[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 84 (Tuesday, May 2, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Page 21501]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-10740]



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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D. 042595C]


Endangered Species; Permits

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

ACTION: Issuance of modification 2 to permit 900 (P770#66), 
modification 1 to permit 914 (P770#67), and modification 5 to permit 
795 (P503A).

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that NMFS has issued modifications to 
permits authorizing takes of listed species for the purpose of 
scientific research, subject to certain conditions set forth therein, 
to the Northwest Fisheries Science Center, NMFS (NWFSC) and the Idaho 
Department of Fish and Game (IDFG).

ADDRESSES: The applications and related documents are available for 
review in the following offices, by appointment:
    Office of Protected Resources, F/PR8, NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, 
Silver Spring, MD 20910-3226 (301-713-1401); and
    Environmental and Technical Services Division, F/NWO3, NMFS, 525 NE 
Oregon Street, Portland, OR 97232-4169 (503-230-5400).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice was published on January 19, 1995 (60 
FR 3844) that an application had been filed by NWFSC (P770#66) for 
modification 2 to permit 900 to take listed species as authorized by 
section 10 of 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 217-222).
    NWFSC requested an increase in the take of juvenile, listed, Snake 
River spring/summer chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) 
associated with Study 3, a preliminary evaluation of the new juvenile 
collection, bypass, and sampling facility at McNary Dam. The increased 
take was requested to test an automatic system for detecting and 
diverting run-of-the-river fish tagged with passive integrated 
transponders (PIT) from the population of fish moving through the 
collection facility. The purpose of the automatic PIT tag detector and 
diversion system is to facilitate the collection of scientific 
information on juvenile salmonid migration while minimizing adverse 
impacts to the fish. Modification 2 to permit 900 was issued on April 
7, 1995. The increased take is valid for 1995 only. Permit 900 expires 
on December 31, 1998.
    Notice was published on February 9, 1995 (60 FR 7752) that an 
application had been filed by NWFSC (P770#67) for modification 1 to 
permit 914 to take listed species as authorized by the above laws and 
regulations.
    NWFSC requested an increase in the take of juvenile, listed, 
naturally-produced and artificially-propagated Snake River spring/
summer chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and juvenile, 
endangered, Snake River fall chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) 
to assess the incidence of gas bubble disease (GBD) in selected aquatic 
biota of the Columbia River Basin during episodes of high spill volumes 
at Ice Harbor Dam on the Snake River and Bonneville Dam on the Columbia 
River in the Pacific Northwest. NWFSC also requested authorization to 
take juvenile, endangered, Snake River sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus 
nerka) for a new study to compare the prevalence of signs of GBD in 
juvenile salmonids collected from the reservoir and tailrace of Ice 
Harbor Dam on the Snake River and the reservoir of McNary Dam on the 
Columbia River with the prevalence of signs of GBD in fish examined by 
Fish Passage Center Smolt Monitoring Program personnel at the same two 
dams. Modification 1 to permit 914 was issued on April 14, 1995. The 
increased take is valid for 1995 only. Permit 914 expires on December 
31, 1998.
    Notice was published on January 19, 1995 (60 FR 3844) that an 
application had been filed by IDFG (P503A) for modification 5 to permit 
795 to take listed species as authorized by the above laws and 
regulations.
    Permit 795 authorizes a take of listed species associated with 
scientific research and enhancement activities, including a captive 
broodstock program, on endangered Snake River sockeye salmon 
(Oncorhynchus nerka). For modification 5, IDFG requested authorization 
to: (1) Release second generation progeny of anadromous sockeye salmon 
that returned to Redfish Lake in 1991, (2) release progeny of 1991 
outmigrant sockeye females spawned in 1993 with anadromous sockeye 
males, (3) release broodyear 1993 progeny of anadromous sockeye females 
that returned to Redfish Lake in 1993, and (4) increase the annual 
number of outmigrant sockeye juveniles to be trapped and handled at the 
Redfish Lake Creek weir. Modification 5 to permit 795 was issued on 
April 19, 1995. Activities 1-3 are valid for 1995 only. Activity 4 is 
valid for the duration of the permit. Permit 795 expires on July 31, 
1997.
    Issuance of these modifications, as required by the ESA, was based 
on a finding that such modifications: (1) Were applied for in good 
faith, (2) will not operate to the disadvantage of the listed species 
that are the subject of the permits, and (3) are consistent with the 
purposes and policies set forth in section 2 of the ESA and the NMFS 
regulations governing listed species permits.

    Dated: April 26, 1995.
Russell J. Bellmer,
Chief, Endangered Species Division, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 95-10740 Filed 5-1-95; 8:45 am]
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