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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 1 / Monday, January 4, 2021 / Rules and Regulations sucker conservation or recovery.
Approval must be in writing by letter or email from a Service biologist or supervisor with authority over June sucker decisions. Take is allowed under this 4d rule as follows, and is further described below:
Incidental take resulting from activities intended to reduce or eliminate nonnative fish, including, but not limited to, common carp, northern pike, and white bass, from Utah Lake or its tributaries.
Incidental take resulting from habitat restoration projects or projects that allow for the increase of instream flows in Utah Lake tributaries, such as diversion removals.
Incidental take resulting from monitoring of June sucker in Utah Lake and its tributaries.
Incidental take resulting from monitoring and management of recreational sportfish populations in Utah Lake and its tributaries.
Incidental and direct take resulting from research projects to study factors affecting June sucker or its habitat for the purposes of providing management recommendations or improved condition of June sucker.
Incidental and direct take resulting from educational or outreach efforts to increase public awareness, engagement, and support for June sucker recovery efforts.
Incidental and direct take resulting from maintaining June sucker refuges and stocking population, and from moving June sucker for the purposes of stocking them in Utah Lake.
These forms of allowable take are explained in more detail below. For all forms of allowable take, reasonable care must be practiced to minimize the impacts from the actions. Reasonable care means limiting the impacts to June sucker individuals and populations by complying with all applicable Federal, State, and Tribal regulations for the activity in question; using methods and techniques that result in the least harm, injury, or death, as feasible; undertaking activities at the least impactful times e.g., conducting activities that might impact spawning habitat in a tributary only after spawning is concluded for the year and locations, as feasible;
procuring and implementing technical assistance from a qualified biologist on projects regarding all methods prior to the implementation of those methods;
ensuring the number of individuals removed or sampled minimally impacts the existing wild population; ensuring no disease or parasites are introduced into the existing June sucker population;
and preserving the genetic diversity of wild populations.

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Nonnative Fish Removal Incidental take is allowed where it results from activities intended to reduce or eliminate nonnative fish, including, but not limited to, common carp, northern pike, and white bass, from Utah Lake or its tributaries.
Control of nonnative fish is vital for the continued recovery of June sucker.
Control of nonnative fish is primarily conducted with mechanical removal via commercial seine netting and, to a limited extent, through angling for northern pike. Other methods, including the use of genetically modified nonnative fish and electrofishing to reduce existing populations, may be implemented in the future.
This 4d rule defines nonnative fish removal as any action with the primary or secondary purpose such as the introduction of genetically engineered nonnative fish as part of an elimination strategy of removing nonnative fish from Utah Lake and its tributaries that compete with, predate upon, or degrade the habitat of the June sucker. These removal methods must be approved by the Service in writing by letter or email, in coordination with an existing designated recovery program e.g., JSRIP for that purpose. Such methods may include, but are not limited to, mechanical removal, chemical treatments such as piscicides, or biological controls. All methods used must be in compliance with State and Federal regulations. Whenever possible, June suckers that are caught alive as part of nonnative fish removal should be returned to their source as quickly as possible.
Habitat Restoration and Improvement of Instream Flows Incidental take resulting from habitat restoration projects or projects that increase instream flows in Utah Lake tributaries is allowed under this 4d rule. Habitat restoration projects are needed to provide additional spawning and rearing habitat and refugia for June sucker. Improvements in the ability to obtain and deliver water to any of the known spawning tributaries will allow for improved spawning conditions, entrainment of June sucker larvae for development, and periodic high flows providing scouring of spawning habitats. This 4d rule defines habitat restoration or water delivery improvement projects as any action with the primary or secondary purpose of improving habitat conditions in Utah Lake and its tributaries or improving water delivery and available instream flows in spawning tributaries. These
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projects must be approved by the Service in writing, in coordination with any existing designated recovery program, for that purpose. Examples of planned or suggested projects where incidental take is allowed to occur include the Provo River Delta Restoration Project and the removal of water diversion structures from the Provo River and Hobble Creek.
June Sucker Monitoring This 4d rule allows incidental take associated with any method used to detect June suckers in the wild for the purposes of better understanding population numbers, trends, or response to stressors that is not intended to be destructive, but that may unintentionally cause harm or death.
Monitoring of June suckers is vital to understanding the population dynamics, health, and trends; for measuring the success of the stocking program; for evaluating impacts from threats; and for evaluating recovery actions that address threats to the species. With the use of PIT tag technology, monitoring is becoming less disruptive to the June sucker. However, many monitoring methods, including the initial PIT tagging of individuals, may accidentally harm fish or result in death. In addition to PIT tag readers, methods that may be used to detect June suckers in the wild include trammel netting, spotlighting, minnow trapping, trap netting, gill-netting, electrofishing, and seining. Any monitoring activities not conducted by the State or under the States section 6 permit must be approved by the Service in writing and be conducted in coordination with any existing designated recovery program.
Recreational Fisheries Management Recreational fisheries monitoring actions conducted by the State are allowed to cause incidental take of June suckers through this 4d rule, provided that, whenever possible, June suckers that are caught alive as part of recreational fisheries are returned to their source as quickly as possible.
These activities do not include fishing or other recreational activities conducted by private individuals but only those conducted by the State to manage fisheries in Utah Lake. Covered activities are those that do not occur in June sucker spawning habitat during the season of use or rearing habitat at any time of year, and are designed to count or capture recreational sport fish only.
According to the interagency Policy for Conserving Species Listed or Proposed for Listing Under the Endangered Species Act While Providing and Enhancing Recreational Fisheries
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