[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 92 (Thursday, May 11, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30391-30393]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-11875]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 042700B]


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/enhancement 
permit

[[Page 30392]]

(1250) and receipt of an application to modify a permit (1048).

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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 the Columbia River 
Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (CRITFC) at Portland, OR (1250); and NMFS 
has received an application for permit modifications from the Sonoma 
County Water Agency (SCWA) in Santa Rosa, CA (1048).

DATES: Comments or requests for a public hearing on either the new 
application or modification request must be received at the appropriate 
address or fax number (see ADDRESSES) no later than 5:00 p.m. Pacific 
daylight time on June 12, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on either the new application or 
modification request should be sent to the appropriate office as 
indicated below. Comments may also be sent via fax to the number 
indicated for the 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 permit 1250: 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).
    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 1048: Dan Logan, Protected 
Resources Division, Santa Rosa, CA (ph: 707-575-6053, fax: 707-578-
3435, e-mail: [email protected]).
    For permit 1250: Herbert Pollard, Boise, ID (ph: 208-378-5614, fax: 
208-378-5699, 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 a 
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.
    Coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch): threatened Central California 
Coast (CCC).
    Sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka): endangered SnR.
    Steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss): threatened CCC, threatened SnR.
    To date, protective regulations for threatened SnR steelhead under 
section 4(d) of the ESA have not been promulgated by NMFS. Protective 
regulations are currently proposed for threatened CCC and SnR 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 CCC or SnR steelhead, does not 
presuppose the contents of the eventual final protective regulations.

New Application Received

    CRITFC (1250) requests a 5-year permit that would authorize annual 
takes of adult and juvenile naturally produced and artificially 
propagated SnR spring/summer chinook salmon associated with a hatchery 
supplementation program at Johnson Creek (JoCr), a tributary of the 
South Fork Salmon River in Idaho. The primary goal of CRITFC's proposed 
hatchery supplementation program is to forestall the extinction of the 
summer chinook salmon population in JoCr and to avoid further losses of 
the genetic variation that may be necessary to recover the stock. The 
objectives of CRITFC's program are to: (1) Establish an annual supply 
of chinook salmon broodstock capable of meeting annual supplementation 
production criteria, (2) maintain and restore natural spawning 
populations of chinook salmon in JoCr, (3) increase the species' 
chances for long-term survival by supplementing the natural production 
of chinook salmon in JoCr with hatchery-produced fish, (4) increase 
nutrient enrichment in JoCr, and (5) ultimately reestablish sport and 
tribal fisheries for chinook salmon in the Salmon River Basin. ESA-
listed adult chinook salmon that return to the watershed each year are 
proposed to be captured at the JoCr weir, anesthetized, marked with 
external identifiers, and maintained in holding ponds for up to 24 
hours. CRITFC proposes to retain a percentage of the ESA-listed adult 
chinook salmon that return to the weir each year for hatchery 
broodstock and to release all of the ESA-listed adult chinook salmon 
not retained for broodstock above the weir to spawn naturally. ESA-
listed adult chinook salmon retained for broodstock are proposed to be 
transferred to adult holding ponds at the Idaho Department of Fish and 
Game's McCall Fish Hatchery or adjacent to the JoCr weir, inoculated 
for diseases, and spawned. The resulting progeny are proposed to be 
reared in the hatchery, tagged and/or marked with identifiers (coded 
wires, visual implant elastomer tags, passive integrated transponders), 
and released as smolts in the JoCr watershed where they will be allowed 
to acclimate prior to their volitional emigration to the ocean. Annual 
incidental takes of SnR sockeye salmon, SnR fall chinook salmon, and 
SnR steelhead associated with annual releases of juvenile fish from the 
program are also requested.

Modification Request Received

    SCWA requests a modification to permit 1048 for takes of adult and 
juvenile CCC steelhead associated with population studies, carcass 
counts, redd surveys, genetic analyses, and habitat quality evaluation. 
SCWA proposed to develop and implement a monitoring program to identify 
long-term population trends and stock size estimates that can be used 
to assist in the restoration of salmonid populations in the Russian 
River basin. Presently, permit 1048 authorizes intentional takes of 
adult and juvenile CCC coho salmon for projects within the Russian 
River basin. This requested modification

[[Page 30393]]

would add intentional takes of adult and juvenile CCC steelhead to the 
SCWA permit.

    Dated: May 3, 2000.
Wanda L. Cain,
Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected Resources, 
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 00-11875 Filed 5-10-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F