[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 46 (Thursday, March 9, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12913-12914]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-5817]



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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D. 030295A]


Endangered Species; Permits

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of the receipt of an application for a scientific 
research permit (P45R) and the receipt of applications for 
modifications to scientific research permit 823 (P503C) and incidental 
take stocking permit 908 (P503K).

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    Notice is hereby given that the National Biological Survey (NBS) in 
Corvallis, OR, has applied in due form for a scientific research permit 
(P45R) and that the Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG) in Boise, 
ID, has applied in due form for Modification 2 to scientific research 
Permit 823 (P503C) and Modification 1 to incidental take stocking 
Permit 908 (P503K) to take listed species as authorized by the 
Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA) (16 U.S.C. 1531-1543) and the NMFS 
regulations governing listed fish and wildlife permits (50 CFR parts 
217-227).
    NBS requests authorization for a take of juvenile, endangered, 
Snake River spring/summer and fall chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus 
tshawytscha) as part of a study designed to provide information that 
will be used to: (1) Recommend siting of the bypass outfall to be 
constructed at the Dalles Dam; (2) evaluate the juvenile salmonid 
nighttime spill pattern at the Dalles Dam; (3) assess the relationship 
between flow rate and juvenile salmonid outmigration velocity in the 
Dalles pool and elsewhere; (4) evaluate juvenile salmonid passage 
routes at John Day Dam; (5) estimate juvenile salmonid mortality in the 
lower Columbia River; and (6) provide information on the vulnerability 
of salmonids to predation by northern squawfish (Ptychocheilus 
oregonensis). Listed fish will be collected at the John Day Handling 
Facility by NMFS personnel under the authority of Permit 822, 
anesthetized and implanted with radio telemetry transmitters (radio 
tags) by NBS personnel, held for 36-48 hours in tanks supplied with 
circulating river water to determine tag retention and delayed 
mortality, released near the mouth of the John Day River, and tracked 
to determine their fate. The requested duration of the permit is from 
April 15 to July 15, 1995.
    Permit 823 authorizes IDFG to take endangered Snake River salmon 
while conducting a wide range of research activities in Idaho. For 
Modification 2 to the permit, IDFG requests an increase in the lethal 
take of juvenile, endangered, Snake River sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus 
nerka) in Redfish Lake to optimize the evaluation of Redfish Lake 
fertilization/supplementation efforts in 1995 and beyond. In addition, 
IDFG requests to implement four other actions which will not require an 
increase in the take of listed species authorized in the permit. These 
four actions are: (1) The marking of juvenile, endangered, Snake River 
spring/summer chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) using caudal 
fin clips to estimate the number of fry that migrate downstream past 
juvenile fish traps to rear downstream from study sites; (2) a fish 
flush strategy designed to provide flushing flows through a seasonally 
dewatered stretch of the Lemhi River between the Barracks Lane Bridge 
and [[Page 12914]] the Clark Steelhead Bridge during times of critical 
adult and juvenile salmon migrations; (3) the installation of a second 
juvenile fish trap upstream from the existing juvenile fish trap, the 
Sawtooth Hatchery weir, on the upper Salmon River to optimize trapping 
efficiency with the aim of developing more accurate estimates of 
anadromous fish survival rates and migration timing; and (4) the 
installation of a rotary screw trap in Rapid River upstream from the 
Rapid River Fish Hatchery to collect natural production information on 
wild steelhead salmon. Modification 2 would be valid for the duration 
of the permit. The permit expires on November 30, 1997.
    Permit 908 authorizes IDFG for an incidental take of listed Snake 
River salmon as a result of their resident fish stocking program 
designed to increase the supplies of fish in the Salmon River and its 
tributary streams for sport angling. For Modification 1 to the permit, 
IDFG requests authorization to stock Redfish Lake with hatchery rainbow 
trout in 1995 and beyond to provide recreational fishing opportunity in 
the lake. NMFS denied IDFG's request to stock Redfish Lake with rainbow 
trout in 1993 because of concern over possible interactions between 
stocked rainbow trout and listed sockeye salmon in the lake, primarily 
diet overlap and predation. IDFG believes that hatchery rainbow trout 
releases in Redfish Lake will not undermine endangered sockeye salmon 
recovery efforts. Permit 908 expires on December 31, 1998.
    Written data or views, or requests for a public hearing on any of 
these applications should be submitted to the Chief, Endangered Species 
Division, Office of Protected Resources, F/PR8, NMFS, 1315 East-West 
Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910-3226, within 30 days of the 
publication of this notice. Those individuals requesting a hearing 
should set out the specific reasons why a hearing on this particular 
application would be appropriate. The holding of such hearing is at the 
discretion of the Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA. All 
statements and opinions contained in this application summary are those 
of the applicant and do not necessarily reflect the views of NMFS.
    Documents submitted in connection with the above application are 
available for review by interested persons in the following offices by 
appointment:
    Office of Protected Resources, NMFS, NOAA, 1315 East-West Highway, 
Silver Spring, MD 20910-3226 (301-713-1401); and
    Environmental and Technical Services Division, NMFS, NOAA, 525 
North East Oregon St., Suite 500, Portland, OR 97232 (503-230-5400).

    Dated: March 3, 1995.
Patricia A. Montanio,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 95-5817 Filed 3-8-95; 8:45 am]
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