[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 76 (Wednesday, April 19, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20954-20956]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-9845]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 041300B]


Endangered Species; Permits

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

ACTION: Receipt of an application for a scientific research permit 
(1249); receipt of applications to modify permits (1115, 1156, 1193); 
and issuance of modifications to an existing permit (1048).

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given of the following actions regarding 
permits for takes of endangered and threatened species for the purposes 
of scientific research and/or enhancement:
    NMFS has received a permit application from Mr. E.P. Taft, of Alden 
Research Laboratory (ALR) (1249); NMFS has received applications for 
permit modifications from: Chelan County Public Utility District No. 1 
at Wenatchee, WA (CCPUD)(1115), the U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency at Corvallis, OR (EPA)(1156), and the Fish Passage Center at 
Portland, OR (FPC)(1193); and NMFS has issued modifications to a 
scientific research permit to the Sonoma County Water Agency (SCWA) 
(1048).

DATES: Comments or requests for a public hearing on any of the new 
applications or modification requests must be received at the 
appropriate address or fax number (see ADDRESSES) no later than 5 p.m. 
eastern daylight time on May 19, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the new application or any of the new 
modification requests should be sent to the appropriate office as 
indicated below. Comments may also be sent via fax to the number 
indicated for the application or modification request. Comments will 
not be accepted if submitted via e-mail or the internet. The 
applications and related documents are available for review in the 
indicated office, by appointment:
    For permits 1115, 1156, 1193: Protected Resources Division, F/NWO3, 
525 NE Oregon Street, Suite 500, Portland, OR 97232-2737 (ph: 503-230-
5400, fax: 503-230-5435).
    For permit 1048: Protected Species Division, NMFS, 777 Sonoma 
Avenue, Room 325, Santa Rosa, CA 95404-6528 (ph: 707-575-6066, fax: 
707-578-3435).
    For permit 1249: Office of Protected Resources, Endangered Species 
Division, F/PR3, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910 (ph: 
301-713-1401, fax: 301-713-0376).
    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:
    For permit 1249: Terri Jordan, Silver Spring, MD (ph: 301-713-1401, 
fax: 301-713-0376, e-mail: [email protected]).

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    For permit 1048: Dan Logan, Protected Resources Division, Santa 
Rosa, CA (ph: 707-575-6053, fax: 707-578-3435, e-mail: 
[email protected]).
    For permits 1156, 1193: Leslie Schaeffer, Portland, OR (ph: 503-
230-5433, fax: 503-230-5435, e-mail: [email protected]).
    For permit 1115: Robert Koch, Portland, OR (ph: 503-230-5424, fax: 
503-230-5435, e-mail: [email protected]).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Authority

    Issuance of permits and permit modifications, as required by the 
Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531-1543) (ESA), is based on 
a finding that such permits/modifications: (1) Are applied for in good 
faith; (2) would not operate to the disadvantage of the listed species 
which are the subject of the permits; and (3) are consistent with the 
purposes and policies set forth in section 2 of the ESA. Authority to 
take listed species is subject to conditions set forth in the permits. 
Permits and modifications are issued in accordance with and are subject 
to the ESA and NMFS regulations governing listed fish and wildlife 
permits (50 CFR parts 222-226).
    Those individuals requesting a hearing on an application listed in 
this notice should set out the specific reasons why a hearing on that 
application would be appropriate (see ADDRESSES). The holding of such 
hearing is at the discretion of the Assistant Administrator for 
Fisheries, NOAA. All statements and opinions contained in the permit 
action summaries are those of the applicant and do not necessarily 
reflect the views of NMFS.

Species Covered in This Notice

    The following species, evolutionarily significant units (ESU's), 
and runs are covered in this notice:
    Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha): threatened Snake River 
(SnR) spring/summer, threatened SnR fall, endangered upper Columbia 
River (UCR) spring, threatened Puget Sound (PS), threatened Upper 
Willamette River (UWR), threatened Lower Columbia River (LCR).
    Coho salmon (O. kisutch): threatened Southern Oregon/Northern 
California Coast (SONCC), threatened Central California Coast (CCC).
    Sockeye salmon (O. nerka): endangered SnR.
    Steelhead (O. mykiss): endangered UCR, threatened middle Columbia 
River (MCR), threatened SnR, threatened LCR.
    Shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum).
    To date, final protective regulations for threatened PS, UWR, and 
LCR chinook salmon and SnR, MCR, and LCR steelhead under section 4(d) 
of the ESA have not been promulgated by NMFS. Protective regulations 
are currently proposed for PS, UWR, and LCR chinook salmon (65 FR 169, 
January 3, 2000) and SnR, MCR, and LCR steelhead (64 FR 73479, December 
30, 1999). This notice of receipt of applications requesting takes of 
these species is issued as a precaution in the event that NMFS issues 
final protective regulations. The initiation of a 30-day public comment 
period on the applications, including their proposed takes of PS, UWR, 
and LCR chinook salmon and SnR, MCR, and LCR steelhead does not 
presuppose the contents of the eventual final protective regulations.

New Application Received

    ARL (1249) requested a 2-year permit to take a maximum of 200 1+ yr 
captively bred shortnose sturgeon from the Conte Anadromous Fish 
Research Center to conduct applied fish passage facility research and 
development, with the intent of identifying what fish passage design 
and operating conditions are necessary to maximize biological 
effectiveness of shortnose sturgeon diversion around dams in the 
Connecticut and Santee-Cooper River systems.

Modification Requests Received

    CCPUD requests a modification to permit 1115, which authorizes 
annual takes of adult and juvenile naturally produced and artificially 
propagated UCR spring chinook salmon and adult and juvenile naturally 
produced and artificially propagated UCR steelhead associated with six 
fish passage studies at Rocky Reach Dam, Rock Island Dam, and the Lake 
Chelan hydroelectric project on the Columbia River. The goals of the 
research are: (1) to evaluate the juvenile fish bypass systems at the 
mainstem river dams, (2) to monitor juvenile fish gas bubble trauma at 
the dams, (3) to develop operational measures that will enhance adult 
steelhead passage survival at the dams, (4) to evaluate new acoustic 
tagging technology used to monitor the behavior of juvenile salmonids 
as they migrate through passage facilities at Rocky Reach Dam, (5) to 
use passive integrated transponder (PIT) and radio tagging technology 
to assess the survival of juvenile salmonids at the dams, and (6) to 
determine the types and numbers of adult salmonids that may be present 
in the Lake Chelan bypass reach after spill at the Lake Chelan 
hydroelectric project is curtailed. Results from the research will be 
used to improve the operation of fish passage facilities at the dams, 
determine how fish are affected by gas bubbles and what can be done to 
minimize gas bubble trauma, evaluate the relative benefits of PIT and 
radio tagging technologies, and identify a mitigation strategy to 
protect anadromous fish that may become stranded in the Lake Chelan 
bypass reach after spill is curtailed. For the modification, CCPUD 
requests an increase in the annual takes of juvenile naturally produced 
and artificially propagated UCR spring chinook salmon and juvenile 
naturally produced UCR steelhead associated with Studies 1, 2, 4, and 
5. Associated increases in ESA-listed juvenile fish indirect 
mortalities are also requested. The modification is requested to be 
valid for the duration of permit 1115, which expires on December 31, 
2002.
    On April 7, 2000, NMFS published a notice in the Federal Register 
(65 FR 18310) that an application had been received from EPA for a 
modification request to permit 1156. For the modification EPA had 
requested an annual take of juvenile naturally produced and 
artificially propagated UCR spring chinook salmon, juvenile naturally 
produced and artificially propagated PS chinook salmon, juvenile UWR 
chinook salmon, juvenile SnR steelhead, juvenile naturally produced and 
artificially propagated UCR steelhead, juvenile MCR steelhead, and 
juvenile LCR steelhead associated with research designed to collect 
data to enforce the Clean Water Act in the Pacific Northwest. NMFS has 
received an amendment of EPA's application for a modification to permit 
1156. In the application amendment, EPA requests an annual take of LCR 
chinook salmon associated with the research. The additional species is 
requested because an additional sampling location has been added to the 
research to accommodate and coordinate with the Regional Environmental 
Monitoring and Assessment Program in the Cascades Ecoregion. The ESA-
listed fish are proposed to be captured using electrofishing, examined, 
and released. The modification as amended is requested to be valid for 
the duration of the permit, which expires on December 31, 2002.
    FPC requests a modification to permit 1193, which authorizes annual 
takes of juvenile SnR sockeye salmon, juvenile SnR fall chinook salmon, 
juvenile naturally produced and artificially propagated SnR spring 
chinook salmon,

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juvenile naturally produced and artificially propagated UCR spring 
chinook salmon, and juvenile naturally produced and artificially 
propagated UCR steelhead associated with FPC's Smolt Monitoring Program 
at the hydropower dams on the Snake and Columbia Rivers in the Pacific 
Northwest. For the modification, FPC requests annual takes of juvenile 
MCR steelhead and juvenile LCR chinook salmon and an increase in the 
annual takes of juvenile SnR fall chinook salmon and juvenile naturally 
produced and artificially propagated SnR spring/summer chinook salmon 
associated with the research. The increased take is requested because a 
larger than anticipated outmigration run of these ESA-listed species is 
estimated in 2000 and to provide a sufficient number of tagged fish to 
develop statistically significant survival estimates. Tagged fish are 
proposed to be used to provide information relative to fish migration 
timing through the Columbia Basin hydrosystem. ESA-listed juvenile fish 
are proposed to be captured, handled (examined and/or PIT tagged), and 
released. Associated increases in ESA-listed juvenile fish indirect 
mortalities are also requested. The modification is requested to be 
valid for the duration of permit 1193, which expires on December 31, 
2003.

Permit Modification Issued

    Notice was published on March 25, 1999 (64 FR 14432), that SCWA had 
applied for a modification to permit 1048 to take threatened Central 
California Coast coho salmon. Modification 1 to Permit 1048 was issued 
on April 5, 2000, and authorizes an increase in annual intentional take 
of adult, juvenile, and carcasses of threatened CCC coho salmon 
associated with fish population and habitat studies within the Russian 
River basin of the CCC coho salmon ESU. The scientific research 
consists of five assessment tasks for which ESA-listed fish will be 
taken: (1) Population trend estimates, (2) carcass counts, (3) redd 
surveys, (4) acquisition of tissue and scale samples for genetic 
analysis; and (5) habitat quality evaluation. A corresponding increase 
in unintentional mortalities is in ESA-listed adult and juvenile salmon 
is authorized. Modification 1 is valid for the duration of permit 1048, 
which expires June 30, 2002.

    Dated: April 13, 2000.
Craig Johnson,
Acting Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 00-9845 Filed 4-18-00; 8:45 am]
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