[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 124 (Wednesday, June 26, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33095-33096]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-16252]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D. 061996B]
Endangered Species; Permits
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Issuance of permit 1005 (P770#71) and modification 1 to permit
908 (P503K).
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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that NMFS has issued a permit that
authorizes takes of an Endangered Species Act-listed species for the
purpose of scientific research/enhancement, subject to certain
conditions set forth therein, to the Coastal Zone and Estuarine Studies
Division of the Northwest Fisheries Science Center, NMFS at Seattle, WA
(CZESD) and a modification to a permit that authorizes takes of
Endangered Species Act-listed species incidental to fish-stocking
activities, subject to certain conditions set forth therein, to the
Idaho Department of Fish and Game at Boise, ID (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, 525 NE Oregon
Street, Suite 500, Portland, OR 97232-4169 (503-230-5400).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The permit and modification to a permit 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 April 1, 1996 (61 FR 14296) that an
application had been filed by CZESD (P770#71) for a scientific
research/enhancement permit. Permit 1005 was issued to CZESD on June
10, 1996. Permit 1005 authorizes CZESD takes of adult and juvenile,
endangered, Snake River sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) associated
with a captive broodstock program, being conducted in cooperation with
IDFG. IDFG initiated the captive broodstock program in 1992 under the
authority of permit 795 to perpetuate the species and provide Snake
River sockeye salmon for future recovery actions. CZESD will rear,
maintain, and breed ESA-listed fish in its hatchery facilities at the
University of Washington's Big Beef Creek Research Station near
Seabeck, WA and NMFS's Manchester Marine Experimental Station near
Manchester, WA. ESA-listed salmon eggs or juveniles, originally taken
by IDFG, will be transferred to CZESD hatcheries to dilute the risk of
an unanticipated catastrophic event, possibly causing a decimation of
the gene pool if the offspring were present at only one hatchery
location. CZESD will transfer the resulting progeny of the ESA-listed
sockeye salmon captive broodstocks to Idaho annually to complement
recovery efforts at Redfish Lake. To coordinate CZESD's permit 1005
with IDFG's permit 795, permit 1005 will expire when permit 795
expires, July 31, 1997.
Notice was published on March 12, 1996 (61 FR 9979) that an
application had been filed by IDFG (P503K) for modification 1 to
incidental take permit 908. Permit 908 authorizes IDFG an incidental
take of endangered Snake River sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) and
threatened Snake River spring/summer chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus
tshawytscha) associated with IDFG's resident fish-stocking program,
designed to increase the supply of fish in the Salmon River and its
tributary streams and lakes for sport-angling. For part of modification
1, IDFG proposed to stock Redfish Lake with catchable-sized hatchery
rainbow trout in 1996 to provide recreational fishing at the lake.
IDFG's request to stock Redfish Lake with hatchery rainbow trout in
1996 was denied because of the potential effects of rainbow trout
overwinter survival and the risk of predation on ESA-listed sockeye
salmon in the lake.
The remainder of what IDFG proposed for modification 1 to permit
908 was approved and issued on June 10, 1996. For modification 1, IDFG
is authorized to revise their fish-stocking program to do the
following: 1) Re-establish a viable population of cutthroat trout in
under-utilized habitat in upper Valley Creek by transplanting juvenile
cutthroat trout from a healthy population in upper Yankee Fork, Salmon
River, 2) release catchable rainbow trout in Yankee Fork dredge ponds
prior to June 15, and 3) stock Pettit Lake with 3,000 catchable rainbow
trout in 1996, mark (fin-clip) all trout released to identify year-
class, and continue monitoring studies and creel surveys through 1996
and 1997. Issuance of the modification does not result in an increase
in the annual incidental take authorized in permit 908. Modification 1
is valid for the duration of the permit. Permit 908 expires on December
31, 1998.
Issuance of the permit and permit modification, 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) are consistent
with the purposes and policies set forth in section 2 of the ESA and
the NMFS regulations governing ESA-listed species permits.
[[Page 33096]]
Dated: June 20, 1996.
Robert C. Ziobro,
Acting Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 96-16252 Filed 6-25-96; 8:45 am]
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