[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 89 (Tuesday, May 7, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Page 20515]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-11265]



-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
[I.D. 042996C]


Endangered Species; Permits

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

ACTION: Issuance of modification 5 to permit 817 (P45K), modification 1 
to permit 956 (P45S), and receipt of a notification of withdrawal of 
the request for modification 3 to permit 849 (P510).

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that NMFS has issued modifications to 
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 National Biological Service at Cook, WA (NBS) 
and has received notification of the withdrawal of a modification 
request from 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 modifications to 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 ESA-
listed fish and wildlife permits (50 CFR parts 217-222).
    Notice was published on February 29, 1996 (61 FR 7776) that an 
application had been filed by NBS (P45K) for modification 5 to 
scientific research permit 817. Modification 5 to permit 817 was issued 
on April 16, 1996. Permit 817 authorizes a direct take of juvenile, 
threatened, Snake River fall chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) 
and an indirect take of juvenile, threatened, Snake River spring/summer 
chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) associated with scientific 
research on the spawning, rearing, and migratory requirements of fall 
chinook salmon in the Columbia River Basin. Modification 5 authorizes 
an increase in the annual take of ESA-listed species in association 
with three additional scientific research activities. NBS will evaluate 
the extent, seasonality, and size selectivity of predation on 
subyearling fall chinook salmon; estimate food availability and growth 
of subyearling fall chinook salmon in nearshore rearing habitats for 
eventual use in a bioenergetics model; and relate juvenile fall chinook 
salmon survival to physiological development. Modification 5 is valid 
for the duration of the permit. Permit 817 expires on December 31, 
1996.
    Notice was published on February 29, 1996 (61 FR 7776) that an 
application had been filed by NBS (P45S) for modification 1 to 
scientific research permit 956. Modification 1 to permit 956 was issued 
on April 23, 1996. Permit 956 authorizes a take of juvenile, ESA-
listed, Snake River spring/summer chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus 
tshawytscha) associated with a study designed to provide managers with 
data on the distribution, abundance, movement, and habitat use of 
anadromous fish that migrate through Lower Granite Reservoir on the 
Snake River in WA. For modification 1, NBS is authorized to collect 
juvenile fish, a portion of which will be ESA-listed juveniles, with a 
purse seine in Lower Granite pool to obtain the maximum sample size 
needed for annual radio tag transmitter research. NBS will apply radio 
transmitter tags by surgical implantation and transport the ESA-listed 
juvenile fish from the point of acquisition to an upstream release 
site. NBS will use radio-tagged fish to evaluate the operation of a 
surface collector prototype in the forebay of Lower Granite Dam. Also, 
NBS will capture, handle, and release ESA-listed juvenile fish while 
using a mid-water trawl for species verification of hydroacoustic 
surveys. Modification 1 is valid for the duration of the permit. Permit 
956 expires on September 30, 1999.
    Notice was published on March 5, 1996 (61 FR 8568) that an 
application had been filed by SBT (P510) for modification 3 to 
scientific research permit 849. Permit 849 authorizes a take of adult 
and juvenile, threatened, Snake River spring/summer chinook salmon 
(Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) associated with stock assessment and fish 
condition surveys in the Salmon River subbasin and the pond series of 
Yankee Fork, Salmon River in Idaho. For modification 3, SBT requested 
to expand the area of their electrofishing research to include the 
Salmon River subbasin, an area previously unspecified for this research 
activity. Notification has been received that SBT would like to 
withdraw the request for modification 3 to permit 849. Since the target 
species of the proposed expanded research area is bull trout, a non-
listed species, and there is a possibility of an incidental take of an 
ESA-listed species associated with the research, SBT will submit an 
incidental take permit application.
    Issuance of the modifications, 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 ESA-listed species permits.

    Dated: April 29, 1996.
Margaret Lorenz,
Acting Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 96-11265 Filed 5-6-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P