[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 154 (Friday, August 13, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44696-44697]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-17401]



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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XB326]


Endangered and Threatened Species; Take of Anadromous Fish

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

ACTION: Notice of receipt of one enhancement permit application and 
request for comment.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that NMFS has received one permit 
application submitted by California Department of Fish and Wildlife 
(CDFW) to enhance the propagation and survival of species listed under 
the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973, as amended, for a 5-year 
period. This document serves to notify the public of the availability 
of the permit application for review and comment, prior to a decision 
by NMFS whether to issue the permit.

DATES: Comments or requests for a public hearing on the application 
must be received at the appropriate address (see ADDRESSES) no later 
than 5 p.m. Pacific standard time on September 13, 2021.

ADDRESSES: The permit application may be viewed online at: https://apps.nmfs.noaa.gov/preview/preview_open_for_comment.cfm. Written 
comments on the application should be submitted to the NMFS California 
Central Valley Office, 650 Capitol Mall, Suite 5-100, Sacramento, CA 
95814. Comments may also be submitted by email to 
[email protected] (include the permit number in the subject line 
of the email).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amanda Cranford, Sacramento, CA 
(Phone: 916-930-3706; Email: [email protected]). Permit 
application instructions are available from the address above, or 
online at https://apps.nmfs.noaa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

ESA-Listed Species Covered in This Notice

    Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha): Threatened, naturally 
produced and hatchery propagated Sacramento River winter-run;
    Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha): Threatened, naturally 
produced and hatchery-propagated Central Valley (CV) spring-run;
    Steelhead (O. mykiss): Threatened, naturally produced and 
artificially propagated California Central Valley (CCV).
    North American green sturgeon (Acipenser medirostris): Threatened, 
naturally produced southern distinct population segment (sDPS).

Background

Permit 18181-4R

    CDFW is seeking to renew an enhancement permit under section 
10(a)(1)(A) of the ESA for a period of 5 years that would allow take of 
both adult and juvenile Sacramento River winter-run Chinook salmon, CV 
spring-run Chinook salmon, CCV steelhead, and sDPS North American green 
sturgeon in the Sacramento River and its tributaries. This permit 
renewal would cover four monitoring and rescue efforts carried out by 
CDFW: (1) Juvenile emigration monitoring, (2) adult trapping for the 
Steelhead Monitoring Program, (3) Upper Sacramento River restoration 
site monitoring, and (4) fish salvage and rescue operations.
    Each project has its own objectives. The Juvenile Emigration 
Monitoring will take place at Tisdale Weir, Knights Landing, the 
Feather River High Flow Channel, and the Delta Entry sites, with the 
goals to monitor juvenile salmonid outmigration in real time, provide 
summaries of timing, abundance, and size distribution, provide timing 
information to water agencies for better management decisions, and 
evaluate how environmental conditions (flow, temperature, turbidity) 
affect downstream movement. The objectives of the Central Valley 
Steelhead Monitoring will be conducted to estimate the steelhead 
population abundance, examine trends in abundance, and identify spatial 
distribution over time. The Upper Sacramento River Restoration Site 
Monitoring aims to evaluate the outcome of the Central Valley Project 
Improvement Act Section 3406(b)(13) gravel augmentation and restoration 
projects through documentation of spawning activity, relative abundance 
of juvenile salmonids using the restored habitat, habitat attributes 
and quantities in restored sites, and habitat conditions and fish 
presence in control and pre- and post-construction sites. Efforts 
associated with the Central Valley Fish Rescues will involve the 
collection, tagging, and relocation of entrained listed salmonids and 
sDPS green sturgeon at the fish collection facility at Wallace Weir, 
the Colusa Basin Drainage Canal, behind Fremont and Tisdale weirs, the 
Sacramento River, Deer Creek, Mill Creek, Antelope Creek, and various 
urban streams. The rescue program also assesses the magnitude of 
stranding and aims to document conditions resulting in high levels of 
stranding. CDFW staff will also monitor winter-run Chinook salmon redds 
that are at risk of being dewatered. In the event that a redd is likely 
to be dewatered, CDFW staff may physically modify the redd by hand to 
prevent complete dewatering and increase the likelihood of survival.
    Under the various studies, juvenile salmonids and smolts would be 
observed via snorkel and video surveys and captured using rotary screw 
traps and beach seines. In addition, juvenile salmonids would be 
handled: Anesthetized, measured, checked for marks or tags, tagged 
(acoustic tags for spring-run Chinook salmon, passive integrated 
transponder (PIT) tags for steelhead, and elastomer tags for salmonids 
used during rotary screw trap efficiency trials), sampled for tissues, 
and released. A subsample of hatchery-origin (adipose fin clipped) 
winter-run Chinook salmon and spring-run Chinook salmon juveniles and 
smolts would be sacrificed for coded wire tag (CWT) retrieval and 
analysis. In the case of rescues and relocations, fish may be collected 
and transported (either via foot or transport truck, depending on the 
distance to the release location) to more suitable habitat prior to 
release.
    Adult salmonids would be observed via snorkel, video, or spawning 
surveys and captured using beach seines, fish weirs, and fyke traps. 
Adult steelhead may also be captured in rotary screw traps. In 
addition, adult salmonids would be handled as follows: anesthetized, 
measured, checked for marks or tags, tagged (floy tags for all adult 
salmonids, as well as PIT tags for steelhead, and acoustic tags for 
both spring- and winter-run Chinook salmon), sampled for tissues, and 
released. Tissues would be collected from any carcasses encountered.
    Juvenile, subadult, and adult green sturgeon would be captured via 
hoop nets and fyke traps, anesthetized, tissue sampled, tagged (PIT or 
acoustic), and released. Additionally, juvenile green sturgeon may be 
captured in rotary screw traps and adults may be encountered during 
monitoring at weirs. Subadult and adult green sturgeon would also 
receive floy tags. Adult sturgeon may also be collected and transported 
live to more suitable habitat during rescue activities.
    With the exception of the juvenile salmon CWT retrieval (above), 
the researchers are not proposing to kill any of the fish being 
captured, but a small number of fish may be incidentally killed as an 
inadvertent result of these

[[Page 44697]]

activities. However, fish captured and relocated as part of the fish 
rescues would likely perish due to low flows and dissolved oxygen, 
coupled with high water temperatures, if it were not for this project.
    The proposed projects could impact ESA-listed species by delaying 
migration, resulting in stress, or indirect mortality or indirect non-
lethal effects as a result of stress, physical harm during insertion of 
tags, and/or susceptibility to predation upon displacement at release. 
These effects will be minimized by frequent (at least daily) trap 
checks and taking all possible measures to expedite the process of 
capturing, tagging, and releasing adult entrained fish. Anesthetization 
will follow strict guidelines and use the least amount of sedative 
necessary. Unintentional mortality of juvenile fish can occur during 
rotary screw trapping and will be minimized through a reduction in 
sampling effort or through increased checking/servicing of rotary-screw 
traps.
Authority
    Enhancement 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 part 222). 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; 
(3) are consistent with the purposes and policies of section 2 of the 
ESA; (4) further a bona fide and necessary or desirable scientific 
purpose or enhance the propagation or survival of the endangered 
species, taking into account the benefits anticipated to be derived on 
behalf of the endangered species; and additional issuance criteria as 
listed at 50 CFR 222.308(c)(5-12). The authority to take listed species 
is subject to conditions set forth in the permit.
    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.

Public Comments Solicited

    NMFS invites the public to comment on the section 10(a)(1)(A) 
enhancement permit application during a 30-day public comment period 
beginning on the date of this notice. This notice is provided pursuant 
to section 10(c) of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1529(c)). All comments and 
materials received, including names and addresses, will become part of 
the administrative record and may be released to the public. We provide 
this notice in order to allow the public, agencies, or other 
organizations to review and comment on these documents.

Next Steps

    NMFS will evaluate the permit application, associated documents, 
and comments submitted to determine whether the applications meet the 
requirements of section 10(a)(1)(A) of the ESA and the applicable 
Federal regulations. The final permit decisions will not be made until 
after the end of the 30-day public comment period and after NMFS has 
fully considered all relevant comments received. NMFS will publish 
notice of its final action in the Federal Register.

    Dated: August 10, 2021.
Angela Somma,
Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected Resources, 
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2021-17401 Filed 8-12-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P