[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 85 (Tuesday, May 4, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23671-23672]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-10489]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XW23


Endangered and Threatened Species; Take of Anadromous Fish; 
Research Permit Applications

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

ACTION:  Applications for three new scientific research permits, one 
permit modification, and one permit renewal.

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SUMMARY:  Notice is hereby given that NMFS has received five 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. The applications may be viewed online at: https://apps.nmfs.noaa.gov/preview/preview_open_for_comment.cfm

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 June 3, 2010.

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, or 
online at apps.nmfs.noaa.gov.

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, threatened UCR, threatened 
PS.
    Coho salmon (O. kisutch): threatened LCR, threatened Oregon Coast 
(OC).
    Sockeye salmon (O. nerka): endangered SR.
    Green Sturgeon (Acipenser medirostris)
    Eulachon: Southern Distinct Population Segment (DPS) (Thaleichthys 
pacificus)

 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 1548 - 2R

    The Yakima Training Center - US Army (YTC) is seeking to renew its 
permit to annually take listed salmonids while conducting research 
designed to determine fish abundance and distribution on the YTC lands 
and describe habitat conditions throughout the 500-square mile 
reservation. The research will also give regional fish managers 
previously unavailable data on fish presence. The YTC researchers would 
capture the fish using backpack electrofishing gear, seines, and minnow 
traps. Once captured, the fish would be measured, allowed to recover, 
and released. Some of the steelhead may have scale samples taken. The 
YTC does not intend to kill any of the fish being taken, but some may 
die as an unintended result of the activities.

[[Page 23672]]

Permit 14457 - 2M

    The Columbia River Estuary Study Taskforce (CREST) is seeking to 
modify its current research permit to add some collection locations and 
increase the numbers of listed fish that may be taken. Under the 
modified permit, they would annually capture, handle, and release 
juvenile fish from all the species covered by this notice. They would 
also capture, mark, tag, and release adult LCR coho, Chinook, and 
steelhead and CR chum. The purpose of the research is to evaluate 
estuarine habitat restoration efforts. Specific objectives are to (1) 
determine species composition, relative abundance, and residence time 
of various listed fish by using pre-restored and restoration project 
habitats and adjacent references sites; (2) determine prey use by 
juvenile salmon; and (3) determine prey availability. The research 
would benefit listed salmonids by determining how effectively currently 
altered habitats support salmonids and using that information to guide 
future habitat modifications.
    The CREST would capture the fish using fyke nets, trap nets, and 
beach seines. Salmonids would be anesthetized, identified, counted, 
measured, weighed, checked for tags and hatchery marks, and released. 
Some of the fish may be tagged with passive integrated transponders, or 
injected with dye or visible implant elastomers. Fin or scale samples 
for genetic or age analysis would be taken from a portion of the 
captured juvenile Chinook salmon. Some of the captured juvenile 
salmonid would be sampled for stomach contents. The CREST does not 
propose to kill any of the fish being captured, but a small number may 
die as an unintended result of the activities.

Permit 15207

    The Oregon State University (OSU) is seeking a permit to annually 
take all the listed fish covered by this notice while conducting 
research designed to help managers assess the condition of rivers and 
streams in the 12 conterminous western states and evaluate and develop 
scientifically and statistically rigorous field protocols for assessing 
large rivers and their tributaries. The study was previously conducted 
under Permit 1559 - 4A and will benefit listed species by providing 
baseline information about water quality in the study areas and helping 
managers enforce the Clean Water Act in those river systems where 
listed fish are present. The OSU researchers would capture fish (using 
raft-mounted electrofishing equipment), sample them for biological 
information, and release them. The researchers will try to avoid adult 
salmonids, but some may be handled. The researchers do not intend to 
kill any fish being captured but some may die as an unintentional 
result of the research activities.

Permit 15162

    The University of Idaho (UI) is seeking a three-year permit to take 
listed salmonids (UCR Chinook and steelhead, SR spr/sum and fall 
Chinook, SR steelhead, SR sockeye, and MCR steelhead) while conducting 
research on pacific lamprey passage at McNary And John Day Dams on the 
Columbia River. The UI researchers would capture pacific lamprey at 
temporary traps installed near the bottoms of the fishways at the dams. 
They would also look for lamprey in the fishways and use dipnets to 
capture them. If listed fish are captured during the dipnetting, they 
would be released immediately. If they are caught in the lamprey traps, 
they may be held for up to 11 hours (from 8:00 p.m. when the traps are 
lowered into place, to 7:00 a.m. when they are pulled and checked), but 
any captured fish will be released at the moment the trap is checked. 
The researchers do not expect to kill any listed fish but a small 
number may die as an unintended result of the research activities.

Permit 15461

    The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is seeking a five-year 
permit to annually take juvenile threatened SR steelhead during the 
course of research on Pacific lamprey in the Snake River basin. The 
research is designed to assess lamprey numbers and habitat in the basin 
and gauge the effectiveness of a lamprey translocation program. The 
research will benefit steelhead by generating information that will be 
used when conducting habitat restoration activities in the basin. The 
listed fish would be affected by the use of a low-power electrofishing 
unit designed to bring lamprey young up out of a stream's substrate. 
Any affected steelhead would simply be allowed to escape; they would 
not be collected or sampled in any manner. The FWS does not expect 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 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: April 28, 2010.
Angela Somma,
Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected Resources, 
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2010-10489 Filed 5-3-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S