[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 152 (Tuesday, August 8, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40344-40345]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-19554]



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[[Page 40345]]


DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
[I.D. 072895C]


Endangered Species; Permits

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

ACTION: Issuance of modification 1 to permit 844 (P503I), an amendment 
of permit 908 (P503K), and a denial of modification 1 to permit 908 
(P503K).

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that NMFS has issued a modification and 
an amendment to permits authorizing takes of listed species incidental 
to sport-fishing and fish-stocking activities, subject to certain 
conditions set forth therein, to the Idaho Department of Fish and Game 
(IDFG) and has denied a permit modification request from 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: Modification 1 to permit 844 and the 
amendment of permit 908 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).
    On July 14, 1995, modification 1 to permit 844 was issued to IDFG 
(P503I). Permit 844 authorizes an incidental take of adult and 
juvenile, listed, Snake River spring/summer chinook salmon 
(Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and adult, listed, Snake River fall chinook 
salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) associated with the State of Idaho's 
sport-fishing activities.
    For modification 1, IDFG is authorized for an incidental take of 
residual, listed, Snake River sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) 
associated with a kokanee fishery in Redfish Lake in July 1995 only. 
The fishery is being allowed as a kokanee control measure. Although 
kokanee are not part of the Snake River sockeye salmon Evolutionarily 
Significant Unit, angler retention of Redfish Lake kokanee has not been 
allowed since 1992 because of the potential incidental harvest of 
listed residual sockeye, visually indistinguishable from kokanee. 
Possibly due to the lack of harvest and competition with juvenile 
sockeye salmon, the Redfish Lake kokanee population is estimated to 
have approximately doubled since 1991.
    A reduction of the kokanee population in Redfish Lake is desirable, 
because kokanee compete directly with listed sockeye salmon for food 
and habitat. The abundant kokanee population in Redfish Lake threatens 
IDFG's effort to re-establish the listed sockeye salmon's productivity 
in the lake. Re-opening the kokanee fishery was determined to be the 
most effective and the only feasible way to reduce the kokanee 
population in 1995. Juvenile, listed, Snake River sockeye salmon 
produced from IDFG's captive broodstock program are not expected to be 
taken as a result of the kokanee fishery, because they are too small to 
be captured by angling. Modification 1 is valid in 1995 only. Permit 
844 expires on April 30, 1998.
    On July 26, 1995, an amendment of Permit 908 was issued to IDFG 
(P503K). Permit 908 authorizes an incidental take of listed Snake River 
salmon associated with IDFG's fish-stocking activities to support 
recreational fisheries in Idaho.
    For the amendment, a condition in the permit was revised to 
describe the procedure that IDFG must follow when trout-stocking is 
proposed in a Stanley Basin lake where listed sockeye salmon are being 
reintroduced. The condition was revised in response to the issuance of 
modification 6 to permit 795 on June 23, 1995, which authorized 
releases of juvenile, listed, artificially-propagated, Snake River 
sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) into Pettit Lake in Idaho in 1995 
approximately 3 weeks after the last rainbow trout have been stocked in 
the lake. The revised condition also describes the monitoring 
requirements of any dual fish-stocking scenario of this kind. The 
amendment is valid for the duration of the permit. Permit 908 expires 
on December 31, 1998.
    Notice was published on March 9, 1995 (60 FR 12913) that an 
application had been filed by IDFG for modification 1 to permit 908. 
IDFG requested authorization to stock Redfish Lake with hatchery 
rainbow trout in 1995 and beyond to provide a recreational fishing 
opportunity in the lake. With the modification request, IDFG submitted 
data that support the assertion that hatchery rainbow trout releases in 
Redfish Lake would not undermine endangered sockeye salmon recovery 
efforts.
    On July 26, 1995, NMFS denied the modification request of permit 
908, because, given the importance of Redfish Lake in listed sockeye 
salmon recovery efforts, and given the existing data gaps regarding 
interactions between stocked trout and listed sockeye salmon (i.e. 
predation and competition), the potential risk of planting catchable 
trout in Redfish Lake is too great.
    Issuance of these permit actions, as required by the ESA, was based 
on the 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: July 28, 1995.
Margaret Lorenz,
Acting Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 95-19554 Filed 8-7-95; 8:45 am]
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