[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 49 (Friday, March 12, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11840-11842]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-5696]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 030404F]


Endangered and Threatened Species; Take of Anadromous Fish

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

ACTION: Applications for three scientific research permits (1127, 1465, 
1469) and two permit modifications (1119, 1366).

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that NMFS has received three scientific 
research permit applications and two applications to modify existing 
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 April 12, 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 or by e-mail 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).
    Chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha): endangered natural and 
artificially propagated upper Columbia River (UCR); threatened natural 
and

[[Page 11841]]

artificially propagated SR spring/summer (spr/sum); threatened SR fall; 
threatened lower Columbia River (LCR).
    Steelhead (O. mykiss): threatened SR; threatened middle Columbia 
River (MCR); endangered UCR, threatened LCR.
    Coho Salmon (O. kisutch): 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.

Applications Received

Permit 1119 - Modification 1

    The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is seeking to modify its 
5-year permit covering five studies that, among them, would annually 
take adult and juvenile endangered UCR spring chinook salmon (natural 
and artificially propagated) and UCR steelhead (natural and 
artificially propagated) at various points in the Wenatchee, Entiat, 
Methow, Okanogan, and Yakima River watersheds and other points in 
eastern Washington State. The research was originally conducted under 
Permit 1119, which was in place for 5 years (63 FR 27055) with two 
amendments (65 FR 11288, 66 FR 38641); it expired on December 31, 2002. 
A new permit was granted for the research in 2003, and the FWS is 
seeking to modify that permit to change the take allotment and add a 
sixth study. Over the years, there have been some changes in the 
research (e.g., the aforementioned amendments) and they are reflected 
in this proposal. Nonetheless, the proposed projects are largely 
continuations of ongoing research. They are: Study 1-Recovery of ESA-
listed Entiat River Salmonids through Improved Management Actions; 
Study 2-From extirpation to colonization: an attempt to restore salmon 
back to their former streams; Study 3-Entiat Basin Spawning Ground 
Surveys; Study 4-Snorkel Surveys in the Wenatchee, Entiat, Methow, 
Okanogan, and Yakima Watersheds and Other Waterways of Eastern 
Washington; Study 5-Fish Salvage Activities in the Wenatchee, Entiat, 
Methow, Okanogan, and Yakima Watersheds and other Waterways of Eastern 
Washington; Study 6-Icicle Creek Salmonid Production and Life History 
Investigations. Under these studies, listed adult and juvenile salmon 
and steelhead would be variously (a) captured (using nets, traps, and 
electrofishing equipment) and anesthetized; (b) sampled for biological 
information and tissue samples; (c) tagged with passive integrated 
transponders (PIT tags) or other identifiers; (d) marked and recaptured 
to determine trap efficiency, and (e) released.
    The research has many purposes and would benefit listed salmon and 
steelhead in different ways. In general, the purposes of the research 
are to (a) gain current information on the status and productivity of 
various fish populations (to be used in determining the effectiveness 
of restoration programs); (b) collect data on the how well artificial 
propagation programs are helping salmon recovery efforts (looking at 
hatchery and wild fish interactions); (c) support the aquatic species 
restoration goals found in several regional plans; and (d) fulfill ESA 
requirements for several fish hatcheries. The fish would benefit 
through improved recovery actions, better designs for hatchery 
supplementation programs, and by being rescued outright when they are 
stranded by low flows in Eastern Washington streams. The FWS does not 
intend to kill any of the fish being captured, but a small percentage 
may die as an unintended result of the research activities.

Permit 1127

    The Shoshone-Bannock Tribe is seeking to renew a 5-year permit to 
annually take threatened juvenile and adult SR spr/sum chinook salmon 
and steelhead during the course of two research projects in the Salmon 
River subbasin: The Snake River Habitat Enhancement (SRHE) project and 
the Idaho Supplementation Studies (ISS) project. Under the two ongoing 
projects (the SRHE was initiated in 1984, the ISS in 1998), the fish 
would be variously observed, captured, anesthetized, handled, implanted 
with passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags, allowed to recover, and 
released back to the habitats from which they were taken.
    The purposes of the research are to (a) monitor adult and juvenile 
fish in key upper SR basin watersheds, (b) assess the utility of 
hatchery chinook salmon in increasing natural populations in the Salmon 
and Clearwater Rivers, and (c) evaluate the genetic and ecological 
impacts of hatchery chinook salmon on natural populations. The fish 
will primarily benefit from the research in two ways. First, the 
research will broadly be used to help guide restoration and recovery 
efforts throughout the SR basin. Second, and more specifically, the 
research will be used to determine how hatchery supplementation can be 
used as a tool for salmon recovery. The Shoshone-Bannock Tribe does not 
intend to kill any of the fish being captured, but some may die as an 
unintended result of the research.

Permit 1366 - Modification 2

    The Oregon Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit (OCFWRU) is 
asking to modify its 5-year permit allowing it to annually take 
juvenile threatened SR fall chinook salmon; juvenile threatened SR 
spring/summer chinook salmon (natural and artificially propagated); 
juvenile endangered UCR spring chinook salmon (natural and artificially 
propagated); juvenile threatened LCR chinook salmon; juvenile 
endangered UCR steelhead (natural and artificially propagated); 
juvenile threatened LCR steelhead; juvenile threatened MCR steelhead; 
juvenile threatened SR steelhead; and juvenile endangered SR sockeye 
salmon at various dams on the Columbia and Snake Rivers. The research 
is largely a continuation of four ongoing studies in the lower Snake 
and Columbia Rivers, but only one, Study 4 Evaluation of Migration and 
Survival of Juvenile Salmonids Following Transportation would be 
modified. Under this study, juvenile listed salmonids would be 
variously (a) captured using lift nets or dipnets at the dams (or 
acquired from Columbia River Smolt Monitoring Program or NMFS personnel 
at Bonneville Dam), (b) sampled for biological information or tagged 
with radiotransmitters, and (c) released. The OCFWRU does not intend to 
kill any of the fish being captured, but a small percentage 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 research is 
to compare biological and physiological indices of wild and hatchery 
juvenile

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fish exposed to stress during bypass, collection, and transportation 
activities at the dams. The research will benefit the listed species by 
helping determine what effects the dams and their associated structures 
and management activities transportation, in particular have on the 
outmigrating salmonids and using that information modify those factors 
in ways that increase salmonid survival.

Permit 1465

    The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (IDEQ) is requesting 
a 5-year permit to annually take juvenile threatened SR steelhead, fall 
chinook salmon, spr/sum chinook salmon, and endangered SR sockeye 
salmon during the course of two research projects designed to ascertain 
the condition of many Idaho streams and determine the degree to which 
they meet certain critical stream health parameters. The fish will 
largely be captured using backpack electrofishing equipment (though 
boat electrofishing equipment may also be used), weighed and measured 
(some may be anesthetized to limit stress), and released. The IDEQ does 
not intend to kill any of the fish being captured, but a small 
percentage may die as an unintended result of the research activities.
    The purposes of the research are to (a) determine whether aquatic 
life is being properly supported in Idaho's rivers, streams and lakes, 
and (b) assess the overall condition of Idaho's surface waters. The 
fish will benefit from the research because the data it produces will 
be used to inform decisions about how and where to protect and improve 
water quality in the State.

Permit 1469

    The Ecosystems Research Institute (ERI) is requesting a 2-year 
research permit to annually handle threatened juvenile SONCC coho 
salmon in the Applegate River. The purpose of the research is to 
measure outmigration rates from the Applegate Reservoir to determine 
current fish entrainment and mortality. The ERI is proposing to 
construct a hydroelectric power plant on the Applegate Dam. The study 
is needed to determine the impacts the project's hydroelectric turbines 
would have on outmigrating reservoir fish. The research will benefit 
natural SONCC coho by providing current outmigration estimates of 
artificially propagated coho and gamefish that may affect the SONCC 
population through genetic introgression and by predation. The ERI 
proposes to capture the fish (using a screw trap), anesthetize them, 
check them for the presence of an adipose clip, measure them, allow to 
them recover, and release them. The ERI does not intend to kill any of 
the fish being captured, but a small percentage may die as an 
unintended result of the research activities.
    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: March 8, 2004.
Phil Williams,
Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected Resources, 
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 04-5696 Filed 3-11-04; 8:45 am]
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