The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW), the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), and the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, on behalf of their respective states (hereafter called “the States”), and the Nez Perce Tribe (NPT), the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR), the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon (CTWSR), the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation (YN), and the 3.6.D Committee1 submit this application under subsection 120(f) of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (MMPA; 16 USC 1389 et seq.; section 120 of the MMPA) to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) for the intentional lethal removal of individually identifiable California sea lions (Zalophus californianus) and Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus: Eastern stock) that are located in the mainstem of the Columbia River between river mile 112 and McNary Dam, or in any tributary to the Columbia River that includes spawning habitat of salmon or steelhead (Onchorynchus spp.) that are listed as threatened and endangered under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA; 16 U.S.C. §1531 et seq.), and which are having a significant negative impact on the following stocks: 

 Upper Columbia River Spring Chinook (Endangered) 

 Snake R. Spring/Summer Chinook (Threatened) 

 Lower Columbia River Steelhead (Threatened) 

 Mid-Columbia River Steelhead (Threatened) 

 Snake River Steelhead (Threatened) 

 Lower Columbia River Chinook (Threatened) 

 Upper Willamette River Spring Chinook (Threatened) 

 Upper Willamette River Winter Steelhead (Threatened) 

 Upper Columbia River Steelhead (Threatened) 

 Snake River Fall Chinook (Threatened) 

 Columbia River Chum (Threatened) 

 Lower Columbia River Coho (Threatened) 

 Snake River Sockeye (Endangered) 

 Southern Distinct Population Segment of Eulachon (Threatened) 

Removal of these sea lions is also intended to protect species of lamprey or sturgeon that may not be listed as endangered or threatened but are listed as a species of concern.

This is a monitoring program without a statistic sampling design.