[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 3 (Monday, January 6, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 497-498]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-28471]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XR084]


Endangered and Threatened Species; Take of Anadromous Fish

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

ACTION: NMFS is notifying the public of the issuance of four permits 
for summer steelhead, summer/fall Chinook salmon, and fall Chinook 
salmon hatchery programs in the Upper Columbia River Basin.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that NMFS has issued permits, pursuant 
to section 10 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA), for the funding and 
operation of programs rearing and releasing summer steelhead, summer/
fall Chinook salmon, and fall Chinook salmon programs. The permits 
address programs operated by the Washington Department of Fish and 
Wildlife (WDFW) and the Douglas County Public Utility District (PUD). 
The programs are funded by the Douglas County PUD, Chelan County PUD, 
and Grant County PUD.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Charlene Hurst at (503) 230-5409 or by 
email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

ESA-Listed Species Covered in This Notice

     Upper Columbia River Spring Chinook (Oncorhynchus 
tshawytscha): Endangered, naturally and artificially propagated.

[[Page 498]]

     Upper Columbia River Steelhead (O. mykiss): Threatened, 
naturally and artificially propagated.

Discussion of the Biological Analysis Underlying Permit Issuance

    NMFS has issued permits for seven hatchery programs: Chelan Falls 
Summer/Fall Chinook Salmon, Wenatchee Summer/Fall Chinook Salmon, 
Methow Summer/Fall Chinook Salmon, Wells Hatchery Summer/Fall Chinook 
Salmon, Priest Rapids Fall Chinook Salmon, Ringold Springs Fall Chinook 
Salmon, and Wells Complex Summer Steelhead. These hatchery programs are 
intended to contribute to the survival and recovery of Upper Columbia 
River steelhead and enhance fishing opportunity on hatchery-origin 
summer/fall and fall Chinook salmon and steelhead returns. The summer/
fall and fall Chinook programs propagate an unlisted species, and thus 
only have incidental effects on listed species--the permits for these 
programs are issued under ESA section 10(a)(1)(B). The steelhead 
program uses natural-origin fish in the broodstock, and the permit for 
this program is issued under ESA section 10(a)(1)(A). Description of 
the programs was provided in Hatchery and Genetics Management Plans 
(HGMPs) submitted by the applicants.
    NMFS has analyzed the effects of the hatchery programs on salmon 
and steelhead listed under the ESA, and has concluded that the hatchery 
programs would not appreciably reduce the likelihood of survival and 
recovery of ESA-listed species. Authorization of the activities depends 
upon implementation of all of the monitoring, evaluation, reporting 
tasks or assignments, and enforcement activities included in the 
permits.

Summary of Comments Received on the HGMPs

    NMFS made the permit applications available for public comment on 
April 2, 2019 (84 FR 12594) for 30 days, as required by the ESA. No 
comments were received specific to the applications. However, we 
received a few general comments on the associated Environmental 
Assessment.

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.; 16 U.S.C. 742a et seq.

    Dated: December 30, 2019.
Angela Somma,
Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected Resources, 
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2019-28471 Filed 1-3-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P