michigan.gv Wiscnsin, Brad Eggld, Bradley.eggld@wiscnsin.gv Chippewa-Ottawa Resurce Authrity, Tm Grenfl, tgrenfl@sault.cm Lake Superir Cmmittee Michigan, Phil Schneeeberger, schneebergerp@michigan.gv Minnesta, Dn Pereira, dn.pereira@state.mn.us Ontari, David McLeish, david.mcleish@ntari.ca Wiscnsin, Steve Hewett, steven.hewett@wiscnsin.gv Chippewa-Ottawa Resurce Authrity, Tm Grenfl, tgrenfl@sault.cm Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Cmmissin, Bill Mattes, bmattes@glifwc.rg 7