[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 76 (Thursday, April 18, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16897-16898]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-9513]



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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D. 041196A]


Endangered Species; Permits

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

ACTION: Issuance of permits 994 (P497D), 996 (P504G), 997 (P770#70), 
and 998 (P510B).

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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, subject to certain conditions set forth 
therein, to the Idaho Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit at 
Moscow, ID (ICFWRU); the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at Walla Walla, 
WA (Corps); the Coastal Zone and Estuarine Studies Division, NMFS at 
Seattle, WA (CZESD); and the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes at Fort Hall, ID 
(SBT).

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).

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 February 7, 1996 (61 FR 4626) that an 
application had been filed by ICFWRU (P497D) for a permit to take ESA-
listed species. Permit 994 was issued on April 2, 1996 to ICFWRU under 
the supervision of Joel Hunt, a research associate at the University of 
Idaho. Permit 994 authorizes a take of adult, threatened, Snake River 
spring/summer and fall chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) 
associated with a study designed to assess the passage success of 
migrating adult salmonids at the four dams and reservoirs in the lower 
Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest, evaluate specific flow and 
spill conditions, and evaluate measures to improve adult anadromous 
fish passage. Permit 994 will expire on December 31, 2000.
    Notice was published on February 27, 1996 (61 FR 7241) that an 
application had been filed by the Corps (P504G) for a permit to take 
ESA-listed species. Permit 996 was issued to the Corps on April 9, 
1996. Permit 996 authorizes the Corps to directly take juvenile, 
threatened, Snake River spring/summer and fall chinook salmon 
(Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and juvenile, endangered, Snake River 
sockeye salmon

[[Page 16898]]

(Oncorhynchus nerka) and to incidentally take adult, threatened, Snake 
River spring/summer and fall chinook salmon associated with a study 
designed to monitor the operation of the new juvenile fish bypass 
system at Ice Harbor Dam on the Snake River in Washington. Some adult 
fish, including ESA-listed adult salmon, are expected to fall back 
through the juvenile bypass system and will be incidentally captured 
and handled in the effort to return them to the river. Permit 996 will 
expire on December 31, 2000.
    Notice was published on March 5, 1996 (61 FR 8568) that an 
application had been filed by CZESD (P770#70) for a permit to take ESA-
listed species. Permit 997 was issued to CZESD on April 8, 1996. Permit 
997 authorizes CZESD to take juvenile, threatened, Snake River spring/
summer and fall chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and juvenile, 
endangered, Snake River sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) associated 
with four studies designed to evaluate existing and proposed juvenile 
fish bypass systems at Ice Harbor and Little Goose Dams on the Snake 
River and McNary and John Day Dams on the Columbia River in the Pacific 
Northwest. A proportion of the ESA-listed juvenile fish that fail to 
enter the fish bypass system at John Day Dam only (Study 4) will be 
captured and sacrificed. The authorization for a take of ESA-listed 
species associated with Study 1 (Ice Harbor Dam) expires on December 
31, 1998. The authorization for a take of ESA-listed species associated 
with Studies 2-4 expires on December 31, 1996.
    Notice was published on February 7, 1996 (61 FR 4626) that an 
application had been filed by SBT (P510B) for a permit to take an ESA-
listed species. Permit 998 was issued to SBT on April 9, 1996. Permit 
998 authorizes SBT to take juvenile, endangered, Snake River sockeye 
salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) associated with a study designed to 
evaluate the destiny of the ESA-listed juvenile sockeye salmon from the 
Idaho Department of Fish and Game's captive broodstock program that 
were released into Pettit Lake, ID in July, 1995 under the authority of 
permit 795. An evaluation of the success of this release is necessary 
to make management decisions on future releases of the progeny from the 
captive broodstock program. Permit 998 expires on December 31, 2000.
    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 are 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: April 11, 1996.
Margaret Lorenz,
Acting Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 96-9513 Filed 4-17-96; 8:45 am]
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