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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