[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 97 (Friday, May 20, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29282-29283]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-10129]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 051305E]


Endangered and Threatened Species; Take of Anadromous Fish

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

ACTION: Application for a scientific research/enhancement permit.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that NMFS has received a scientific 
research and enhancement permit application relating to Pacific salmon. 
Permit 1530 would be issued jointly to the Washington Department of 
Fish and Wildlife, Nez Perce Tribe through the Bureau of Indian 
Affairs, and the Idaho Department of Fish and Game (Applicants) to 
operate the adult fish trap at Lower Granite Dam. The proposed actions 
are intended to increase knowledge of species listed under the 
Endangered Species Act (ESA) and to help guide management and 
conservation efforts. It is also intended to facilitate collection of 
broodstock to supply an artificial propagation program designed to 
enhance the propagation and survival of threatened Snake River fall 
chinook salmon.

DATES: Comments or requests for a public hearing on the application 
must be received at the appropriate address or fax number (see 
ADDRESSES) no later than 5 p.m. Pacific daylight time on June 20, 2005.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the application should be sent to Salmon 
Recovery Division, NMFS, 10095 W. Emerald, Boise, ID 83704. Comments 
may be submitted by e-mail. The mailbox address for providing e-mail 
comments is [email protected]. Include in the subject line of the e-
mail comment the following identifier: Comments on trapping at Lower 
Granite Dam. Comments may also be submitted via facsimile (fax) to 
(208) 378-5614.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Herb Pollard, Boise, Idaho, at phone 
number: (208) 378-5614, e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Species Covered in This Notice

    The following listed species and evolutionarily significant units 
(ESUs) are covered in this notice:
    Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha): threatened Snake River 
(SR) fall.
    Steelhead (O. mykiss): threatened SR.
    Scientific research and enhancement 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 based on findings that such permits: (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 permit.
    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 1530

    The Applicants are requesting a 5-year permit to take SR fall 
chinook salmon and SR steelhead during the course of operating an adult 
fish trap at Lower Granite Dam on the Columbia River.
    The proposed action is designed to address two purposes. The 
trapping activity is intended to capture a random sample of Snake River 
fall chinook salmon and collect the necessary biological data and 
observations to statistically generate a ``run reconstruction'', or 
description of composition of the entire fall chinook salmon migration, 
as it passes Lower Granite Dam, according to age, sex, and origin 
(hatchery or natural). The second purpose is to collect additional 
adult fall chinook salmon for broodstock needed to support enhancement 
actions at Lyons Ferry Hatchery and Nez Perce Tribal Hatchery. 
Incidental to the primary purposes, the program will help managers 
simultaneously monitor several ongoing activities in the basin (e.g., 
natural production of listed species and the operation of the Federal 
Columbia River hydropower system) as well as stray rates and population 
health for the two listed species.
    To achieve its purposes, the project includes four objectives: 
First, to capture SR fall chinook salmon so that they may be used for 
mitigation, compensation, and natural production. Second, to remove 
hatchery-origin fall chinook originating from projects other

[[Page 29283]]

than those in the Snake River Basin so that they do not spawn in the 
Snake River above Lower Granite Dam. Third, to facilitate research 
efforts including the capture of fish to measure the relative 
reproductive success of hatchery fish being used for natural 
supplementation and thereby monitor the success of that program. 
Fourth, to monitor the status of steelhead populations in the Snake 
River basin.
    Fish species will benefit in several ways: by providing broodstock 
for Lyons Ferry Hatchery and Nez Perce Tribal Hatchery, the program 
will continue its efforts in directly increasing the abundance of the 
listed stocks. Removing salmon that stray from other hatchery programs 
will reduce adverse ecological and genetic interactions and preserve 
the listed stock. Information from the captured steelhead is essential 
to monitor the status and productivity of the listed populations, to 
help managers make decisions about how best to operate the hydropower 
system, and to gauge the effectiveness of a number of recovery efforts.
    The fish would be captured at the Lower Granite Dam adult trap. 
Electronic controls direct fish passing through the ladder into a trap 
holding facility for small portions of each day. When not directed into 
the trap, most fish pass the ladder unimpeded. Trapped fish are 
anesthetized, examined, biological samples are taken, and the fish are 
either (1) returned to the ladder to continue their upstream migration 
(all of the steelhead and most of the chinook salmon), (2) selected for 
broodstock (in the case of a portion of the hatchery-origin and 
natural-origin chinook salmon), or (3) removed from the population (all 
hatchery-origin chinook salmon that are identified by tags or marks as 
strays from other hatcheries). Transport to one of the hatchery 
facilities of fish collected for broodstock occurs daily during peak 
run periods. Some natural-origin Snake River fall chinook salmon would 
be collected to integrate into the broodstock. Scale sampling may occur 
on-site prior to transport to the hatcheries. In addition, up to 250 
more scale samples from natural origin fish are needed to provide an 
accurate description of run composition. Once sampled, fish not 
collected for broodstock are allowed to recover in small tanks and then 
returned to the fish ladder to continue their upstream migration.
    This notice is provided pursuant to section 10(c) of the ESA. NMFS 
will evaluate the application, associated documents, and comments 
submitted to determine whether the application meets 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: May 17, 2005.
Phil Williams,
Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected Resources, 
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 05-10129 Filed 5-19-05; 8:45 am]
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