[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 63 (Monday, April 1, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14296-14297]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-7794]



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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
[I.D. 032296D]


Endangered Species; Permits

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

ACTION: Receipt of applications for a scientific research/enhancement 
permit (P770#71) and modifications to two scientific research/
enhancement permits (P503R and P211E).

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Coastal Zone and Estuarine 
Studies Division, NMFS, in Seattle, WA (CZESD) has applied in due form 
for a permit and the Idaho Department of Fish and Game in Boise, ID 
(IDFG) and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife in La Grande, OR 
(ODFW) have applied in due form for modifications to permits to take 
endangered and threatened species for the purpose of scientific 
research/enhancement.

DATES: Written comments or requests for a public hearing on any of 
these applications must be received on or before May 1, 1996.

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, 525 NE Oregon 
Street, Suite 500, Portland, OR 97232-4169 (503-230-5400).
    Written comments or requests for a public hearing should be 
submitted to the Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of 
Protected Resources.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: CZESD requests a permit and IDFG and ODFW 
request modifications to permits 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 217-227).
    CZESD (P770#71) requests a 5-year permit to take adult and 
juvenile, endangered, Snake River sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) 
associated with the continuation of their captive broodstock 
responsibilities currently authorized under IDFG's scientific research/
enhancement permit 795. Under permit 795, CZESD rears and maintains 
listed fish, originally acquired from IDFG, in their hatchery 
facilities to dilute the risk of an unanticipated catastrophic event 
that could cause a decimation of the gene pool if all of the listed 
fish were at one hatchery location. CZESD requests a separate take 
authorization for hatchery activities because of the varied nature of 
NMFS and IDFG ESA-listed sockeye salmon enhancement activities. Listed 
fish will be reared, maintained, and bred in captivity at any one of 
three hatchery locations: The University of Washington's Big Beef Creek 
Research Station near Seabeck, WA; NMFS's Manchester Marine 
Experimental Station near Manchester, WA; and ODFW's Bonneville 
Hatchery at Bonneville Dam, OR. CZESD proposes to transfer the 
resulting progeny of the listed sockeye salmon captive broodstocks to 
Idaho annually to complement recovery efforts at Redfish Lake.
    IDFG (P503R) requests modification 1 to scientific research/
enhancement permit 972. Permit 972 authorizes IDFG a take of juvenile, 
threatened, Snake River spring/summer chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus 
tshawytscha) associated with a captive broodstock program for three 
races of threatened chinook salmon in the upper Salmon River Basin. 
Permit 972, issued on August 7, 1995 (60 FR 42147, August 15, 1995), 
authorized the collection, handling, and rearing of juvenile, listed, 
naturally-produced, chinook salmon for the beginning of the captive 
broodstock program. For modification 1, IDFG requests a transfer of 
Lemhi River, West Fork Yankee Fork Salmon River, and upper East Fork 
Salmon River origin juveniles to the NMFS Manchester Marine 
Experimental Station in WA. IDFG also requests that the NMFS staff at 
the laboratory, under the direction of Dr. Conrad Mehnken, be 
authorized to rear and maintain the listed juvenile fish as an agent of 
IDFG under permit 972. The objective of the transfer is to dilute the 
risk of an unanticipated catastrophic event that could cause a 
decimation of the gene pool at one hatchery location by allocating 
listed juvenile fish to another hatchery location. The transfer of 
listed juvenile fish is requested for 1996 only. The authorization for 
NMFS's responsibility to rear and maintain listed juvenile fish as an 
agent of IDFG under permit 972 is requested for the duration of the 
permit. Permit 972 expires on September 30, 1998.
    ODFW (P211E) requests modification 4 to scientific research/
enhancement permit 847. Permit 847 authorizes ODFW a take of adult and 
juvenile, threatened, Snake River spring/summer chinook salmon 
(Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) associated with supplementation programs at 
the Imnaha River and Lookingglass Creek Hatcheries. The 1996 adult 
anadromous fish return to the Imnaha River Basin is predicted to be one 
of the lowest on record. ODFW proposes to retain 50 percent of the 
adult, ESA-listed, naturally-produced and artificially-propagated 
salmon that return to the Imnaha River weir for hatchery broodstock 
with no restriction on the percentage of natural-origin fish to be

[[Page 14297]]
used; to release all of the adult, ESA-listed, naturally-produced and 
artificially-propagated salmon not retained for broodstock above the 
weir to spawn naturally with no restriction on the percentage of 
hatchery-origin fish to be released; and to retain two naturally-
produced jacks (age three males) and two artificially-propagated jacks 
for broodstock for every five females retained, up to a maximum 
fertilization of 10 percent of the 1996 brood eggs. ODFW is currently 
authorized to retain 30 percent of the returning adult, listed, 
naturally-produced salmon for broodstock each year. ODFW also proposes 
to release all of the naturally-produced jacks not retained for 
broodstock above the weir for natural spawning and to sacrifice all of 
the surplus hatchery jacks so that they do not dominate the population 
of males above the weir site. Modification 4 is requested for 1996 
only. Permit 847 expires on December 31, 1998.
    Those individuals requesting a hearing (see ADDRESSES) should set 
out the specific reasons why a hearing on any of these applications 
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 these application summaries are those of the 
applicants and do not necessarily reflect the views of NMFS.

    Dated: March 25, 1996.
Russell J. Bellmer,
Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected Resources, 
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 96-7794 Filed 3-29-96; 8:45 am]
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