[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 218 (Tuesday, November 13, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63889-63890]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-22108]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XD78


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 and three 
permit renewals.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that NMFS has received six scientific 
research permit application requests relating to Pacific salmon. 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 
must be received at the appropriate address or fax number (see 
ADDRESSES) no later than 5 p.m. Pacific standard time on December 13, 
2007.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the applications should be sent to the 
Protected Resources Division, NMFS, 1201 NE Lloyd Blvd., Suite 1100, 
Portland, OR 97232-1274. Comments may also be sent via fax to 503-230-
5441 or by e-mail to [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Garth Griffin, Portland, OR (ph.: 503-
231-2005, Fax: 503-230-5441, e-mail: [email protected]). Permit 
application instructions are available from the address above.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Species Covered in This Notice

    The following listed species are covered in this notice:
    Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha): threatened lower 
Columbia River (LCR), threatened upper Willamette River (UWR), 
endangered upper Columbia River (UCR), threatened Snake River (SR) 
spring/summer (spr/sum), threatened SR fall, threatened Puget Sound 
(PS).
    Chum salmon (O. keta): threatened Columbia River (CR).
    Steelhead (O. mykiss): threatened LCR, threatened UWR, threatened 
middle Columbia River (MCR), threatened SR, endangered UCR, threatened 
PS.
    Coho salmon (O. kisutch): threatened LCR, threatened Southern 
Oregon Northern California Coasts (SONCC).
    Sockeye salmon (O. nerka): endangered SR.
    Sturgeon: Threatened green (Acipenser medirostris).

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 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 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). Such hearings are held at the 
discretion of the Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NMFS.

Applications Received

Permit 1119

    The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is seeking to renew research 
permit 1119 for another five years. The permit currently covers 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 
ongoing research projects are: Study 1 Peshastin Creek Salmonid 
Production and Life History Investigations; Study 2 Entiat Basin 
Spawning Ground Surveys; Study 3 Snorkel Surveys in the Wenatchee, 
Entiat, Methow, Okanogan, and Yakima Watersheds and Other Waterways of 
Eastern Washington; Study 4 Fish Salvage Activities in the Wenatchee, 
Entiat, Methow, Okanogan, and Yakima Watersheds and other Waterways of 
Eastern Washington. Study 5 would be changed from ``Icicle Creek 
Salmonid Production and Life History Investigations'' to ``Capture of 
Bull Trout, Lamprey, and Other Species in the Wenatchee, Entiat, 
Methow, Okanogan, and Yakima Watersheds.'' Under the proposal, 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 
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 unintentional result of the research activities.

Permit 1124

    The Idaho Department of Fish and Game is seeking to renew Permit 
1124 for another five years. The receipt of this permit request was 
originally noticed in August of 2007 (72 FR 43628). Since then, the 
applicant has determined that they will seek approval for the majority 
of their research though another process under section 4(d) of the ESA. 
The remaining portions of the current permit would only affect juvenile 
and adult endangered sockeye salmon. The remaining research would cover 
two projects directed at monitoring natural and hatchery Chinook salmon 
(during which sockeye may rarely be captured), one project centered on 
sockeye salmon reintroduction in Idaho lakes, and a general provision 
for rescuing and salvaging sockeye salmon. The purposes of the research 
are to monitor listed salmonid health, help guide sockeye salmon 
recovery operations, and outrightly rescue sockeye salmon in need of 
help due to circumstances such as being trapped by low flows in Idaho 
Streams. The benefits to the salmon will come in the form of 
information to help guide resource managers in restoring the

[[Page 63890]]

listed fish and, as stated, in rescuing them from peril. The fish would 
be captured by various methods screw trap, electrofishing, hook-and-
line-angling, mid-water trawl and most would immediately be released. A 
few of the fish may die as a result of the research.

Permit 1406

    NMFS' Northwest Fisheries Science Center is seeking to renew its 5 
year permit to annually take juvenile (and precocious male) threatened 
SR spring/ summer chinook salmon (naturally produced) and juvenile 
threatened SR steelhead at various places in the Salmon River drainage 
in Idaho, at Little Goose Dam on the lower Snake River, and at multiple 
subbbasins in Northeast Oregon, Southeast Washington, and Idaho 
including the Clearwater and Grande Ronde Rivers. The research is a 
continuation of long-term, ongoing studies that have been in place for 
more than 15 years. The current permit covers two studies: Monitoring 
the Migrations of wild Snake River Spring/ summer Chinook Salmon Smolts 
and Monitoring and Evaluating the Genetic Characteristics of 
Supplemented Salmon and Steelhead. The applicant is asking that only 
the first of these studies be renewed. Under this study, the listed 
fish would be variously captured (using seines, dipnets, and 
electrofishing), re-captured at a smolt bypass facility, anesthetized, 
tagged with PIT tags or otherwise marked, tissue sampled, weighed, 
measured, and released.
    The research has many purposes and would benefit listed salmon and 
steelhead in different ways. In general, the purpose of the research is 
to continue monitoring juvenile outmigration behavior among steelhead 
and spring/summer chinook salmon populations in Idaho. The research 
will benefit the fish by continuing to supply managers with the 
information they need to budget water releases at hydropower facilities 
in ways that will help protect migrating juveniles. The applicant does 
not intend to kill any of the fish being captured, but small percentage 
may die as an unintended result of the research.

Permit 10020

    The City of Bellingham Environmental Resources Division is 
requesting a 5-year research permit to take PS Chinook salmon and 
steelhead. The purpose of the research is to assess the effectiveness 
of habitat restoration measures implemented as part of the Whatcom 
Creek long-term Restoration Plan. In June of 1999, aquatic and wetland 
habitats in Whatcom Creek were severely affected by a fuel leak and 
subsequent explosion. The information gathered by this research would 
benefit listed salmonids by helping resource managers evaluate the 
effectiveness of the habitat restoration efforts. The applicant 
proposes to capture fish using a smolt trap. Listed fish would be 
captured, identified, measured, and released. The applicant does not 
intend to kill any listed fish species, but a small number may die as 
an unintended result of the activities.

Permit 10042

    The U.S. Geological Survey is requesting a 5-year research permit 
to conduct studies of interactions between American shad (Alosa 
sappidissima) and salmonid restoration efforts in the lower Columbia 
River. The applicant proposes to capture a few adults and juveniles of 
all species listed at the beginning of this notice except for those 
found in the Puget Sound, Washington. The purpose of the study is to 
determine how shad are benefitted by or detract from salmonid 
restoration programs in the Columbia River basin. The listed fish will 
benefit from these efforts as managers learn how the non-native shad 
affect both the local salmonids and the programs designed to restore 
them. The applicant proposes to capture the fish using a variety of 
methods: gillnetting, electrofishing, angling, seines, cast nets, etc. 
All listed fish captured during the research would be immediately 
returned to the water at the point of capture. The applicant does not 
propose to kill any listed fish, but a small number may die as an 
unintended result of the activities.

Permit 10077

    The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Western Washington Fish and 
Wildlife Office is requesting a 1-year research permit to take PS 
Chinook salmon and steelhead. The purposes of the study are to (1) 
provide the City of Seattle, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Seattle 
District), and the Washington Department of Transportation with 
information on juvenile Chinook salmon movement patterns and habitat 
use in Lake Washington and the Lake Washington Ship Canal; and (2) 
collect habitat use information on two key predators of juvenile 
Chinook salmon: smallmouth bass and northern pikeminnow. The 
information gathered by this research would benefit listed salmonids by 
helping resource managers (1) determine the relationship between 
habitat use and shoreline development, (2) guide the city's efforts to 
improve habitat conditions, (3) predict the effects of habitat 
modifications, (4) help Lake Washington municipalities with their 
shoreline management programs, and (5) determine how fish pass through 
the Ballard Locks and identify ways to improve fish passage. For the 
habitat use study, the applicant proposes to obtain juvenile Chinook 
salmon from a screw trap operated by the Washington Department of Fish 
and Wildlife. An acoustic tag would be surgically implanted in the 
captured juvenile Chinook salmon and the fish would be released into 
Lake Washington. In the predator sampling study, the applicant would 
capture fish by using hook and line fishing, beach seines, and gill 
nets. Listed fish captured during the predator sampling study would be 
released immediately. The applicant does not intend to kill any listed 
fish, but a small number may die as an unintended result of the 
activities.
    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: November 6, 2007.
Angela Somma,
Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected Resources, 
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E7-22108 Filed 11-9-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S