[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 63 (Monday, April 1, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Page 14297]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-7795]



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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
[I.D. 032196B]


Endangered Species; Permits

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

ACTION: Issuance of permits 990 (P45U), 991 (P599), and 992 (P600).

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that NMFS has issued permits that 
authorize takes of Endangered Species Act-listed species for the 
purpose of scientific research/monitoring, subject to certain 
conditions set forth therein, to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at 
Red Bluff, CA (FWS), the California Department of Water Resources in 
Sacramento, CA (CDWR), and California State University at Chico, CA 
(CSU).

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
    Director, Southwest Region, NMFS, NOAA, 501 West Ocean Blvd., Suite 
4200, Long Beach, CA 90802-4213 (310-980-4016).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The permits 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 November 27, 1995 (60 FR 58334) that an 
application had been filed by FWS (P45U) for a permit to take an ESA-
listed species. Permit 990 was issued to FWS on March 20, 1996. Permit 
990 authorizes FWS to take adult and juvenile, endangered, Sacramento 
River winter-run chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) associated 
with five scientific research/monitoring projects being conducted by 
the Northern Central Valley Fish and Wildlife Office (NCVFWO) in Red 
Bluff, CA and a project being conducted by the Sacramento/San Joaquin 
Estuary Fishery Resource Office (SSJFRO) in Stockton, CA. The five 
projects being conducted by NCVFWO are: (1) A census of juvenile 
salmonid downstream migration, (2) the radio-tracking of spawning 
adults, (3) the entrainment of juveniles at the Red Bluff Diversion Dam 
downstream migrant fish protection facilities, (4) egg incubation 
temperature tolerance studies, and (5) monitoring adult fish passage to 
provide adult population estimates. The project being conducted by 
SSJFRO is aimed at updating the knowledge of the factors influencing 
young salmon abundance, distribution, and survival in the estuary and 
is included with Study 1. Permit 990 will expire on June 30, 2001. 
Notice was published on November 15, 1995 (60 FR 57402) that an 
application had been filed by CDWR (P599) for a permit to take an ESA-
listed species. Permit 991 was issued to CDWR on March 20, 1996. Permit 
991 authorizes CDWR to take juvenile, endangered, Sacramento River 
winter-run chinook salmon associated with a scientific research 
project. The research goal is to develop a technique to distinguish 
between California's Central Valley chinook races in a mixed-stock 
population, particularly winter-run, based on an analysis of the 
nuclear DNA material from fin tissue samples. Permit 991 will expire on 
June 30, 1999.
    Notice was published on November 15, 1995 (60 FR 57402) that an 
application had been filed by CSU (P600) for a permit to take an ESA-
listed species. Permit 992 was issued to CSU on March 20, 1996. Permit 
992 authorizes CSU to take juvenile, endangered, Sacramento River 
winter-run chinook salmon associated with a scientific research/
monitoring project. The project is designed to assess the use of the 
non-natal rearing habitat in the Central Valley by juvenile chinook 
salmon, specifically the small, intermittent tributaries. The knowledge 
gained may be important to protecting listed fish populations since 
many of the smaller tributaries are being degraded. Permit 992 will 
expire on June 30, 1999.
    Issuance of the permits, as required by the ESA, was based on a 
finding that such actions: (1) Were requested in good faith, (2) will 
not operate to the disadvantage of the ESA-listed species that is the 
subject of the permits, and (3) is consistent with the purposes and 
policies set forth in section 2 of the ESA and the NMFS regulations 
governing listed species permits.

    Dated: March 22, 1996.
Russell J. Bellmer,
Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected Resources, 
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 96-7795 Filed 3-29-96; 8:45 am]
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