[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 198 (Tuesday, October 14, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Page 53319]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-27134]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D. 093097C]


Endangered Species; Permits

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

ACTION: Receipt of applications for an enhancement permit (1094) and 
modification 3 to enhancement permit 895.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Washington Department of Fish 
and Wildlife at Olympia, WA (WDFW) has applied in due form for a permit 
and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at Walla Walla, WA (Corps) has 
applied in due form for a modification to a permit that would provide 
authorization for takes of an endangered anadromous fish species and a 
take of a threatened anadromous fish species for the purpose of 
enhancement.

DATES: Written comments or requests for a public hearing on either of 
these applications must be received on or before November 13, 1997.
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
    Protected Resources Division, F/NWO3, 525 NE Oregon Street, Suite 
500, Portland, OR 97232-4169 (503-230-5400).
    Written comments or requests for a public hearing should be 
submitted to the Chief, Protected Resources Division in Portland, OR.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: WDFW requests a permit and the Corps 
requests a modification to a permit 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 217-227).
    WDFW (1094) requests a 5-year permit for an annual direct take of 
adult and juvenile, endangered, upper Columbia River steelhead trout 
(Oncorhynchus mykiss) associated with hatchery supplementation programs 
in the mid and upper Columbia River Basin. WDFW operates three major 
hatchery complexes that carry out ESA-listed steelhead trout hatchery 
supplementation efforts: Wells, Eastbank, and Priest Rapids. The 
activities proposed are: (1) The capture and release of migrating adult 
steelhead trout at Priest Rapids Dam for stock status evaluation 
purposes, (2) the trapping and removal of ESA-listed adult steelhead 
trout for hatchery broodstock, (3) the holding and artificial spawning 
of ESA-listed adults, (4) the incubation of fertilized eggs and the 
rearing of ESA-listed juvenile fish, and (5) the transportation and 
releases of ESA-listed juvenile fish from the hatchery programs. WDFW 
believes that the artificial propagation of ESA-listed steelhead trout 
as proposed will benefit the species by enhancing the population, which 
currently is not replacing itself naturally.
    Permit 895 authorizes the Corps annual direct and incidental takes 
of adult and juvenile, endangered, Snake River sockeye salmon 
(Oncorhynchus nerka); adult and juvenile, threatened, naturally-
produced and artificially-propagated, Snake River spring/summer chinook 
salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha); and adult and juvenile, threatened, 
Snake River fall chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) associated 
with the operation of the Juvenile Fish Transportation Program at four 
hydroelectric projects on the Snake and Columbia Rivers in the Pacific 
Northwest (Lower Granite, Little Goose, Lower Monumental, and McNary 
Dams). The Corps requests modification 3 to enhancement permit 895 for 
an increase in the annual incidental take of adult, threatened, Snake 
River spring/summer chinook salmon associated with adult fallbacks 
through the juvenile fish bypass systems at the four dams. Each year, a 
percentage of adult salmon inadvertently move downstream after entering 
the juvenile fish bypass systems at the dams. These adult salmon are 
then directed back to the river to continue their upstream migration. 
An increase in the annual incidental take of ESA-listed adult salmon is 
requested because of the large number of migrating adults in 1997. 
Also, it is possible that this year's extremely high runoff is 
resulting in a higher rate of adult salmon fallbacks. A corresponding 
increase in ESA-listed adult salmon incidental mortalities are also 
requested. Modification 3 is requested to be valid for the duration of 
permit 895. Permit 895 expires on December 31, 1998.
    Those individuals requesting a hearing (see ADDRESSES) should set 
out the specific reasons why a hearing on either of these applications 
would be appropriate. The holding of such hearing is at the discretion 
of the Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA. All statements and 
opinions contained in these application summaries are those of the 
applicants and do not necessarily reflect the views of NMFS.

    Dated: October 3, 1997.
Nancy Chu,
Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected Resources, 
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 97-27134 Filed 10-10-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F