[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 171 (Tuesday, September 3, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46445-46446]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-22322]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
[I.D. 082796C]


Endangered Species; Permits

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

ACTION: Issuance of modification 2 to permit 921 (P503P) and 
notification of withdrawal of an application for a permit (P510C).

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[[Page 46446]]

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that NMFS has issued a modification to 
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 Idaho Department of Fish 
and Game at Boise, ID (IDFG) and has received a notification of 
withdrawal of an application for an incidental take permit 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 modification to a permit was 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).
    An application was submitted by IDFG (P503P) for modification 2 to 
scientific research/enhancement permit 921. Modification 2 to permit 
921 was issued to IDFG on August 2, 1996. Permit 921 authorizes IDFG 
annual takes of adult and juvenile, threatened, Snake River spring/
summer chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) associated with a 
supplementation program at McCall Hatchery. For Modification 2, IDFG is 
authorized to allow a proportion of the adult, ESA-listed, natural-
origin fish that are released upstream of IDFG's weir at the South Fork 
of the Salmon River each year for natural spawning to migrate 
volitionally to their respective spawning locations. IDFG may transport 
the remaining adult, ESA-listed, natural-origin fish to be released for 
natural spawning to Stolle Meadows. Previously, NMFS had required IDFG 
to transport all of the adult, ESA-listed, natural-origin fish to be 
released for natural spawning to Stolle Meadows. Modification 2 is 
valid for the duration of the permit. Permit 921 expires on December 
31, 1998.
    Notice was published on June 20, 1996 (61 FR 31510) that an 
application had been filed by SBT (P510C) for an incidental take 
permit. SBT requested a 5-year permit for an annual incidental take of 
juvenile, threatened, Snake River spring/summer chinook salmon 
(Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) associated with a study designed to 
determine the distribution and abundance of bull trout (Salvelinus 
confluentus) in the Herd Creek watershed of the East Fork Salmon River 
and Burnt Creek of the Pahsimeroi River. NMFS has received notification 
that SBT would like to withdraw their request for an incidental take 
permit. SBT now believe that their sampling in the East Fork Salmon 
River drainage will not result in a take of ESA-listed salmon because 
no chinook salmon redds or parr were observed recently in the areas 
where SBT propose to conduct their research. Furthermore, SBT will 
survey their chosen research sites by snorkeling prior to sampling to 
confirm the absence of ESA-listed fish.
    Issuance of the permit modification, as required by the ESA, was 
based on a finding that such action: (1) Was requested in good faith, 
(2) will not operate to the disadvantage of the ESA-listed species that 
is the subject of the permit, 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: August 27, 1996.
Robert C. Ziobro,
Acting Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 96-22322 Filed 8-30-96; 8:45 am]
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