[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 50 (Friday, March 14, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12342-12343]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-6199]



[[Page 12342]]

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

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 031003F]


Endangered and Threatened Species; Take of Anadromous Fish

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

ACTION: Applications for scientific research permits (1140, 1156, 1205, 
1410) and permit modifications (1309, 1315).

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

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that NOAA Fisheries received four 
scientific research permit applications and two applications to modify 
existing permits related to Pacific salmon and steelhead. All of the 
proposed research is intended to increase knowledge of species listed 
under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and to help guide management and 
conservation efforts.

DATES: Comments or requests for a public hearing on the applications or 
modification requests must be received no later than 5 p.m. Pacific 
daylight savings time on April 14, 2003.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the applications or modification 
requests should be sent to Protected Resources Division, NOAA 
Fisheries, F/NWO3, 525 NE Oregon Street, Suite 500, Portland, OR 97232-
2737. 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: Garth Griffin, Portland, OR (ph: 503-
231-2005, Fax: 503-230-5435, e-mail: [email protected]). Permit 
applications are available at http://www.nwr.noaa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Species Covered in This Notice

    The following listed species and evolutionarily significant units 
(ESUs) are covered in this notice:
    Sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka): endangered Snake River (SnR); 
threatened Ozette Lake.
    Chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha): endangered naturally produced and 
artificially propagated upper Columbia River (UCR) spring-run; 
threatened naturally produced and artificially propagated SnR spring/
summer (S/S); threatened SnR fall; threatened lower Columbia River 
(LCR); threatened upper Willamette River (UWR); threatened naturally 
produced and artificially propagated Puget Sound.
    Chum salmon (O. keta): threatened Columbia River (CR); threatened 
Hood Canal summer-run.
    Steelhead (O. mykiss): endangered naturally produced and 
artificially propagated UCR; threatened SnR; threatened middle Columbia 
River (MCR); threatened LCR.

Authority

    Scientific research permits are issued in accordance with section 
10(a)(1)(A) of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1531 et. seq) and Federal regulations 
governing listed fish and wildlife permits (50CFR 222-226). NOAA 
Fisheries issues permits and modifications based on findings that such 
permits and modifications: (1) are applied for in good faith; (2) if 
granted and exercised, would not operate to the disadvantage of the 
listed species that are the subject of the permit; and (3) are 
consistent with the purposes and policy of section 2 of the ESA. 
Authority to take listed species is subject to conditions set forth in 
the permits and modifications.
    Anyone requesting a hearing on an permit or modification 
application listed in this document should set out the specific reasons 
why a hearing would be appropriate (see ADDRESSES). The holding of such 
hearing is at the discretion of the Assistant Administrator for 
Fisheries, NOAA.

Permit Applications Received

Permit 1140

    The Northwest Fisheries Science Center (NWFSC), NOAA Fisheries in 
Seattle, WA requests a 5-year permit for three studies that will have 
annual take of juvenile threatened OC coho salmon; juvenile threatened 
CR chum salmon; juvenile endangered SnR sockeye salmon; juvenile 
threatened naturally produced and artificially-propagated SnR S/S 
chinook salmon; juvenile threatened SnR fall chinook salmon; juvenile 
threatened LCR chinook salmon; juvenile threatened UWR chinook salmon; 
juvenile endangered naturally produced and artificially propagated UCR 
spring chinook salmon; juvenile threatened naturally produced and 
artificially propagated PS chinook salmon; juvenile threatened SnR 
steelhead; juvenile threatened LCR steelhead; juvenile threatened MCR 
steelhead; juvenile endangered naturally produced and artificially 
propagated UCR steelhead; and juvenile threatened UWR steelhead.
    Study 1. The NWFSC would take listed juvenile salmon and steelhead 
while conducting research that will assess the relationship between 
environmental variables, selected anthropogenic stresses, and bacterial 
and parasitic pathogens on disease-induced mortality in juvenile salmon 
in selected coastal estuaries and nearshore areas in Oregon and 
Washington. In addition, the NWFSC proposes to gather additional site-
specific information in the Lower Columbia River to (1) determine 
contaminant concentrations in fish, (2) understand bioaccumulation in 
juvenile salmon and determine site-specific factors, (3) analyze for 
the presence of physiological biomarkers, and to (4) investigate the 
presence of indicators of exposure to environmental estrogens. The 
NWFSC would collect samples with seines or high speed rope trawls, and 
requests authorization to lethally take salmon for pathogen prevalence 
and intensity, biochemical composition, histopathological attributes, 
and stomach content analyses.
    Study 2. The NWFSC would take listed juvenile PS chinook salmon 
while conducting research activities in the Duwamish waterway in the 
state of Washington. The NWFSC will investigate salmon exposure to 
contaminants and evaluate the extent of river contamination to 
determine what actions will be necessary to mitigate future exposure. 
Beach seines will be used to catch juvenile threatened PS chinook 
salmon. The NWFSC also would collect samples with high speed rope 
trawls and it requests authorization to lethally take salmon for 
contaminant analysis.
    Study 3. The NWFSC would take juvenile PS chinook salmon associated 
with an assessment and monitoring program designed to (1) characterize 
the estuarine ecology of existing life history types of chinook salmon, 
(2) evaluate the performance of estuarine habitat restoration actions, 
and (3) evaluate the effects of shoreline alterations on nearshore 
fishes. Sampling will occur in Seattle, WA estuarine nearshore areas. 
The NWFSC would collect listed salmon with beach seines, enclosure 
nets, surface trawl nets, and block/fyke nets, sample the fish for 
biological data and stomach contents using non-lethal evacuation, and 
then release them. In addition, the NWFSC requests authorization to 
lethally take salmon for histopathological attributes and otolith 
stomach content analyses.

Permit 1156

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in Corvallis, Oregon 
(OR) requests a 5-year permit for annual take of juvenile and adult 
threatened LCR steelhead; threatened MCR steelhead; endangered 
naturally-produced and artificially propagated UCR steelhead;

[[Page 12343]]

threatened SnR steelhead; threatened UWR steelhead; threatened SnR (S/
S) chinook salmon; threatened SnR fall chinook salmon; threatened LCR 
chinook salmon; threatened UWR chinook salmon; endangered naturally 
produced and artificially propagated UCR spring chinook salmon; 
threatened naturally produced and artificially propagated PS chinook 
salmon; threatened OC coho salmon; and threatened SONCC coho salmon 
associated with research designed to assess species status and trends 
in randomly selected river systems in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. 
The EPA intends to conduct annual surveys for fish, macroinvertebrate, 
algae, and microbial assemblages as well as physical and chemical 
habitat conditions in randomly selected river-systems in Oregon, 
Washington, and Idaho. Listed fish will be captured by electrofishing 
(using backpack or raft-mounted gear), sampled for biological 
information, and released. The research will benefit the listed species 
by providing baseline information about water quality in the study 
areas and will also support enforcement of the Clean Water Act in those 
river systems where listed fish are present. Dynamac Corporation, U.S. 
Geological Survey Biological Resources Division, Idaho Department of 
Environmental Quality, and Washington Department of Ecology will be 
cooperators in the proposed EPA research. The EPA requests the 
cooperators' biologists be authorized as agents of the EPA in 
conducting the research.

Permit 1205

    The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (ODEQ) in Portland, 
OR requests a 5-year permit for annual take of juvenile threatened SnR 
(S/S) chinook salmon; SnR fall chinook salmon; and SONCC coho salmon 
associated with research designed to assess the condition of randomly 
selected streams in Southwestern and Northeastern Oregon. The research 
involves stream vertebrate surveys that are part of a monitoring 
program that evaluates the chemical, biological, and habitat conditions 
of streams on a regional basis. ODEQ's research implements the Oregon 
Plan and is coordinated with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife 
and the EPA. ODEQ would capture listed juvenile salmonids using 
backpack electrofishing, sample them for biological information, and 
release them. The research will benefit the listed species by providing 
baseline information to support enforcement of the Clean Water Act in 
freshwater river systems where listed fish are present.

Permit 1410

    The NNWFSC in Seattle, WA requests a 5-year permit for annual take 
of adult and juvenile listed fish. The NWFSC proposes to investigate 
the distribution, abundance, condition and health of juvenile salmon in 
relation to physical and biological oceanographic conditions in the 
Columbia River plume and surrounding ocean environment to better 
understand factors controlling estuarine and marine survival. The study 
will provide information to help predict and forecast survival 
potential as a function of easily measured indices of plume and ocean 
conditions. Further, the information will help hydropower operators 
develop a set of hydropower management scenarios that could benefit 
survival, growth, and health of juvenile salmon by changing the 
dynamics of the Columbia River plume. Listed fish will be collected 
with purse seines and trawl nets, sampled for biological data, and 
released. The NWFSC also requests authorization to lethally take salmon 
for endocrine assessments, genetic stock identification, pathogen 
prevalence and intensity, otolith and stomach content analysis, and 
histopathological attributes.

Modification Requests

Permit 1309-Modification 2

    The King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks (KCDNRP) 
in Seattle, WA requests a modification to permit 1309 for increased 
annual take of juvenile threatened naturally produced PS chinook salmon 
associated with its current study examining the behavior of juvenile 
chinook and other salmonids in the Green and Duwamish Rivers and 
adjacent nearshore areas in the State of Washington. The study will 
provide information about natural chinook salmon growth, timing of 
migration, feeding, life history types and interactions with hatchery 
salmon. Resource managers will use the information to take short-term 
conservation measures as well as to establish a baseline to gauge the 
long-term effectiveness of ESA recovery actions. In addition, the KCDNR 
requests authorization to lethally take PS chinook salmon for otolith 
and diet analysis and to capture listed fish using a screw trap.

Permit 1315-Modification 2

    The U.S. Army Corp of Engineers Seattle District (COE) requests a 
modification to permit 1315, which authorizes annual take of PS chinook 
salmon under several studies. The COE is proposing to micro-acoustic 
tag naturally produced PS chinook salmon associated with an ongoing 
investigation of fish passage conditions at the large lock chamber of 
the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks and Lake Washington Ship Canal in the 
State of Washington. The study will identify effects on salmonids in 
the Lake Washington Basin and help researchers (1) identify limiting 
factors contributing to smolt survival, (2) develop smolt survival 
estimates, and (3) assess restoration measures to improve smolt 
survival.
    Further, the COE is requesting annual take of juvenile naturally 
produced PS chinook salmon associated with a new study which will 
provide it and the city of Seattle with information on salmonid 
nearshore habitat use in Lake Washington and the Lake Washington Ship 
Canal. The information will help (1) determine the relationship between 
habitat use and shoreline development, (2) guide the city's habitat 
restoration efforts to improve habitat conditions, (3) help predict the 
effects of modifications to salmonid habitat, and (4) and aid Lake 
Washington area municipalities with their shoreline management 
programs. Listed fish would be captured by beach seine, anesthetized, 
sampled for biological information and stomach contents using non-
lethal evacuation, tagged/marked, and released.
    This notice is provided pursuant to section 10(c) of the ESA. NOAA 
Fisheries will evaluate the applications and modification requests, 
associated documents, and any comments submitted to determine whether 
the applications and modification requests meet the requirements of 
section 10(a) of the ESA and Federal regulations. NOAA will not make 
any final determinations until after the end of the 30-day comment 
period. NOAA Fisheries will publish notice of its final action in the 
Federal Register.

    Dated: March 11, 2003.
Barbara Schroeder,
Acting Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 03-6199 Filed 3-13-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S