[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 178 (Thursday, September 12, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48132-48133]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-23405]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
[I.D. 090696I]


Endangered Species; Permits

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

ACTION: Issuance of modification 5 to permit 848 (P507D) and 
modification 7 to permit 825 (P513).

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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 Washington Department of 
Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) at Olympia, WA and the Columbia River Inter-
Tribal Fish Commission at Portland, OR (CRITFC).

ADDRESSES: The applications and related documents are available for 
review in the following offices, by appointment:
    Office of Protected Resources, F/PR3, 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 July 19, 1996 (61 FR 37722) that an 
application had been filed by WDFW (P507D) for modification 5 to 
scientific research/enhancement permit 848. Modification 5 to permit 
848 was issued to WDFW on September 6, 1996. Permit 848 authorizes WDFW 
annual takes of adult and juvenile, threatened, Snake River spring/
summer chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) associated with a 
supplementation program at the Tucannon River Fish Hatchery. For 
Modification 5, WDFW is authorized an increase in the number of 
hatchery smolts to be released annually in the upper watershed of the 
Tucannon River. Also for modification 5, WDFW is authorized to retain 
all of the adult, ESA-listed, natural-origin salmon that return to the 
hatchery adult trap each year for broodstock if the total annual adult 
returns to the trap is less than 105 fish. If the total annual adult 
returns to the trap is greater than or equal to 105 fish, WDFW is 
authorized to retain up to 70 percent of the adult, ESA-listed natural-
origin salmon that return to the hatchery adult trap each year for 
broodstock and to release the remaining percentage of ESA-listed adult 
salmon above the hatchery trap for natural spawning. Modification 5 to 
permit 848 is valid for the duration of the permit. Permit 848 expires 
on March 31, 1998.
    Notice was published on July 3, 1996 (61 FR 34800) that an 
application had been filed by CRITFC (P513) for modification 7 to 
scientific research permit 825. Modification 7 to permit 825 was issued 
to CRITFC on August 30, 1996. Permit 825 authorizes an annual take of 
adult and juvenile, threatened, Snake River spring/summer chinook 
salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and juvenile, endangered, Snake River 
sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) associated with several scientific 
research studies. For modification 7, CRITFC is authorized an annual 
take of juvenile, threatened, Snake River fall chinook salmon 
(Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) associated with a study designed to monitor 
the extent of dissolved nitrogen gas supersaturation effects on 
outmigrating juvenile anadromous fish in the Snake and Columbia Rivers 
in the Pacific Northwest. Modification 7 is valid for the duration of 
the permit. Permit 825 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-

[[Page 48133]]

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: September 6, 1996.
Robert C. Ziobro,
Acting Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 96-23405 Filed 9-11-96; 8:45 am]
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