[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 68 (Monday, April 9, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21084-21086]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-8483]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XB156


Endangered and Threatened Species; Take of Anadromous Fish

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

ACTION: Receipt of application for renewal of a scientific research and 
enhancement permit.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that NMFS has received a scientific 
research and enhancement permit application request relating to 
salmonids listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The proposed 
research program is intended to increase knowledge of the species and 
to help guide management and conservation efforts. The applications and 
related documents may be viewed online at: https://apps.nmfs.noaa.gov/preview/preview_open_for_comment.cfm. These documents are also 
available upon written request or by appointment by contacting NMFS by 
phone (707) 575-6097 or fax (707) 578-3435.

DATES: Written comments on the permit application must be received at 
the appropriate address or fax number (see ADDRESSES) no later than 5 
p.m. Pacific standard time May 9, 2012.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on either application should be submitted 
to the Protected Resources Division, NMFS, 777 Sonoma Avenue, Room 325, 
Santa Rosa, CA 95404. Comments may also be submitted via fax to (707) 
578-3435 or by email to [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeffrey Jahn, Santa Rosa, CA (ph.: 
707-575-6097, email.: [email protected]).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Species Covered in This Notice

    This notice is relevant to federally threatened Central California 
Coast steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss), endangered Central California 
Coast coho salmon (O. kisutch), and threatened California Coastal 
Chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha).

Authority

    Scientific research permits are issued in accordance with section 
10(a)(1)(A) of the ESA of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531-1543) and regulations 
governing listed fish and wildlife permits (50 CFR parts 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 which are the subject of the 
permits; and (3) are consistent with the purposes and policies set 
forth in 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 the application listed in this 
notice should set out the specific reasons why a hearing on the 
application would be appropriate (see ADDRESSES). Such hearings are 
held at the discretion of the

[[Page 21085]]

Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NMFS.

Application Received

Permit 15169

    The National Park Service (NPS) is requesting a 5-year scientific 
research and enhancement permit to take juvenile, smolts and adult 
Central California Coast (CCC) steelhead, juvenile, smolts and adult 
CCC coho salmon, and juvenile, smolts and adult California Coastal (CC) 
Chinook salmon (ESA-listed salmonids) and adult carcasses of each 
species associated with eight research studies within NPS lands in 
Marin, San Mateo, and Contra Costa counties in California. This permit 
is a renewal of Permit 1046 Modification 2 previously issued to the 
NPS. In the studies described below, researchers do not expect to kill 
any listed fish but a small number may die as an unintended result of 
the research activities.
    This project is part of an ongoing effort to monitor population 
status and trends of ESA-listed salmonids within park boundaries. The 
objectives are to: (1) Monitor salmonid smolt outmigration, (2) 
determine juvenile salmonid diet composition, (3) monitor spawning 
salmonids, (4) determine juvenile salmonid distribution and population 
abundance, (5) determine juvenile salmonid winter habitat utilization, 
(6) document adult salmonid spawner escapement; (7) conduct juvenile 
salmonid rescue and relocation, and (8) conduct biotelemetry. In these 
projects, ESA-listed salmonids will be observed (snorkel surveys), 
captured (dip-net, electrofishing, fyke-net trap, rotary screw trap, 
pipe-trap, weir, or seine), anesthetized, handled (identified, 
measured, weighed), sampled (fin clips, opercle, scales, gastric 
lavage, otoliths), marked (fin clips, fin dye), tagged (Passive 
Integrated Transponder (PIT), visible elastomer implant tags (VIE), 
acoustic), and released. All data and information will be shared with 
county, state, and federal entities for use in conservation and 
restoration planning efforts related to ESA-listed salmonids.
    Study 1 is a salmonid smolt outmigration monitoring study in 
Lagunitas, Olema, Pine Gulch, and Redwood creeks in Marin County. Traps 
(screw traps, pipe-traps, and/or fyke-net traps) will be operated 
annually from February through June. A subset of CCC coho salmon, CC 
steelhead, and CC Chinook smolts, parr, and young-of-the-year (YOY) 
will be anesthetized, identified to species and life stage, measured, 
and weighed. Each day of sampling, a limited number of smolts will be 
marked (PIT tag, fin clip, fin dye, or VIE tags) and sampled (fin 
clips, scales) prior to release. A small portion of marked smolts will 
be released in an open trap box at a site above the site trap to 
determine trap efficiency. All other captured fish will be released 
downstream of the trap.
    Study 2 is a juvenile salmonid diet composition study in the 
following watersheds within or proximate to NPS lands: Olema, 
Lagunitas, Pine Gulch, Redwood, and Easkoot creeks in Marin County. 
Diet composition data will be collected from smolts that are captured 
by pipe-trap or fyke-net trap (during study 1) or by seine or 
electrofishing (during study 4). Captured ESA-listed salmonids that are 
not subjected to the procedures associated with study 1 will be 
anesthetized, stomach sampled, and released.
    Study 3 is an adult salmonid spawner monitoring study in the 
following watersheds on or proximate to NPS lands: Olema Creek, 
Lagunitas Creek, Pine Gulch, Redwood Creek, and Easkoot Creek in Marin 
County, West Union Creek, Martini Creek, San Vicente Creek, and 
Denniston Creek in San Mateo County, and Alhambra Creek and Franklin 
Creek in Contra Costa County. Streams will be visually surveyed 
annually from December through March. Researchers will observe the 
number, species, sex, size, condition, location, and behavior of 
spawning adult ESA-listed salmonids. Carcasses will be marked to avoid 
double counting and returned to the location where they were found. 
Redds will be located, marked, and mapped.
    Study 4 is a summer/fall juvenile salmonid distribution, population 
abundance, and habitat monitoring study in the creeks listed in study 
3. Sampling will occur from June through December. Snorkel surveys will 
be conducted whenever possible to estimate the number, species, and age 
class of ESA-listed salmonids present. In addition, juvenile CCC coho 
salmon and CCC steelhead will be captured by seine or electrofishing. 
After capture, fish will be anesthetized, measured and weighed, 
sampled, marked, and allowed to recover before being released back into 
the habitat from which they were taken. A subset of salmonids will be 
marked with PIT tags.
    Study 5 is a juvenile salmonid winter habitat utilization study 
within or proximate to NPS lands in the Olema Creek and Redwood Creek 
watersheds in Marin County. Snorkel surveys will be conducted whenever 
possible to estimate the number, species, and age class of ESA-listed 
salmonids present. Annually, during October, juvenile salmonids will be 
captured (by seine or electrofishing), anesthetized, and handled. A 
subset of these captured fish will be tagged (PIT tags). During March, 
juvenile ESA-listed salmonids may be recaptured by seine or 
electrofishing. Fin dye may also be applied to the fins of a limited 
number of fish using a syringe or needleless jet injector.
    Study 6 is an adult spawner escapement monitoring study. Floating 
resistance-board weir-traps will be operated annually from November 
through March at the lower reaches of Olema Creek, Pine Gulch, and 
Redwood Creek in Marin County, California. Upstream migrating salmonids 
will be captured in the weir-trap, handled, tagged to avoid recounting, 
and released upstream of the weir-trap. In addition, carcasses of ESA-
listed salmonids may be handled, sampled, marked to avoid double 
counting, and returned to a location downstream of the weir-trap. 
Otoliths may be collected from select carcasses.
    Study 7 is a juvenile salmonid rescue and relocation study in the 
same creeks as listed in study 3. Juvenile ESA-listed salmonids that 
are under imminent risk of stranding and mortality will be captured (by 
electrofishing or seining), handled, and transferred to buckets or 
insulated coolers filled with aerated stream water. Fish will be 
transported and released into either a flowing downstream section of 
the tributary from which they were taken or the mainstem at or below 
the confluence where they would have passed had they not become 
stranded. All fish will be kept within the same watershed as they were 
originally found.
    Study 8 is a biotelemetry study. A subset of fish captured at the 
Olema and Lagunitas Creek smolt traps (during study 1) or during 
juvenile summer sampling (during study 4) will be implanted with 
acoustic tags to monitor their subsequent movements in Tomales Bay. 
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 actions in the Federal Register.


[[Page 21086]]


    Dated: April 4, 2012.
Lisa Manning,
Acting Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2012-8483 Filed 4-6-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P