[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 46 (Friday, March 8, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8507-8508]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-04181]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XG842


Endangered and Threatened Species; Take of Anadromous Fish

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

ACTION: Applications for one new scientific research permit, two permit 
modifications, and one permit renewal.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that NMFS has received four scientific 
research permit application requests relating to Pacific salmon, 
steelhead, and eulachon. 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 April 8, 2019.

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 email to [email protected] (include the permit number 
in the subject line of the fax or email).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rob Clapp, Portland, OR (ph.: 503-231-
2314), Fax: 503-230-5441, email: [email protected]). Permit 
application instructions are available from the address above, or 
online at https://apps.nmfs.noaa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Species Covered in This Notice

    The following listed species are covered in this notice:
    Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha): Endangered upper 
Columbia River (UCR); threatened Snake River (SR) spring/summer-run; 
threatened SR fall-run.
    Steelhead (O. mykiss): Threatened UCR; threatened SR; threatened 
middle Columbia River (MCR).
    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 1127--5R

    The Shoshone-Bannock Tribes are seeking to renew a permit that 
allows them to annually take listed SR Chinook salmon and steelhead 
while conducting research designed to (1) monitor adult and juvenile 
fish in key upper Snake River subbasin watersheds, (2) assess the 
utility of hatchery Chinook salmon in increasing natural populations in 
the Salmon River, and (3) evaluate the genetic and ecological impacts 
hatchery Chinook salmon may have on natural populations. The fish would 
primarily benefit from the research in two ways. First, the research 
would broadly be used to help guide restoration and recovery efforts 
throughout the Snake River basin. Second, the research would be used to 
determine how hatchery supplementation can be used as a tool for salmon 
recovery. The researchers would use screw traps, weirs, electrofishing, 
and hook-and-line angling gear to capture the listed fish. Once 
captured, the fish would undergo various sampling, tagging, and 
handling regimes; they would then be allowed to

[[Page 8508]]

recover and released. Some tissue samples would be taken from adult 
fish carcasses, and the researchers would conduct some snorkeling 
surveys and redd counts. In all cases, trained crews would conduct the 
operations, no adult salmonids would be electrofished, and all 
activities would take place in the Salmon River subbasin. The 
researchers are not proposing to kill any of the fish they capture, but 
some may die as an unintended result of the research.

18696--3M

    The Idaho Power company is seeking to modify a five-year permit 
that allows them to annually capture juvenile white sturgeon in Lower 
Granite Reservoir. The researchers currently use small-mesh gill nets 
and d-ring nets to capture the fish. They would expand upon these 
efforts by adding a benthic (near-bottom) trawl in Lower Granite 
Reservoir and doing additional gill netting upstream from that 
reservoir. The gill net fishing would take place at times (October and 
November) and in areas (the bottom of the reservoir and river) that 
have purposefully been chosen to have the least possible impact on 
listed fish. When the nets are pulled to the surface, listed species 
would immediately be released (including by cutting the net, if 
necessary) and allowed to return to the reservoir. The d-ring fishing 
would take place in June and July, but the same restrictions 
(immediately releasing listed fish, etc.) would still apply. The 
purpose of the research is to document sturgeon survival in early life 
stages in the mainstem Snake River. The research targets a species that 
is not listed, but the research would benefit listed salmonids by 
generating information about the habitat conditions near and in Lower 
Granite Reservoir and by helping managers develop conservation plans 
for the species that inhabit those areas. The researchers are not 
proposing to kill any of the fish they capture, but a small number of 
individuals may be killed as an inadvertent result of the activities.

Permit 21571--2M

    The United States Geological Survey is seeking to modify a five-
year permit that currently allows them to conduct research on migration 
survival among middle Columbia River steelhead in the Yakima River 
system in Washington State. The research looks at how well the listed 
fish are surviving passage through various reaches of the Yakima River. 
The researchers would modify the permit by adding 115 more juvenile MCR 
steelhead to the number they are allowed to capture. This is being done 
in response to the catch levels they logged in 2018.
    The research would benefit the listed fish by helping managers 
understand what survival risks the young salmonids face when migrating 
downriver in the Yakima system. The managers would then be able to use 
that information to take actions designed to increase fish survival. 
The USGS researchers would capture juvenile MCR steelhead and tag them 
with acoustic and passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags. They would 
then use PIT tag detectors and acoustic receivers to follow the fish as 
they move downstream. The researchers would also use boat 
electrofishing equipment to count predators in several reaches, but 
they would not use that equipment to capture any listed animals for 
handling, and adult steelhead would be avoided in all cases. The 
researchers do not intend to kill any listed animals, but a small 
number may die as an inadvertent result of the planned activities.

Permit 22381

    The Yakama Nation is seeking a five-year permit that would allow 
them to evaluate benefits and limitations of connecting side channel 
systems using groundwater infiltration galleries in salmon habitat. The 
project is designed to determine how side-channel reconnection affects 
juvenile salmonid abundance and rearing conditions. It would also 
explore the potential impacts that thermally enhanced flows may have on 
juvenile salmonid growth and survival. Metrics of juvenile growth and 
survival collected from the side channels would be compared to similar 
data collected by co-managing agencies that are monitoring other 
recently completed non-groundwater based side channel restoration 
actions in the Methow Basin, Washington State. The research would 
benefit listed fish by providing information on their status and 
helping improve recovery efforts.
    The researchers would conduct snorkel- and spawning-ground surveys 
and would use electrofishing equipment to capture juvenile UCR Chinook 
and steelhead. The captured fish would be anesthetized, measure, 
weighed, scanned, and implanted with PIT tags. The fish would then be 
allowed to recover in live boxes and released back to the sites of 
their capture. The researchers do not intend to kill any listed fish, 
but some may die as an inadvertent result of the planned 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: March 4, 2019.
Angela Somma,
Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected Resources, 
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2019-04181 Filed 3-7-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P