[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 30 (Friday, February 13, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7205-7206]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-3280]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 020404A]


Endangered and Threatened Species; Take of Anadromous Fish

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

ACTION: Applications for four scientific research permits and two 
permit modifications.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that NMFS has received four permit 
applications and two applications to modify existing scientific 
research permits relating 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 at the appropriate address or 
fax number (see ADDRESSES) no later than 5 p.m. Pacific daylight-saving 
time on March 15, 2004.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the applications or modification 
requests should be sent to Protected Resources Division, NMFS, F/NWO3, 
525 NE Oregon Street, Suite 500, Portland, OR 97232-2737. Comments may 
also be sent via fax to (503) 230-5435. E-mail comments may be 
submitted via the Internet to [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Garth Griffin, Portland, OR ph.: (503) 
231-2005, Fax: (503) 230-5435, e-mail: [email protected]. Permit 
application instructions 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 (SR), 
threatened Ozette Lake.
    Chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha): endangered natural and 
artificially propagated upper Columbia River (UCR); threatened natural 
and artificially propagated SR spring/summer; threatened SR fall; 
threatened lower Columbia River (LCR); threatened artificially produced 
Puget Sound (PS); threatened upper Willamette River (UWR).
    Chum salmon (O. keta): threatened Columbia River (CR).
    Steelhead (O. mykiss): threatened SR; threatened middle Columbia 
River (MCR); endangered UCR.
    Coho Salmon (O. kisutch): threatened Oregon coast (OC); threatened 
Southern Oregon/Northern California Coast (SONCC).

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 regulations 
governing listed fish and wildlife permits (50 CFR 222-226). NMFS 
issues permits/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. The authority to take 
listed species is subject to conditions set forth in the permits.
    Anyone 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.

Permit Applications Received

Permit 1152 Modification 1

    The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) is asking to 
modify Permit 1152 to take into account changes in take levels and to 
include take for salmonid rescue and salvage activities. The permit 
currently covers six projects that, among them, annually take juvenile 
and adult threatened SR spring/summer chinook salmon and adult and 
juvenile threatened SR steelhead in Northeast OR. They are: Project 1 
Northeast Oregon Spring Chinook Salmon Spawning Ground Surveys; Project 
2 Spring Chinook Salmon and Steelhead Life History in the Grande Ronde 
River Basin; Project 3 Residual hatchery Steelhead Monitoring in 
Northeast Oregon; Project 4 Passage and Irrigation Screening; Project 5 
Bull Trout Migratory patterns, Population Structure, and Abundance in 
the Blue Mountains Province (does not target listed species but may 
indirectly take them); and Project 6 Fish Distribution and Abundance 
Monitoring in Northeast Oregon. These tasks have remained essentially 
unchanged for a number of years (permit 1152 has been in place since 
1997 and was renewed in 2003); under this permit, listed salmon and 
steelhead are variously (a) observed during fish population and 
production monitoring surveys; (b) captured (using seines, trawls, 
traps, hook-and-line angling equipment, and electrofishing equipment) 
and anesthetized; (c) sampled for biological information and tissue 
samples; (d) PIT-tagged or tagged with radio transmitters or other 
identifiers; and (e) released. The only changes in activity being 
requested are an increase in the number of fish to be sampled and an 
approval for rescuing or salvaging listed fish that need it (an 
activity for which the researchers had approval in a previous version 
of the permit). The ODFW does not intend to kill any of the fish, but 
some may die as an unintended result of the research activities.
    The research has many purposes and would benefit listed salmon and 
steelhead in different ways. In general, the purpose of the proposed 
research is to gather information on the natural production, 
distribution, survival, resource and habitat use, and genetic and life 
history characteristics of listed chinook salmon and steelhead in 
Northeast OR. If allowed to continue, the research activities would 
provide ongoing benefits to listed salmon and steelhead by helping 
resource managers (a) guide recovery actions, (b) prioritize habitat 
protection and restoration projects, (c) monitor ongoing management 
activities, (d) evaluate supplementation efforts, and (d) provide 
effective screening on water diversions that might otherwise entrain, 
strand, and kill listed fish.

Permit 1410 - Modification 1

    The Northwest Fisheries Science Center (NWFSC) is asking to modify 
Permit 1410 to take into account needed changes in take levels. They 
are asking to increase their take of juvenile and adult SONCC coho, 
juvenile and adult OC coho, juvenile PS chinook salmon, juvenile and 
adult SR spring/summer chinook salmon, juvenile SR fall

[[Page 7206]]

chinook salmon, juvenile and adult UCR chinook salmon, juvenile and 
adult LCR chinook salmon, juvenile and adult UWR chinook salmon, 
juvenile CR chum salmon, juvenile Ozette Lake sockeye salmon, and 
juvenile SR steelhead during an ongoing investigation on the 
distribution, abundance, condition, and health of juvenile salmon in 
relation to oceanographic conditions in the Columbia River plume and 
surrounding ocean environment. The purpose of the study is to help 
researchers and managers better understand the factors controlling 
estuarine and marine survival. The study will provide information to 
help forecast survival potential as a function of plume and ocean 
conditions. Further, the information will help hydropower operators 
develop a set of management scenarios that could benefit survival, 
growth, and health of juvenile salmon by changing the dynamics of the 
Columbia River plume. The NWFSC is requesting authorization to 
intentionally kill juvenile fish for endocrine assessments, genetic 
stock identification, pathogen prevalence and intensity, otolith and 
stomach content analysis, and histopathological attributes. The NWFSC 
does not intend to kill any of the adult fish being captured, but some 
may die as an unintended result of the research activities.

Permit 1458

    Ducks Unlimited is seeking a 5-year permit to annually take 
juvenile SR spring/summer chinook salmon at up to six locations in the 
Grande Ronde and Wallowa River drainages in Oregon. Under the study, 
the fish would be trapped, anesthetized, weighed and measured, allowed 
to recover, and released back from which they were taken.
    The purpose of the research is to describe native and introduced 
fish use especially by salmonids of floodplain wetland habitat. 
Ultimately, the research seeks to answer questions relating to patterns 
of habitat use across the region on a seasonal basis and evaluate fish 
passage through water control structures used in wetland restoration 
projects. The research will benefit the listed species by helping guide 
wetland restoration activities throughout the region. Ducks Unlimited 
does not intend to kill any of the fish being captured, but a small 
number may die as an unintended result of the activities.

Permit 1459

    The Western Washington University (WWU) is asking for a 1-year 
permit to take juvenile propagated PS chinook salmon associated with a 
larger project NOAA is conducting to understand juvenile salmonid use 
of Puget Sound nearshore estuarine habitats. The purpose of the 
research is to determine which fish use eelgrass beds in Northern Puget 
Sound and thereby benefit listed fish by helping direct habitat 
conservation efforts. The WWU will collect samples using gill nets, 
enclosure nets, and trawl gear. Samples will be measured, weighed, and 
released. A small percentage of the fish to be handled may die as an 
unintended result of the research activities.

Permit 1460

    The Port of Tacoma is asking for a 3-year permit to annually take 
juvenile PS chinook salmon associated with a study to determine the 
timing of juvenile chinook salmon migration within Commencement Bay, 
Tacoma, WA. The purpose of the study is to supplement existing data 
regarding allowable periods for in-water construction. It will benefit 
listed salmon by helping ensure that in-water construction takes place 
at times least likely to affect the fish. The Port of Tacoma will 
collect samples using a floating beach seine. Listed salmon will be 
captured, measured, and released at the sampling locations. The Port of 
Tacoma does not intend to kill any of the fish being captured, but a 
small number may die as an unintended result of the activities.

Permit 1461

    The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is seeking a 5-year permit to 
annually take adult and juvenile LCR, UCR, and SR spring/summer and 
fall chinook salmon; CR chum; SR sockeye; and UCR, MCR, LCR, and SR 
steelhead at Crims Island and the Julia Butler Hanson National Wildlife 
Refuge in the lower Columbia River. The fish would be captured using 
nets, and boat- and backpack electrofishing equipment. Once captured, 
the fish would be variously anesthetized, weighed and measured, sampled 
for their stomach contents, implanted with passive integrated 
transponder tags, allowed to recover, and released. Not all fish would 
undergo all these procedures. For example, all adults would simply be 
released, and the diet sampling and tagging would largely be restricted 
to those ESUs that spawn in the lower Columbia River.
    The purpose of the research is to determine fish species 
composition and habitat use in the areas sampled. Ultimately, the data 
gathered will be used to guide and determine the effectiveness of 
habitat restoration activities in the lower Columbia River. The species 
will benefit from well-planned and monitored habitat restoration 
activities as well as, ultimately, the restored habitat itself. The 
USGS does not intend to kill any of the fish being captured, but a 
small number may die as an unintended result of the activities though 
none will be adults.
    This notice is provided pursuant to section 10(c) of the ESA. NMFS 
will evaluate the applications, associated documents, and comments 
submitted to determine whether the applications meet the requirements 
of section 10(a) of the ESA and Federal regulations. The final permit 
decisions will not be made until after the end of the 30-day comment 
period. NMFS will publish notice of its final action in the Federal 
Register.

    Dated: February 5, 2004.
David O'Brien,
Acting Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 04-3280 Filed 2-12-04; 8:45 am]
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