[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 98 (Monday, May 22, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27087-27088]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-12451]



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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
[I.D. 051595L]


Endangered Species; Permits

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

ACTION: Issuance of permit 956 (P45S), modification 1 to permit 911 
(P560), modification 1 to permit 946 (P770#68), and an amendment to 
permit 914 (P770#67).

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that NMFS has issued a permit, 
modifications to permits, and an amendment to a permit authorizing 
takes of listed species for the purpose of scientific research, subject 
to certain conditions set forth therein, to the Northwest Biological 
Science Center of the National Biological Service (NBS), Oregon State 
University (OSU), and the Coastal Zone and Estuarine Studies Division 
(CZESD) of the Northwest Fisheries Science Center, NMFS.

ADDRESSES: The applications and related documents are available for 
[[Page 27088]] 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: Permit 956, modification 1 to permit 911, 
modification 1 to permit 946, and the amendment of permit 914 were 
issued under the authority of 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).
    Notice was published on March 20, 1995 (60 FR 14735) that an 
application had been filed by NBS (P45S) for a permit to take listed 
species. NBS requested authorization to take juvenile, listed, 
artificially-propagated, Snake River spring/summer chinook salmon 
(Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) as part of a study designed to provide 
managers with data on the distribution, abundance, movement, and 
habitat use of the anadromous fish that migrate through Lower Granite 
Reservoir. The study will provide detailed information on the response 
of migrating smolts to environmental changes that attend proposed 
reservoir drawdown and other river regulation scenarios. Project 
objectives and sampling plans will accomodate listed species recovery 
needs and constraints. Permit 956 was issued to NBS on May 8, 1995. The 
duration of the permit is 4 years and it expires on September 30, 1999.
    Notice was published on January 30, 1995 (60 FR 5624) that an 
application had been filed by OSU (P560) for modification 1 to permit 
911. Permit 911 authorizes a take of juvenile, listed, Snake River 
spring/summer chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) associated with 
a study that is investigating the potential effects of climate change 
on thermal complexity and biotic integrity of streams, with emphasis on 
the seasonal intrusion of non-native coolwater and warmwater fish 
species into the historic habitats of native salmonids. The research 
will document seasonal thermal habitat utilization of indigenous and 
non-native fishes, interactions between and within species, and model 
the effects of climate change on groundwater-influenced thermal 
habitats. OSU requested an increase in the 1995 take authorized in 
permit 911 because they encountered larger juvenile fish densities in 
1994 than were expected. Modification 1 to permit 911 was issued on May 
10, 1995. Modification 1 is valid for the duration of the permit, which 
expires on September 30, 1995.
    On May 12, 1995, modification 1 to permit 946 was issued to CZESD 
(P770#68). Permit 946 authorizes a take of adult and juvenile Snake 
River spring/summer chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), juvenile 
Snake River fall chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), and 
juvenile Snake River sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) associated 
with six studies. The studies are investigating the migration timing 
and relative survival of transported and inriver juvenile chinook 
salmon migrating down the Columbia and Snake Rivers to the ocean and 
the effectiveness of fish guidance devices and other bypass system 
components being considered for installation at four Snake and Columbia 
River hydroelectric dams for the purpose of improving anadromous fish 
passage past these dams during juvenile outmigration.
    CZESD requested an increase in the take of juvenile, listed, 
naturally-produced, spring/summer chinook salmon for 1995 only. CZESD 
requested the modification because the number of wild fish in the 1995 
juvenile outmigration appears to be higher than expected. This could be 
due to a greater overwinter survival of parr. However, it is apparent 
that a high percentage of hatchery fish (possibly 20 percent or more) 
are indistinquishable from, and are being recorded as, wild fish during 
the research due to poor or missing fin clips. Modification 1 to Permit 
946 is valid for 1995 only. Permit 946 expires on December 31, 1999.
    On May 11, 1995, an amendment to permit 914 was issued to CZESD 
(P770#67). Permit 914 authorizes a take of juvenile, listed, naturally-
produced and artificially-propagated Snake River spring/summer chinook 
salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and juvenile, listed, Snake River 
fall chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) associated with a study 
investigating the incidence of gas bubble disease 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.
    NMFS issued an amendment to Permit 914 to allow the Columbia River 
Inter-tribal Fish Commission (CRITFC) to act as an agent of CZESD in 
performing the research activities for which a take of listed species 
is authorized by the permit. In addition, the amendment allows the 
collection of listed fish at Lower Monumental Reservoir on the Snake 
River in Washington. The amendment will be valid until a separate ESA 
section 10 permit is issued to CRITFC, which is expected to occur in 
June 1995. Permit 914 expires on December 31, 1998.
    Issuance of these permit actions, as required by the ESA, was based 
on a finding that such actions: (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: May 16,1995.
Russell J. Bellmer,
Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected Resources, 
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 95-12451 Filed 5-19-95; 8:45 am]
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