[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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