[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 155 (Monday, August 12, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65605-65606]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-17799]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XE176]


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; two permit applications and two permit 
modification requests to enhance the propagation and survival of 
endangered and threatened species.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that NMFS has received two direct take 
permit applications and two permit modification requests pursuant to 
section 10(a)(1)(A) of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) for research 
and enhancement purposes. The proposed activities are intended to 
enhance the survival of species listed under the ESA and to help guide 
management and conservation efforts.

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 September 11, 
2024.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be submitted to: NMFS West Coast 
Region, 650 Capitol Mall, Room 5-100, Sacramento, CA 95814. Comments 
may also be submitted via email to [email protected]. Please 
include the permit number in any correspondence or comments provided.
    The applications may be viewed online at: https://apps.nmfs.noaa.gov/preview/preview_open_for_comment.cfm.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amanda Cranford, Sacramento, 
California (Phone: 916-930-3706, Email: [email protected]).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Species Covered in This Notice

Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) Evolutionarily Significant 
Units (ESU):
    Endangered Sacramento River winter-run, and
    Threatened Central Valley spring-run
Steelhead (O. mykiss) Distinct Population Segments (DPS):
    Threatened California Central Valley (CCV)
North American green sturgeon (Acipenser medirostris):
    Threatened Southern DPS (SDPS)

Background

Permit 27626

    The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) proposes to 
reintroduce and bolster native fish populations in Big Chico Creek by 
translocating fishes from nearby waters. Several species have been 
extirpated from Big Chico Creek due to rotenone treatment that occurred 
between Higgin's Hole and Iron Canyon in 1986. Target native fishes 
include: Sacramento Sucker (Catostomidae occidentalis), Sacramento 
Pikeminnow (Ptychocheilus grandis), Hardhead (Mylopharodon 
conocephalus), Western Brook Lamprey (Lampetra richardsoni), and Riffle 
Sculpin (Cottus gulosus). Several of these fishes are ranked as of 
moderate concern in the California Species of Special Concern List 
within the California Natural Diversity Database. Reintroducing these 
species back into their native range increases resilience and provides 
a unique opportunity to restore previously documented native fish 
assemblage.
    Fish will be captured using beach seines as much as is feasible, 
with the exception of Brook Lamprey, which will be captured using 
backpack electrofishing. Where beach seines are not effective or 
possible, CDFW will use minnow traps to capture fish. Fish will be 
inspected for parasites and any health concerns, and the anterior 
portion of their dorsal fins will be clipped for genetic analysis. 
Depending on size of fish collected, a Floy tag may be applied for the 
purposes of tracking movement within Big Chico Creek and assessing the 
success of translocations. Fish will be transported in oxygenated water 
to the receiving sites in Big Chico Creek. Receiving sites will be 
determined each year based on access, safety of crew, and locations of 
previous years' translocations.

Permit 28124

    The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) will deploy a 
Juvenile Salmonid Collection System (JSCS) in the McCloud Arm of Shasta 
Reservoir as part of a feasibility study to assess the reintroduction 
of Sacramento River winter-run Chinook salmon above Shasta Dam. The 
primary purpose of JSCS deployment is to evaluate methods of juvenile 
salmon collection in head-of-reservoir conditions to support efforts to 
reintroduce the endangered population of Sacramento River winter-run 
Chinook salmon to cold-water habitat above Shasta and Keswick dams.
    The JSCS is a channel-spanning fish trap designed for head-of-
reservoir conditions, and is comprised of a debris boom, guidance nets, 
fish trap and platform (live box, fykes, and decks), temperature 
curtain, and anchoring system. The JSCS is a passive system that does 
not rely on pumps or power, and instead leverages fish behavior and 
water velocities to capture juvenile salmon during outmigration before 
the fish enter the main body of the reservoir. The JSCS is intended to 
capture the experimental population of Sacramento River winter-run 
Chinook salmon from Livingston Stone National Fish Hatchery (Livingston 
Stone NFH) reared and released at Ah Di Na on the McCloud River. DWR 
may sample a subsection of trapped salmon to assess their growth rates 
and condition. DWR may recover juvenile salmon carcasses during 
warmwater predator gut content analysis and will provide salvaged 
mortalities to CDFW and the Southwest Fisheries Science Center (SWFSC). 
DWR will conduct mark-recapture studies with hatchery-raised juvenile 
Sacramento River winter-run or Central Valley spring-run Chinook salmon 
to inform evaluation of trap efficiency and capture probability. DWR 
will provide all salmon captured at the JSCS to CDFW and the Winnemem 
Wintu Tribe for relocation and release.

Permit 16477-4M

    This permit modification request is intended to support a suite of 
emergency actions under development by NMFS, CDFW, and the U.S. Fish 
and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to enhance the survival of Central Valley 
spring-run Chinook salmon. In 2023, the three remaining independent 
Central Valley spring-run Chinook salmon populations in Mill, Deer, and 
Butte Creeks experienced a cohort collapse. The primary purpose of 
Livingston Stone NFH is to conserve endangered Sacramento River winter-
run Chinook salmon. However, beginning in 2024, additional actions will 
be taken to conserve threatened Central Valley spring-run Chinook 
salmon that are incidentally captured during adult winter-run Chinook 
salmon broodstock collection activities.
    USFWS proposes to trap, genetically identify, hold, and spawn a 
limited number of adult spring-run Chinook

[[Page 65606]]

salmon captured in the Keswick Dam fish trap. Eggs produced from these 
fish will be incubated at Livingston Stone NFH until the eyed stage, at 
which time they will be moved off-station by CDFW to remote-site 
incubators (RSIs) installed on Butte, Clear, Deer, and/or Mill creeks. 
In addition to the artificial propagation of spring-run Chinook salmon 
at Livingston Stone NFH in the capacity described above, natural-origin 
spring-run Chinook salmon trapped at Keswick Dam in excess of the 
agreed upon spawning target, or otherwise not selected for propagation, 
be translocated to Butte, Clear, Deer, and/or Mill creeks, instead of 
returning them to the Sacramento River at Caldwell Park. This action 
will promote spawning in higher-quality tributary spawning and rearing 
habitats that are spatially separated from adult fall-run Chinook 
salmon spawners.

Permit 18181-6M

    The permit modification requested by CDFW will allow for the 
operation of RSIs in various Central Valley rivers. The use of RSIs is 
expected to enhance the survival of ESA-listed Chinook salmon by: (1) 
spreading the risk of adverse impacts to early life stages caused by 
drought conditions; (2) assessing the efficacy of RSI systems for 
potential use in any future reintroduction program efforts; and/or (3) 
studying the growth, survival, and outmigration timing of juvenile 
salmon in their historical habitat to inform long-term reintroduction 
planning. RSIs may be deployed and operated in the McCloud River using 
Sacramento River winter-run Chinook salmon eggs from Livingston Stone 
NFH. RSIs in Butte, Clear, Deer, and/or Mill creeks would utilize 
Central Valley spring-run Chinook salmon eggs from adults incidentally 
captured at the Keswick Dam fish trap and spawned at Livingston Stone 
NFH.
    CDFW also proposes to carry out monitoring and evaluation 
activities to assess the performance of reintroduction efforts in the 
McCloud River. Snorkel surveys may be conducted to monitor outmigration 
timing, juvenile distribution, and habitat use. Juveniles will be 
recaptured using rotary screw traps (or an alternative juvenile capture 
method, if determined necessary), which may include efficiency trials 
to expand fish counts to estimates of growth, survival and productivity 
of juveniles in the McCloud River. Habitat-associations will be 
assessed through snorkel surveys and/or backpack electrofishing at 
various locations in the McCloud River from Ah Di Na to Lake Shasta.

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-
226). NMFS issues permits based on finding 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

    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: August 6, 2024.
Angela Somma,
Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected Resources, 
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-17799 Filed 8-9-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P