[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 135 (Friday, July 12, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36712-36713]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-17724]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
[I.D. 070396B]


Endangered Species; Permits

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

ACTION: Issuance of modification 4 to permit 847 (P211E) and 
modification 4 to permit 822 (P500B).

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that NMFS has issued modifications to 
two permits that authorize takes of Endangered Species Act-listed 
species for the purpose of scientific research/enhancement, subject to 
certain conditions set forth therein, to the Oregon Department of Fish 
and Wildlife (ODFW) and the Fish Passage Center at Portland, OR (FPC).

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

[[Page 36713]]

    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 April 1, 1996 (61 FR 14296) that an 
application had been filed by ODFW (P211E) for modification 4 to 
scientific research/enhancement permit 847. Modification 4 to permit 
847 was issued to ODFW on June 28, 1996. Permit 847 authorizes ODFW 
annual takes of adult and juvenile, threatened, Snake River spring/
summer chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) associated with 
supplementation programs at the Imnaha River and Lookingglass Creek 
Hatcheries. For Modification 4, ODFW is authorized to retain 50 percent 
of the adult, ESA-listed, naturally-produced and artificially-
propagated salmon that return to the Imnaha River weir in 1996 for 
hatchery broodstock; to release the adult, ESA-listed, naturally-
produced and artificially-propagated salmon not retained for broodstock 
above the weir for natural spawning as long as the number of hatchery-
produced adult releases does not exceed the number of naturally-
produced adult releases; and to retain two naturally-produced jacks 
(age three males) and two artificially-propagated jacks for broodstock 
for every five females retained, up to a maximum fertilization of 10 
percent of the 1996 brood eggs. ODFW is also authorized to release all 
of the naturally-produced jacks not retained for broodstock above the 
weir for natural spawning and to sacrifice all of the surplus hatchery 
jacks so that they do not dominate the population of males above the 
weir site. Modification 4 is valid in 1996 only.
    Permit 847 expires on March 31, 1998.
    Notice was published on May 7, 1996 (61 FR 20514) that an 
application had been filed by FPC (P500B) for modification 4 to 
scientific research/monitoring permit 822. Modification 4 to permit 822 
was issued to FPC on July 3, 1996. Permit 822 authorizes FPC annual 
takes of juvenile, threatened, naturally-produced and artificially-
propagated, Snake River spring/summer chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus 
tshawytscha); juvenile, threatened, Snake River fall chinook salmon 
(Oncorhynchus tshawytscha); and juvenile, endangered, Snake River 
sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) associated with scientific 
research/monitoring activities at upstream locations and at the 
hydropower dams on the Snake and Columbia Rivers in the Pacific 
Northwest. For Modification 4, FPC is authorized an increase in the 
number of juvenile, ESA-listed, naturally-produced and artificially-
propagated, Snake River spring/summer chinook salmon associated with 
the operation of a second airlift sampler at John Day Dam during the 
annual juvenile outmigration. Also for modification 4, FPC is 
authorized an increase in the number of juvenile, ESA-listed, Snake 
River sockeye salmon to be captured and handled, and an increase in the 
resulting indirect mortality of these fish, associated with an increase 
in the estimate of the number of ESA-listed sockeye salmon juveniles 
expected to outmigrate in 1996. In addition, FPC is authorized an 
incidental take of adult and jack, ESA-listed, Snake River spring/
summer chinook salmon associated with fallbacks through the juvenile 
bypass systems at Bonneville and John Day Dams on the Columbia River. 
FPC is also authorized a modification of their sampling protocol for 
monitoring juvenile salmonids for symptoms of nitrogen gas bubble 
trauma. Modification 4 is valid for the duration of the permit. Permit 
822 expires on December 31, 1997.
    Issuance of the permit 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) are consistent with the 
purposes and policies set forth in section 2 of the ESA and the NMFS 
regulations governing ESA-listed species permits.

    Dated: July 5, 1996.
Robert C. Ziobro,
Acting Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 96-17724 Filed 7-11-96; 8:45 am]
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