[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 75 (Tuesday, April 19, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21858-21860]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-9454]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XA375


Endangered and Threatened Species; Take of Anadromous Fish

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

ACTION: Applications for seven new scientific research permits and one 
permit modification.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that NMFS has received eight 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 May 19, 2011.

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 http://www.nwr.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

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Willamette River (UWR), endangered upper Columbia River (UCR), 
threatened Snake River (SR) spring/summer (spr/sum), and 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.
    Coho salmon (O. kisutch): Threatened LCR, threatened Oregon Coast 
(OC), threatened Southern Oregon/Northern California coasts (SONCC).
    Sockeye salmon (O. nerka): Endangered SR.

 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 14271--3M

    The Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) is seeking to 
modify and extend their 2-year scientific research permit that 
currently authorizes them to take juvenile and adult LCR Chinook, CR 
Chum, LCR coho, MCR Steelhead, and LCR steelhead, PS Chinook salmon, PS 
steelhead, HC chum salmon, UCR steelhead and Chinook, SR sockeye. The 
modification would extend the permit for one more year (through 2012), 
increase the number of MCR steelhead they may take, and allow them to 
take SR steelhead, SR fall Chinook, and SR spr/sum Chinook. The purpose 
of the project is to continue developing a sampling plan to report on 
the status of watershed health and salmon recovery efforts at three 
spatial scales: Water Resource Inventory Area, Salmon Recovery Region, 
and statewide. The goal is to develop a quality assurance monitoring 
plan for statewide probability-based sampling of aquatic habitat 
conditions and species diversity and abundance. This status and trends 
monitoring plan is mandated by a Washington State Governor's executive 
order. The information gathered by this research would benefit listed 
salmonids by helping resource managers evaluate the effectiveness of 
habitat restoration efforts and monitor aquatic species status and 
trends. The applicant proposes to capture fish using backpack and boat 
electrofishing equipment. Listed fish would be enumerated and 
immediately released. The applicant does not propose to kill any listed 
fish species, but a small number may die as an unintended result of the 
activities.

Permit 15486

    Forest and Channel Metrics (FCM) Inc. is seeking a 2-year permit to 
capture and handle juvenile UCR Chinook and steelhead, LCR Chinook and 
steelhead, SR Chinook (spr/sum) and steelhead, PS Chinook, and LCR coho 
salmon during the course of headwater stream surveys over wide parts of 
Washington State. The work they would conduct is substantially similar 
to work previously conducted under another permit--Permit 13375. The 
purpose of the research is to provide owners of industrial forest lands 
and the major state lands managers in Washington with accurate maps of 
where threatened and endangered salmonids are found on State and 
industrial Forest lands. The work would benefit the salmon and 
steelhead by helping land managers plan and carry out their activities 
in ways that would have the smallest effect possible on the listed 
fish. The fish would be captured using backpack electrofishing 
equipment and released without tagging or even handling more than is 
necessary to ensure that they have recovered from the effects of being 
captured. The FCM researchers do not intend to kill any listed 
salmonids, but a small number may die as an unintended result of the 
activities.

Permit 16122

    The Colville Confederated Tribes (CCT) are seeking a 5-year permit 
to take juvenile UCR steelhead in the Okanogan River, Washington. The 
purpose of the research is to monitor steelhead populations in the 
basin. The researchers are seeking to estimate natural production and 
productivity and calculate annual population estimates, egg-to-emigrant 
survival, and emigrant-to-adult survival rates. The population 
estimates will be used to evaluate the effects of supplementation 
programs in the Okanogan River Basin and provide managers with the data 
they need to develop a rigorous spawner-recruit relationship. The 
research would benefit the fish by giving state and Federal managers 
information on UCR steelhead status and the degree to which they are 
being affected by supplementation programs in the area. The fish would 
be captured at screw trapping sites on the Okanogan River. All captured 
fish will be identified and checked for marks and tags. A subsample of 
selected fish will be measured and weighed before being released back 
into the Okanogan River. A further subsample will be marked with a 
brown dye, released upstream of the screw traps, and recaptured for the 
purpose of determining trap efficiency. The researchers do not intend 
to kill any listed salmonids, but a small number may die as an 
unintended result of the activities.

Permit 16142

    The Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation (CTWSR) are 
seeking a 5-year permit to capture, handle, and release juvenile MCR 
steelhead in the John Day River, Oregon. The purpose of the research is 
to monitor anadromous fish response at habitat restoration projects 
throughout the John Day Basin. Currently, many watershed restoration 
actions are taking place in the basin (generally, they are being 
conducted by Soil and Water Conservation Districts, Watershed Councils, 
and State, Tribal and Federal Agencies). However there is some question 
regarding how effective these projects are in terms of helping recover 
the listed salmonids. The researchers would estimate the density of 
juvenile salmonids at the project level and thereby monitor any changes 
in rearing juvenile abundance occurring in response to the restoration 
actions. All treatment (restoration) sites will be paired with control 
sites. The research would benefit the fish by helping managers 
determine the most effective ways to restore habitat. The CTWSR would 
capture the fish by the means of beach seines, dip nets, and backpack 
electrofishing. They would also conduct some snorkel surveys. The 
researchers do not intend to kill any listed salmonids, but a small 
number may die as an unintended result of the activities.

Permit 16181

    Dr. Christopher Peery is seeking a 5-year permit to handle and tag 
adult SR sockeye at the adult fish trap at Lower Granite Dam, 
Washington. The purpose of the study is to identify what conditions 
affect sockeye migration success and thereby allow managers to better 
determine when (and if) transporting adult sockeye upstream

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would be safer for them than allowing them to migrate upriver 
naturally. The researchers propose to evaluate the relationship between 
timing, fish condition, the river environment, and migration success in 
the river reaches upstream from Lower Granite Dam. Sockeye salmon seen 
at the Lower Granite Dam facility often do not reach their spawning 
grounds; the research would benefit the fish by determining the reasons 
for this and thereby helping managers either address the problem or, as 
noted, determine when it may be safer to transport the fish to the 
spawning grounds. The fish would be taken from the adult fish trap at 
Lower Granite Dam, anesthetized, measured, weighed, tissue sampled, 
fitted with radio tags, allowed to recover, and returned to the river. 
The researchers do not intend to kill any listed salmonids, but a small 
number may die as an unintended result of the activities.

Permit 16298

    The Shoshone-Bannock Tribes (SBT) are seeking a 5-year permit to 
annually take juvenile and adult SR spr/sum Chinook and juvenile SR 
steelhead in Bear Valley Creek, Idaho. The purpose of the research is 
to estimate fish abundance, smolt-to-adult return rates, and adult 
productivity in Bear Valley Creek with a high degree of accuracy. The 
researchers are seeking to generate information that may be used widely 
throughout the Salmon River subbasin. This monitoring project was 
recommended as part of the ``Anadromous Salmonid Monitoring Strategy 
Viable Salmonid Population Criteria and Subset of Tributary Habitat and 
Hatchery Effectiveness,'' developed through the Columbia Basin 
Coordinated Anadromous Monitoring Workshop. The work will benefit fish 
by giving managers key information about population status in the 
Salmon River subbasin which, in turn, will be used to inform recovery 
plans and land-management activities. The SBT would count and monitor 
adult spr/sum Chinook at a video station and they would handle, 
measure, and tissue sample juvenile SR spr/sum Chinook and steelhead at 
a screw trap. They would also do some harvest monitoring (creel 
surveys) and spawning ground surveys. The researchers do not intend to 
kill any listed salmonids, but a small number may die as an unintended 
result of the activities.

Permit 16329

    The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is seeking a 
5-year permit to take adult and juvenile fish of every species in this 
notice except for UCR Chinook and steelhead and SR sockeye. The fish 
would be taken during the course of five possible projects: (1) The 
National Streams and Rivers Assessment. This EPA-sponsored survey uses 
a random sampling design to estimate the health (in terms of water 
quality and other physical and biological parameters) of streams and 
rivers around the region and nation. The fish portion of the project 
looks at species assemblage as an indicator of a system's overall 
ecological integrity, evaluates presence of invasive fish species, and 
evaluates toxic contamination of fish tissue. Field work is planned for 
this project in 2013 and 2014 and may involve as many as 60 sites. (2) 
Oregon Toxics Monitoring Program. This program looks at a range of 
pollutants in water, river sediments, and fish tissues--including 
current use and legacy pesticides, estrogenic compounds, pharmaceutical 
and personal care products, metals, and industrial chemicals such as 
PCBs, dioxins and furans. The species targeted for this work are 
typically bass and pikeminnow. Survey sites are typically at the 
downstream portion of larger rivers and tributaries. This work may 
involve as many as 20 sites per year. (3) Basins Biological 
Assessments. The DEQ is developing a monitoring program that looks at a 
range of environmental health indicators (such as fish species) on a 
basin scale. This work would feed into that effort. (4) Mixing Zone 
Surveys. Mixing zones are sections of water bodies downstream of 
municipal and industrial effluent discharges. The DEQ occasionally 
monitors fish use and health within and outside mixing zones to 
evaluate how effectively waste treatment protocols and processes are 
protecting the environment. Mixing zones are typically found in larger 
rivers. This work may involve as many as 10 sites per year. (5) Spill 
Impact and Cleanup Effectiveness Evaluations. The DEQ occasionally 
studies water bodies that have received toxic spills. These surveys 
could potentially occur in any state water body and could involve as 
many as five sites per year.
    The work would benefit fish in a number of different ways--from 
helping evaluate watershed health to generating information on 
contaminant concentrations to determining if current water quality 
protection regulations and methods are sufficiently effective. The DEQ 
researchers would capture fish using a variety of methods--boat- and 
backpack electrofishing, hook-and-line angling, and seines. No drugs or 
anesthesia would be used on the captured fish. The fish would be held 
very briefly and, except for brief transfers and some minimal measuring 
and weighing, the animals would not be handled out of water. All fish 
would be returned to the capture sites as quickly as possible. The 
researchers do not intend to kill any listed salmonids, but a small 
number may die as an unintended result of the activities.

Permit 16383

    The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) is seeking a permit to 
annually take listed salmonids while conducting research designed to 
(a) determine if there is any disease transmission between wild and 
hatchery fish in the upper Columbia River and (b) gather baseline 
information on pathogen presence in the local fish populations. This 
research has been conducted for over nine years under a previous 
scientific research permit--Permit 1423. The research will take place 
in the Methow and Entiat River subbasins, Washington. The research will 
benefit listed fish by increasing our knowledge of disease presence and 
transmission in the Upper Columbia River and thereby help managers 
reduce the risks associated with those diseases. The fish will be 
captured using a variety of methods: Nets, traps, boat- and backpack 
electrofishing, and hook-and-line angling. Many of the captured fish 
will be killed and sampled for pathogens, but the majority will 
immediately be released back to the site of their capture.
    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 14, 2011.
Angela Somma,
Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected Resources, 
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2011-9454 Filed 4-18-11; 8:45 am]
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