At the Council’s request, the ISRP reviewed a response received from the Yakama Nation regarding our March 6, 2009 review of the Yakama Nation Pacific Lamprey Program (200847000). In its March 6 review, the ISRP found that the proposal met scientific review criteria (in part). The ISRP that four of the objectives (1, 2, 4 and 5) were scientifically supported and provided the following recommendations for the remaining four objectives.
- For Objective 3 – document current status of larval Pacific lamprey with presence/absence surveys – the ISRP requests a response to the concerns raised about the survey design before implementation; this memo provides suggestions to be included in the final survey design.
- Objective 6 – identification of "all known and potential" limiting factors – is a very large undertaking and should be described in greater detail, particularly with regard to the specific life history requirements of Pacific lamprey in the Yakima subbasin.
- Objectives 7 and 8, which involve lamprey reintroductions and initiation of a supplementation program, can be phased in pending the outcome of the survey and limiting factor analysis.
The Yakama Nation quickly responded to these issues with a cover letter and a revised narrative. The ISRP found that Yakama Nation’s response significantly improved their proposal, with an important exception. Under Objective 3, the ISRP recommends the qualification that the initial sampling effort should be used to inform a more geographically complete probabilistic sampling scheme. Thus, the ISRP finds the proposal meets scientific review criteria (qualified).
The Yakama Nation clarified that Objectives 7 and 8 concerning supplementation were preliminary, and unless future needs for supplementation are determined (possibly following further review) it would not be implemented.
