[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 110 (Thursday, June 7, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30704-30705]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-14405]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 052901A]


Endangered and Threatened Species; Take of Anadromous Fish

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

ACTION: Receipt of applications for scientific research permits (1317, 
1318, 1319, 1320, and 1321) and receipt of an application to modify 
permit (1175).

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SUMMARY: NMFS has received new applications for permits for takes of 
threatened species for the purposes of scientific research and/or 
enhancement under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) from the Biological 
Services Division of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in Cook, WA; the 
Fish Division of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) in 
Portland, OR; Georgia-Pacific West (GPW) in Bellingham, WA; the town of 
Marysville, WA; and Mr. Kenneth Witty, a fisheries consultant from 
Enterprise, OR, working on a project for the U.S. Bureau of 
Reclamation. In addition, the Gifford Pinchot National Forest (GPNF), 
in Vancouver WA, is seeking to modify a previous permit (1175) that 
NMFS originally granted in 1998.

DATES: Comments or requests for a public hearing on any of the new 
applications or the modification request must be received no later than 
5 p.m. Pacific daylight time on July 9, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the new applications or the modification 
request should be sent to Protected Resources Division (PRD), F/NWO3, 
525 NE Oregon Street, Suite 500, Portland, OR 97232-2737 (phone: 503-
230-5400). Comments may also be sent via fax to 503-230-5435. Comments 
will not be accepted if submitted via e-mail or the Internet.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rob Clapp, Portland, OR at phone: 503-
231-2314, Fax: 503-230-5435, e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The following ESA-listed species and 
evolutionarily significant units (ESUs) are covered in this notice:
    Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha): Threatened Lower 
Columbia River (LCR); Threatened Upper Willamette River (UWR); and 
Threatened Puget Sound (PS).
    Chum Salmon (O. nerka): Threatened Columbia River (CR).
    Coho salmon (O. kisutch): Threatened Oregon Coast (OC).
    Steelhead (O. mykiss): Threatened LCR; Threatened Middle Columbia 
River (MCR); and Threatened UWR.

New Applications Received

    The USGS is seeking a 5-year permit (1317) to take (capture and 
handle) juvenile MCR steelhead during scientific research efforts on 
the Toppenish National Wildlife Refuge (TNWR), Toppenish Creek, WA. 
Toppenish Creek is a tributary of the Yakima River. The purpose of the 
study is to determine whether juvenile MCR steelhead are entering the 
TNWR's wetland management units during the spring flooding of Toppenish 
creek and becoming trapped there-thus becoming vulnerable to avian 
predators, high summer water temperatures, and stranding. The study 
will benefit MCR steelhead by showing whether they are straying into 
the wetland management units and managing to escape back to Toppenish 
Creek to continue their downstream migration. If the juvenile MCR 
steelhead are being trapped in the management units by falling water 
levels, the study will also be used to help guide TNWR operations so 
that the fish are less likely to be harmed in the future. The USGS 
proposes to capture, handle, and release juvenile MCR steelhead. Baited 
minnow traps will be the primary capture method, but fyke nets or 
electrofishing may be used if the traps are not successful.
    The ODFW is seeking a 5-year permit (1318) to annually take LCR 
chinook salmon, UWR chinook salmon, Oregon Coast coho salmon, LCR 
steelhead, and UWR steelhead during the course of conducting five 
separate scientific research projects. Only juveniles will be taken in 
these projects-except for

[[Page 30705]]

Project 3, for which the ODFW is requesting a permit to handle and 
release up to five adult MCR steelhead.
    Project 1. The purpose of Project 1 is to determine the effects 
that bank treatment and near-shore development have on anadromous and 
resident fish in the lower Willamette River. The ODFW proposes to 
capture, handle, and release juvenile LCR and UWR chinook salmon. These 
fish will be captured with beach seines and (possibly) by mid-water 
trawls, gill nets, and boat electrofishing. The ODFW requests a permit 
for a small amount of indirect mortality that may be associated with 
these activities. The project will benefit listed salmon by providing 
new information on the lower Willamette River ecosystem which, in turn, 
will help guide future waterway management and development in the 
Willamette and other river basins.
    Project 2. The purpose of Project 2 is to determine trends in 
warmwater fish communities and answer long-term management questions 
for warmwater species statewide. The ODFW requests permission to 
capture, handle, and release juvenile LCR and UWR chinook, juvenile UWR 
and LCR steelhead, and juvenile OC coho while conducting boat 
electrofishing transects in warm- and backwater habitats. The ODFW 
requests a permit for a small amount of indirect mortality that may be 
associated with these activities. The project will benefit listed 
salmonids by providing information on fish population structures and 
species interactions that will be used to design and implement 
management actions that conserve and protect listed species.
    Project 3. The purpose of Project 3 is to estimate population 
numbers and record individual fish metrics among redband trout in the 
Deschutes River, OR. The ODFW requests permission to capture, handle 
and release juvenile and adult MCR steelhead while conducting boat 
electrofishing transects for redband trout in the Deschutes River. The 
ODFW requests a permit for a small amount of indirect juvenile 
mortality that may be associated with these activities. They are also 
seeking a permit that would allow them a small amount of annual 
incidental-and non-lethal-take of adult MCR steelhead. The project will 
benefit listed salmonids by helping assess the health of the fish 
community in the lower 100 miles of the Deschutes River and by helping 
managers determine if fluctuations in local anadromous fish populations 
are the result of mortality occurring during the freshwater stages of 
their life cycles.
    Project 4. The purpose of Project 4 is to determine whether spring 
chinook salmon are naturally reproducing in the Mohawk River system (a 
tributary to the McKenzie River). The ODFW requests permission to 
capture, handle and release juvenile UWR chinook while conducting boat 
electrofishing transects and, possibly, seining and backpack 
electrofising in the Mohawk River. The ODFW requests a permit for a 
small amount of indirect mortality that may be associated with these 
activities. The project will benefit listed salmonids by determining if 
naturally-reproducing populations of chinook have been reestablished in 
the area-thus allowing managers to take them into account in future 
decisions.
    Project 5. The purpose of Project 5 is to conduct a genetic 
characterization of rainbow trout in the McKenzie River-a tributary to 
the UWR. The ODFW requests permission to capture, handle, and release 
juvenile UWR chinook while conducting boat electrofishing transects for 
rainbow trout on the McKenzie River. The ODFW requests a permit for a 
small amount of indirect mortality that may be associated with these 
activities. The project will benefit listed salmon by helping document 
the distribution, abundance, and condition of UWR chinook.
    GPW is seeking a 5-year permit (1319) to annually take juvenile, 
naturally produced and artificially propagated PS chinook salmon 
associated with scientific research to be conducted at a log pond 
located at the mouth of the Whatcom Waterway. The purpose of this study 
is to monitor the biological effectiveness of a sediment cap placed 
over the surface of the log pond. GPW proposes to capture (using beach 
seines), handle, and release juvenile PS chinook salmon. GPW also 
requests a permit for a small amount of indirect mortality that may be 
associated with the study. The research will benefit listed species by 
yielding information that mangers will use to determine if the cap 
placement helps habitat recovery.
    The City of Marysville, WA, is seeking a 3-year permit (1320) to 
annually take juvenile, naturally produced and artificially propagated 
PS chinook salmon associated with scientific research to be conducted 
in a 13-acre intertidal wetland created in the Snohomish River estuary. 
The purpose of this study is to monitor the wetland's effectiveness as 
estuarine habitat for salmonids and other fish species and determine 
its overall functional value. The City of Marysville proposes to 
capture (using beach seines and dip nets), handle, and release juvenile 
PS chinook salmon. The research will benefit PS chinook by yielding 
information that will help determine the value of this type of habitat 
restoration.
    Mr. Kenneth Witty is seeking a 5-year permit to annually take 
threatened MCR juvenile steelhead during the course of scientific 
research in the Yakima River basin in Washington State. Mr. Witty 
proposes to capture (using backpack electrofishing equipment), handle, 
tag, and release juvenile MCR steelhead. The purpose of the research is 
to study fish communities in the irrigation drainage networks of the 
lower Yakima River basin and determine-among other pieces of 
information-the extent to which threatened steelhead inhabit those 
networks. Mr. Witty also requests that the permit allow a small amount 
of indirect juvenile steelhead mortality that may be associated with 
these activities. The research will benefit threatened MCR steelhead by 
giving Federal managers data on where the fish are in the Yakima basin 
irrigation system-thus helping them make decisions about how to run the 
system in a way that conserves the species.

Modification Requests Received

    In 1998, NMFS issued a 5-year permit (1175) to the GPNF that 
authorized takes of adult and juvenile LCR steelhead for the purpose of 
scientific research. NMFS has received a request to amend the 
application by allowing adult and juvenile LCR chinook salmon, 
juvenile, naturally produced and artificially propagated PS chinook 
salmon, and adult CR chum salmon to be taken. The adult fish would 
simply be observed; the juvenile fish would be captured, handled, and 
released. The GPNF also requests that the permit allow a small amount 
of indirect juvenile LCR and PS chinook salmon mortality that may be 
associated with research activities. The purpose of the research is to 
conduct fish distribution and habitat quality surveys across the GPNF 
and evaluate the biological benefits of habitat improvement projects. 
The research will benefit listed species by yielding information that 
will be used in broad-scale analyses and project level planning to 
protect high-value habitat and restore degraded habitat.

    Dated: June 1, 2001.
Phil Williams,
Acting Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 01-14405 Filed 6-6-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S