[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 45 (Wednesday, March 8, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14350-14351]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-04722]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XC822]


Endangered and Threatened Species; Take of Anadromous Fish

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

ACTION: Notice; issuance of a permit renewal for an Endangered Species 
Act (ESA) Section 10(a)(1)(A) scientific enhancement permit (Permit 
16608-3R).

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that NMFS renewed Section 10(a)(1)(A) 
scientific enhancement Permit 16608-3R to the Bureau of Reclamation. 
Authorized activities within the permit are expected to affect and 
enhance the threatened California Central Valley (CCV) Distinct 
Population Segment (DPS) of steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and the 
Southern DPS (sDPS) of North American green sturgeon (Acipenser 
medirostris) through enhancement activities and research and monitoring 
in the San Joaquin River from the Merced River confluence to the base 
of Mendota Dam, and select locations on the Mariposa and Eastside 
bypasses, and entrances to the following off-channel sloughs: Mud 
Slough, Salt Slough, and Newman Wasteway.

ADDRESSES: The permit application, the permit, and other related 
documents are available for review through contacting the California 
Central Valley Office, Section 10(a)(1)(A) permit coordinator (Hilary 
Glenn: phone: (916) 200-8211 or email at: [email protected]). The 
application for Permit 16608-3R is also available for review at the 
Authorizations and Permits for

[[Page 14351]]

Protected Species website: https://apps.nmfs.noaa.gov/search/search.cfm.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Hilary Glenn at (916) 200-8211, or 
email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

ESA-Listed Species Covered in This Notification

    Threatened California Central Valley (CCV) Distinct Population 
Segment (DPS) of steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and the Southern DPS 
(sDPS) of North American green sturgeon (Acipenser medirostris).

Authority

    Scientific research and 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 222-
227). NMFS issues a Section 10(a)(1)(A) permit based on findings that 
the permit is (1) applied for in good faith, (2) would not operate to 
the disadvantage of the listed species which is the subject of the 
permit, and (3) consistent with the purposes and policies set forth in 
Section 2 of the ESA. Authority for the take exemption of listed 
species is subject to conditions set forth in the permit.

Permit 16608-3R

    A receipt of application notice for Permit 16608-3R was published 
in the Federal Register on July 5, 2022 (86 FR 46832), providing 30 
days for public comment prior to permit processing. No comment was 
received. Permit 16608-3R was issued to Reclamation on December 20, 
2022.
    Permit 16608-3R authorizes take exemption of threatened CCV 
steelhead and the sDPS of North American green sturgeon in association 
with enhancement activities involving research and monitoring in the 
San Joaquin River from the Merced River confluence to the base of 
Mendota Dam, and select locations on the Mariposa and Eastside 
bypasses, and entrances to the following off-channel sloughs: Mud 
Slough, Salt Slough, and Newman Wasteway (collective termed the study 
area). The primary objectives of this enhancement effort involve: (1) 
monitor for adult CCV steelhead in the wetted sections of the San 
Joaquin River downstream of Mendota Dam to the Merced River confluence, 
(2) relocate CCV steelhead to more suitable habitat downstream of the 
Merced River confluence, (3) determining the distribution, abundance, 
size, and age structures of both CCV steelhead and sDPS green sturgeon, 
and (4) documenting changes in CCV steelhead abundance and distribution 
in response to fluctuating water conditions. Monitoring activities 
include: capture (raft-mounted electrofisher), fyke nets with wing 
walls and fish traps, steelhead-specific trammel nets, hand seins, 
handling (conducting length measurements, gender identification, tissue 
and scale collection, assessment of condition, checking for the 
presence of tags), and Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT) tagging of 
fish inclusive of steelhead and green sturgeon. Captured CCV steelhead 
will be transported by tanker truck and released in the San Joaquin 
River downstream of the Merced River confluence. Recaptured CCV 
steelhead will be identified by the presence of a PIT tag.
    Field activities for monitoring effort will occur December 1 
through April 30 over the next 5 years (start: 12/01/2022 End: 12/31/
2027). For this 5 year effort Reclamation will take no more than: (1) 
non-lethal (seven adults) and lethal (two adults) effects due to 
collecting, sampling, and transport of live threatened CCV steelhead 
(natural origin) and non-lethal (seven adults) and lethal (two adults) 
effects to threatened CCV steelhead of hatchery origin, (2) non-lethal 
(six adults) and no lethal effects due to capture, handling, and 
release of live threatened sDPS of North American green sturgeon, and 
(3) non-lethal effects to threatened CCV steelhead of natural origin 
(ten adults) and threatened CCV steelhead of hatchery origin (ten 
adults), and threatened sDPS of North American green sturgeon (three 
adults) due to observations and harassment at weirs, fish ladders, and 
dams where no trapping occurs. The potential unintentional lethal take 
resulting from the proposed scientific enhancement activities is up to 
four adult CCV steelhead (two natural origin; two hatchery origin). 
Overall, no intentional lethal take of CCV steelhead is proposed or 
expected as a result of these scientific enhancement activities.
    This scientific enhancement effort is expected to provide valuable 
information on sDPS of North American green sturgeon and the most 
southern extent of CCV steelhead to the California Department of Fish 
and Wildlife's comprehensive monitoring plan for steelhead and green 
sturgeon in the Central Valley. The monitoring by Reclamation is 
consistent with recommendations and objectives outlined in NMFS' 
Recovery Plan for CCV steelhead and the sDPS of North American green 
sturgeon. See the application for Permit 16608-3R for greater details 
on the scientific enhancement proposal and related methods.

    Dated: March 2, 2023.
Angela Somma,
Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected Resources, 
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-04722 Filed 3-7-23; 8:45 am]
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