[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 132 (Thursday, July 10, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37033-37034]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-18116]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D. 062797B]


Endangered Species; Permits

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

ACTION: Issuance of modifications 3 and 4 to incidental take permit 844 
(P503I).

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that NMFS has issued modifications to a 
permit to the Idaho Department of Fish and Game at Boise, ID (IDFG) 
that authorizes an incidental take of Endangered Species Act-listed 
species during sport-fishing activities, subject to certain conditions 
set forth therein.

ADDRESSES: The applications and related documents are available for

[[Page 37034]]

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
    Protected Resources Division, F/NWO3, 525 NE Oregon Street, Suite 
500, Portland, OR 97232-4169 (503-230-5400).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The modifications 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 March 27, 1997 (62 FR 14672) that an 
application had been filed by IDFG for modification 3 to incidental 
take permit 844 (P503I). Modification 3 to permit 844 was issued to 
IDFG on May 21, 1997. Permit 844 authorizes IDFG an incidental take of 
adult and juvenile, threatened, Snake River spring/summer chinook 
salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and adult, threatened, Snake River 
fall chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) associated with the 
State of Idaho's sport-fishing activities. For modification 3, IDFG is 
authorized an increase in the incidental take of adult, threatened, 
unmarked, naturally-produced, Snake River spring/summer chinook salmon 
associated with the sport fisheries on the Little Salmon River and the 
Clearwater River in Idaho. The fisheries in these watersheds target 
adult, non-listed, fin-clipped, hatchery-produced, spring and summer 
chinook salmon. As stated in its amended Conservation Plan, IDFG will 
maintain efforts to minimize the impacts to ESA-listed fish, including 
public information efforts, biological monitoring, and enforcement. 
Modification 3 is valid in 1997 only.
    Notice was published on May 5, 1997 (62 FR 24421) that an 
application had been filed by IDFG for modification 4 to incidental 
take permit 844 (P503I). Modification 4 to permit 844 was issued to 
IDFG on June 17, 1997. For modification 4, IDFG is authorized an 
incidental take of unmarked residual, ESA-listed, Snake River sockeye 
salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) associated with a kokanee fishery in 
Redfish Lake in Idaho from the date of issuance until August 7, 1997. 
The purpose of the fishery is to reduce the kokanee population in 
Redfish Lake because kokanee are a direct competitor with captive-brood 
sockeye salmon for habitat and food. IDFG have amended the Conservation 
Plan for this permit by outlining a monitoring strategy of the 
potential take of ESA-listed species resulting from the Redfish Lake 
kokanee fishery. The amended Conservation Plan includes the scheme that 
anglers will be directed to avoid harvesting fish marked with external 
hatchery indications. Modification 4 is valid in 1997 only. Permit 844 
expires on April 30, 1998.
    Issuance of the modifications to a permit, as required by the ESA, 
was based on a finding that such actions: (1) Were requested/proposed 
in good faith, (2) will not operate to the disadvantage of the ESA-
listed species that are the subject of the permit, 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 2, 1997.
Nancy Chu,
Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected Resources, 
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 97-18116 Filed 7-9-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F