[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 195 (Thursday, October 8, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54111-54112]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-27056]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D. 092898B]


Endangered Species; Permits

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

ACTION: Receipt of applications for scientific research permits (1108, 
1109, 1110, 1117, 1121, 1154, 1163, 1164, 1165, 1170, 1172), 
enhancement permits (1077, 1078, 1084, 1171), scientific research and 
enhancement permit (1090); receipt of requests to modify scientific 
research permits (1041, 1045, 1046, 1055, 1059, 1066, 1075, 1080, 1097, 
1103, 1105).

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the following entities have 
applied for permits authorizing the take of endangered or threatened 
species:
    For scientific research: the Monterey Bay Water Management District 
(MBWMD) in Monterey, CA (1108), California Department of Fish and Game 
(CDFG) in San Diego, CA (1109), National Marine Fisheries Service, 
Southwest Region (SWR), Long Beach, CA (1110), Carmel River Steelhead 
Association (CRSA), Carmel, CA (1117), Santa Clara Valley Water 
District (SCVWD), San Jose, CA (1121), National Marine Fisheries 
Service, Northwest Fisheries Science Center (NWFSC), Seattle, WA 
(1154), East Bay Municipal Utilities District (EBMUD), Lodi, CA (1163), 
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), Ventura, CA (1164), U.S. Forest 
Service (USFS), Goleta, CA (1165), U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), 
Sacramento, CA (1170), and Environmental Science Associates (EnSci), 
San Francisco, CA.
    For enhancement: the Salmon Restoration Association (SRA), Fort 
Bragg, CA (1077, 1084), the Rowdy Creek Hatchery (RCH), Crescent City, 
CA (1078), and Annette Thompson, Oakland, CA (1171).
    For research/enhancement: the Mattole Watershed Salmon Support 
Group (MSG) in Petrolia, CA (1090).
    Notice is also given that the following entities have applied for 
modifications to their existing permits: California Department of 
Transportation, District 4 (CalTrans), Oakland, CA (1041), Michael 
Fawcett, Bodega Bay, CA (1045), U.S. National Park Service (NPS), San 
Francisco, CA (1046), Amy Harris, Sacramento, CA (1055), Carl Page, 
Cotati, CA (1059), D.W. Alley and Associates (DWAA), Brookdale, CA 
(1066), Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations (PCFFA), 
Miranda, CA (1075), Jerry Smith, San Jose, CA (1080), Scott Cressey, El 
Cerrito, CA (1097), California Department of Forestry and Fire 
Protection (CDFFP), Santa Rosa, CA (1103), and Hagar Environmental 
Science (HES), Richmond, CA.

DATES: Written comments or requests for a public hearing on any of 
these applications must be received on or before November 9, 1998.

ADDRESSES: The applications and related documents are available for 
review in the following office, by appointment:
    Protected Species Division, NMFS, 777 Sonoma Avenue, Room 325, 
Santa Rosa, CA 95404-6528 (707-575-6066).
    All documents may also be reviewed by appointment in the Office of 
Protected Resources, F/PR3, NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver 
Spring, MD 20910-3226 (301-713-1401);

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tom Hablett, Protected Species 
Division, NMFS, Santa Rosa Office (707-575-6066).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Authority

    The permit applicants identified in the preceding SUMMARY section 
of this Notice request permits and/or modifications to permits 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).
    Those individuals requesting a hearing on any of these applications 
should set out the specific reasons why a hearing would be appropriate 
(see ADDRESSES). The holding of such a hearing is at the discretion of 
the Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA. All statements and 
opinions contained in the permit application summaries are those of the 
applicants and do not necessarily reflect the views of NMFS.

Species and Activities Covered Under This Notice

    This notice covers the following species: central California coast 
(CCC) and southern Oregon/northern California coast (SONCC) coho salmon 
(Oncorhynchus kisutch), southern California coast (SoCC), south-central 
California coast (SCCC), central California coast (CCC), and Central 
Valley (CV) steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), and Sacramento River 
winter-run (SaRWR) chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha).
    The scientific studies listed below consist of adult and/or 
juvenile distribution/abundance surveys, genetic studies, and spawner 
surveys. ESA-listed fish are proposed to be captured, anesthetized, 
handled (identified, measured, and sampled for tissues), allowed to 
recover from the anesthetic, and released. ESA-listed fish carcasses 
are proposed to be collected, measured and sampled for tissues, and 
returned to the water. ESA-listed adult and/or juvenile fish indirect 
mortalities associated with the research are also requested. 
Enhancement activities include obtaining adult coho salmon broodstock 
for propagation purposes, and releasing artificially-reared juveniles 
coho salmon into area watersheds. All initial permit requests are for a 
five-year duration.

Permits Requested

    MBWMD (1108) requests takes of adult and juvenile, threatened, 
steelhead associated with fish population, migration, and spawning 
studies, and the rescue of stranded fish in the Carmel River within the 
SCCC steelhead Evolutionarily Significant Unit (ESU).
    CDFG (1109) requests takes of adult and juvenile, endangered, 
steelhead associated with presence/absence studies in the San Luis Rey 
River, the Santa Margarita River and San Mateo Creek within the SoCC 
steelhead ESU.
    SWR (1110) requests takes of adult and juvenile, endangered, 
steelhead associated with presence/absence studies throughout the SoCC 
steelhead ESU.
    CRSA (1117) requests takes of adult and juvenile, threatened, 
steelhead associated with the rescue of stranded fish in the Carmel 
River within the SCCC steelhead ESU.
    SCVWD (1121) requests takes of adult and juvenile, threatened, 
steelhead associated with fish population, migration, and spawning 
studies, and the rescue of stranded fish in the Santa Clara County 
jurisdictional waters within the CCC and SCCC steelhead ESUs.
    NWFSC (1154) requests takes of juvenile, threatened, coho salmon, 
adult and juvenile, threatened steelhead, and adult and juvenile, 
endangered, chinook salmon associated with the National

[[Page 54112]]

Wild Fish Health Survey in two estuarine studies on the Klamath River 
and San Francisco Bay, within the CCC and SONCC coho salmon, CCC and CV 
steelhead, and SaRWR chinook salmon ESUs. The study consists of the 
capture and intentional killing of targeted ESA-listed juveniles for a 
tissues analysis of bacterial and parasitic pathogens in the species. 
Direct mortalities of 200 SONCC juvenile coho salmon and 200 SaRWR 
juvenile chinook salmon annually are requested.
    EBMUD (1163) requests takes of adult and juvenile, threatened, 
steelhead associated with fish population, migration, and spawning 
studies in the Mokelumne River within the CV steelhead ESU.
    FWS (1164) requests takes of adult and juvenile, endangered, 
steelhead associated with fish population, migration, and spawning 
studies throughout the SoCC steelhead ESU.
    USFS (1165) requests takes of adult and juvenile, endangered and 
threatened, steelhead associated with fish population, migration, and 
spawning studies in USFS jurisdictional waters within the SoCC and SCCC 
steelhead ESUs.
    USGS (1170) requests takes of adult and juvenile, threatened, 
steelhead, and adult and juvenile, endangered chinook salmon associated 
with fish population, migration, and spawning studies in the Sacramento 
River drainage within the CV steelhead and SaRWR chinook salmon ESUs.
    EnSci (1172) requests takes of adult and juvenile, threatened, 
steelhead associated with fish population studies in the Squaw Creek 
watershed within the CCC steelhead ESU.
    SRA (1077,1084) requests takes of adult and juvenile coho salmon 
for enhancement purposes at their Ten-mile River and Hollow Tree Creek 
hatcheries within the CCC coho salmon ESU.
    RCH (1078) requests takes of adult and juvenile coho salmon for 
enhancement purposes at their Rowdy Creek hatchery within the 
California portion of the SONCC coho salmon ESU.
    Annette Thompson (1171) requests minor takes of threatened 
steelhead eggs (n=1000) from areas that are unsuitable for successful 
reproduction, hatch/rear the fish in public school classrooms, and 
release the juveniles to their parent streams within the CCC steelhead 
ESU.
    MSG (1090) requests takes of adult and juvenile, threatened, coho 
salmon associated with fish population, migration, and spawning 
studies, and for enhancement purposes in the Mattole River drainages 
within the CCC coho salmon ESU.

Modifications Requested

    CalTrans requests modification 1 to permit 1041 for authorization 
to include takes of adult and juvenile, threatened, steelhead 
associated with fish population and habitat studies throughout the CCC 
and SCCC steelhead ESUs for the duration of the permit which expires on 
June 30, 2002.
    Michael Fawcett requests modification 1 to permit 1045 for 
authorization to include takes of adult and juvenile, threatened, 
steelhead associated with fish population and habitat studies 
throughout the CCC steelhead ESU for the duration of the permit which 
expires on June 30, 2002.
    NPS requests modification 1 to permit 1046 for authorization to 
include takes of adult and juvenile, threatened, steelhead associated 
with fish population and habitat studies in jurisdictional waters 
within the CCC steelhead ESU for the duration of the permit which 
expires on June 30, 2002.
    Amy Harris requests modification 1 to permit 1055 for authorization 
to include takes of adult and juvenile, threatened, steelhead 
associated with fish population and habitat studies in the Sacramento-
San Joaquin watershed within the CV steelhead ESU for the duration of 
the permit which expires on June 30, 1999.
    Carl Page requests modification 1 to permit 1059 for authorization 
to include takes of adult and juvenile, threatened, steelhead 
associated with fish population and habitat studies throughout the CCC 
and SCCC steelhead ESUs for the duration of the permit which expires on 
June 30, 2003.
    DWAA requests modification 1 to permit 1066 for authorization to 
include takes of adult and juvenile, endangered and threatened, 
steelhead associated with fish population and habitat studies 
throughout the SoCC, CCC and SCCC steelhead ESUs for the duration of 
the permit which expires on June 30, 2002.
    PCFFA requests modification 1 to permit 1075 for authorization to 
include takes of adult and juvenile, threatened coho salmon for 
enhancement purposes in Redwood Creek within the California portion of 
the SONCC coho salmon ESU for the duration of the permit which expires 
on June 30, 2003.
    Jerry Smith requests modification 1 to permit 1080 for 
authorization to include takes of adult and juvenile, threatened, 
steelhead associated with fish population and habitat studies 
throughout the CCC and SCCC steelhead ESUs for the duration of the 
permit which expires on June 30, 2002.
    Scott Cressey requests modification 1 to permit 1097 for 
authorization to include takes of adult and juvenile, threatened, 
steelhead associated with fish population and habitat studies 
throughout the CCC and SCCC steelhead ESUs for the duration of the 
permit which expires on June 30, 2003.
    CDFFP requests modification 2 to permit 1103 for authorization to 
include takes of adult and juvenile, threatened, steelhead associated 
with fish population and habitat studies throughout the CCC steelhead 
ESU for the duration of the permit which expires on June 30, 2002.
    HES requests modification 1 to permit 1105 for authorization to 
include takes of adult and juvenile, threatened, steelhead associated 
with fish population and habitat studies throughout the CCC and SCCC 
steelhead ESUs for the duration of the permit which expires on June 30, 
2003.

    Dated: October 1, 1998.
Kevin Collins,
Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected Resources, 
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 98-27056 Filed 10-7-98; 8:45 am]
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