[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 140 (Friday, July 20, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37949-37950]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-18206]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 071201B]


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.

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SUMMARY: NMFS has received applications for Endangered Species Act 
(ESA) scientific research permits from the Columbia River Inter-Tribal 
Fish Commission at Portland, OR (CRITFC); Oregon State University at 
Corvallis, OR (OSU); the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes at Fort Hall, ID 
(SBT); Gary Thorgaard of the School of Biological Sciences, Washington 
State University at Pullman, WA (WSU); the Thompson Creek Mining 
Company at Challis, ID (TCM); and has received an application from the 
Oregon Department of Environmental Quality at Portland, OR (ODEQ) for 
modification 1 to scientific research permit 1205.

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 August 20, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and requests for copies of the permit 
applications should be sent to Protected Resources Division (PRD), F/
NWO3, 525 NE Oregon Street, Suite 500, Portland, OR 97232-2737 (503/
230-5400). Comments may also be sent via fax to 503/230-5435. The 
documents are also available on the Internet at http://www.nwr.noaa.gov/. Comments will not be accepted if submitted via e-
mail or the Internet.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert Koch, Portland, OR, phone: 503-
230-5424, Fax: 503-230-5435, e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Species Covered in This Notice

    The following species and evolutionarily significant units (ESU's) 
are covered in this notice:
    Chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha): threatened, naturally produced and 
artificially propagated, Snake River (SnR) spring/summer; threatened 
SnR fall.
    Steelhead (O. mykiss): threatened SnR, threatened middle Columbia 
River (MCR).
    Sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka): endangered Snake River (SnR).

New Applications Received

    CRITFC requests a 5-year permit (1339) for annual takes of adult, 
threatened, SnR steelhead and adult, threatened, SnR spring/summer 
chinook salmon associated with scientific research to be conducted in 
the following tributaries of the Imnaha River in OR: Cow, Lightning, 
Horse, Big Sheep, Camp, Little Sheep, Freezeout, Grouse, Crazyman, and 
Gumboot Creeks. The purpose of the research is to acquire information 
on the status (escapement abundance, genetic structure, life history 
traits) of steelhead in the Imnaha River Basin. The research will 
benefit the ESA-listed species by providing information that fisheries 
managers can use to determine if recovery actions are increasing wild 
and natural Snake River salmonid populations. Establishing baseline 
information on steelhead population status in the Imnaha River Basin 
will aid in guiding future management actions. ESA-listed adult salmon 
and steelhead are proposed to be collected using temporary/portable 
picket weirs. Non-target species that are collected (chinook salmon) 
are proposed to be measured and released. ESA-listed adult steelhead 
that are collected are proposed to be sampled for biological 
information, sampled for fin tissues and scales, marked with opercular 
punches, tagged with Tyvek disc tags, and released or examined for 
opercular punches and Tyvek disc tags, sampled for biological 
information, and released. ESA-listed adult fish indirect mortalities 
associated with the research are also requested. ESA-listed adult fish 
carcasses are also proposed to be collected and sampled for tissues 
and/or scales and biological information.
    OSU requests a 1-year permit (1340) for takes of adult and 
juvenile, threatened, naturally produced and artificially propagated, 
SnR spring/summer chinook salmon; adult and juvenile, threatened, SnR 
steelhead; and adult and juvenile, threatened, MCR steelhead associated 
with research to be conducted in tributaries of the Imnaha River, the 
Snake River, Joseph Creek, the Grande Ronde River, and the John Day 
River in OR. The research is designed to determine how salmonid fishes 
respond to riparian diversity and how riparian diversity changes over 
time. The research will build a framework for designing riparian 
restoration programs in northeast

[[Page 37950]]

Oregon. The researchers will survey both in-stream and riparian zone 
characteristics where riparian litter, terrestrial insects, aquatic 
insects, and fish will be quantified. ESA-listed adult and juvenile 
salmon and steelhead are proposed to be observed/harassed during 
snorkel surveys. In addition, ESA-listed adult and juvenile steelhead 
are proposed to be captured with hook-and-line with barbless flies, 
sampled for biological information, sampled for stomach contents, and 
released. Any ESA-listed juvenile chinook salmon captured using hook-
and-line will be immediately released. ESA-listed fish indirect 
mortalities associated with the research are also requested.
    SBT requests a 5-year permit (1341) for annual takes of juvenile, 
endangered, SnR sockeye salmon associated with a study designed to 
evaluate the annual sockeye salmon smolt emigration from Pettit and 
Alturas Lakes in ID. The information is needed to estimate overwinter 
survival, downstream migration survival, and downstream migration 
timing. The research will also allow SBT researchers to evaluate 
various release strategies and to calculate smolt-to-adult return 
rates. The proposed research will benefit the species by providing 
managers with information on the relative success of the Pettit and 
Alturas Lakes sockeye salmon reintroduction program. The research will 
also provide information that resource managers can use to make 
decisions on future releases of sockeye salmon from the Idaho 
Department of Fish and Game's captive broodstock program in areas where 
sockeye salmon have been extirpated. Sockeye salmon smolts are proposed 
to be captured using a rotary screw trap on Alturas Lake Creek and a 
weir on Pettit Lake Creek. After being captured, the ESA-listed sockeye 
salmon juveniles are proposed to be sampled for biological information 
and released or tagged with passive integrated transponders and 
released. In addition, to determine trap efficiencies, a portion of the 
ESA-listed juvenile sockeye salmon to be captured are proposed to be 
marked with a small cut on the caudal fin, released upstream of the 
traps, captured at the traps a second time, inspected for the caudal 
fin mark, and released. Juvenile, threatened, naturally produced, SnR 
spring/summer chinook salmon are also proposed to be captured at the 
Alturas Lake location, sampled for biological information, and released 
during the research effort directed at sockeye salmon. ESA-listed 
juvenile fish indirect mortalities associated with the research are 
also requested. Takes of ESA-listed species associated with SBT's 
research activities were previously authorized under scientific 
research permit 998 which expired on December 31, 2000.
    Gary Thorgaard of the School of Biological Sciences, WSU requests a 
3-year permit (1342) for a research project involving the use of small 
quantities of sperm collected from adult, threatened, SnR spring/summer 
chinook salmon and adult, threatened, SnR steelhead. The objective of 
the research is to assess the impact of hatchery rearing on the genetic 
makeup of salmonid fishes, which may in turn influence their behavior, 
physiology, and ability to survive in nature. The research seeks to 
determine the extent to which wild and hatchery salmon and steelhead 
may differ in their behavioral and physiological responses. If 
differences are detected, it is possible that hatchery rearing methods 
could be adjusted to reduce those differences over time by altering 
selection patterns in the hatcheries. Hybrid fish are proposed to be 
produced in a laboratory setting using ESA-listed fish sperm and eggs 
acquired from non-listed hatchery fish. The hybrid fish are proposed to 
be reared to the parr life stage; subjected to standardized tests 
designed to analyze the behavioral, physiological, and genetic changes 
that occur during domestication; and euthanized at the completion of 
the experiment. The behavioral and physiological traits of the hybrid 
fish will then be compared to those of hatchery fish produced using the 
same eggs. Dr. Thorgaard proposes to acquire the ESA-listed fish sperm 
to be used for the experiment from Nez Perce Tribe biologists, who are 
authorized to collect male gametes from ESA-listed salmon and steelhead 
for cryopreservation purposes under a separate authorization issued to 
the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission.
    TCM requests a 5-year permit (1343) for annual takes of juvenile, 
threatened, naturally produced, SnR spring/summer chinook salmon and 
juvenile, threatened, SnR steelhead associated with research designed 
to monitor the aquatic fish populations in the Thompson Creek and Squaw 
Creek drainages in the vicinity of Thompson Creek Mine. Thompson Creek 
Mine is a large, open pit molybdenum mine operation located in the 
Salmon River subbasin, Custer County, Idaho. The mine currently 
discharges runoff into Thompson and Squaw Creeks, tributaries to the 
Salmon River. Annual biological monitoring is proposed to determine the 
effects of mine operations on the aquatic life in Thompson and Squaw 
Creeks. The monitoring is required by the Idaho Department of 
Environmental Quality and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 
under a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit. The 
biomonitoring project will benefit all aquatic species, including 
chinook salmon and steelhead, in that annual monitoring will detect any 
adverse impacts to the aquatic species as a result of mining 
operations. ESA-listed juvenile salmon and steelhead are proposed to be 
observed/harassed during snorkel surveys. ESA-listed juvenile fish are 
also proposed to be captured using electrofishing, sampled for 
biological information, and released. ESA-listed juvenile fish indirect 
mortalities associated with the research are also requested.

Modification Request Received

    ODEQ requests modification 1 to scientific research permit 1205. 
Permit 1205 authorizes ODEQ an annual take of juvenile, threatened, 
Southern Oregon/Northern California Coast coho salmon (Oncorhynchus 
kisutch) associated with research designed to assess the condition of 
randomly selected streams in southwestern Oregon. The research involves 
collecting samples or data on a range of parameters including benthic 
macroinvertebrates, periphyton, non-native and invasive riparian plant 
species, chemical water quality, bacteriological water quality, stream 
habitat condition, fish and amphibian assemblages, and water 
temperature. ODEQ's research is coordinated with the U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency and is mandated by the Clean Water Act. For 
modification 1, ODEQ requests annual takes of ESA-listed Snake River 
salmon and steelhead juveniles associated with an expansion of the 
research effort to the Snake River Basin. ESA-listed juvenile salmon 
and steelhead are proposed to be captured using electrofishing, 
examined, measured, and released. ESA-listed juvenile fish indirect 
mortalities are also requested. Modification 1 is requested to be valid 
for the duration of the permit which expires on December 31, 2002.

    Dated: July 16, 2001.
Phil Williams,
Acting Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 01-18206 Filed 7-19-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S