81 FR 74769 - Endangered and Threatened Species; Take of Anadromous Fish

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 208 (October 27, 2016)

Notice is hereby given that NMFS has received six scientific research permit application requests relating to Pacific salmon and steelhead. 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.

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 208 (Thursday, October 27, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 74769-74770]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-25922]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[0648-XE982]


Endangered and Threatened Species; Take of Anadromous Fish

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

ACTION: Applications for five scientific research permit renewals and 
one permit modification.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that NMFS has received six scientific 
research permit application requests relating to Pacific salmon and 
steelhead. 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 November 28, 
2016.

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 (spr/
sum); threatened SR fall.
    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 1339--4R
    The Nez Perce Tribe (NPT) under the authorization of the Columbia 
River Intertribal Fish Commission (CRITFC) is seeking to renew for five 
years its permit to annually take adult and juvenile SR spr/sum Chinook 
salmon and SR steelhead while conducting research in a number of the 
tributaries to the Imnaha River (Cow, Lightning, Horse, Big Sheep, 
Camp, Little Sheep, Freezeout, Grouse, Crazyman, Mahogany, and Gumboot 
Creeks), the Grande Ronde River (Joseph Creek, Wenaha and Minam 
rivers), the Clearwater River (South Fork Clearwater River and Lolo 
Creek), and the Snake River (Lower Granite Dam adult trap). The Imnaha 
and Grande Ronde Rivers are in northeastern Oregon, the Clearwater is 
in Idaho, and the work in the Snake River would take place in 
Washington. The permit would be a renewal of work the NPT has been 
conducting for well over a decade in the Northwest.
    The purpose of the research is to acquire information on the status 
(escapement abundance, genetic structure, life history traits) of 
juvenile and adult steelhead in the Imnaha, Grande Ronde, and 
Clearwater River basins. The research would benefit the listed species 
by providing information on current status that fishery managers can 
use to determine if recovery actions are helping increase wild Snake 
River salmonid populations. Baseline information on steelhead 
populations in the Imnaha, Grande Ronde, and Clearwater River basins 
would also be used to help guide future management actions. Adult and 
juvenile salmon and steelhead would be observed, harassed, handled, and 
marked. The researchers would use temporary/portable picket and 
resistance board weirs and rotary screw traps to capture the fish and 
would then sample them for biological information (fin tissue and scale 
samples). They may also mark some of the fish with opercule punches, 
fin clips, dyes, and PIT, floy, and/or Tyvek disk tags. Adult steelhead 
carcasses would also be collected and sampled. The researchers do not 
intend to kill any of the fish being captured, but a small number may 
die as an unintended result of the activities.
1341--5R
    The Shoshone-Bannock Tribes (Tribes) are seeking to renew for five 
years their permit to take SR sockeye salmon and SR spr/sum Chinook 
salmon while conducting research designed to estimate their overwinter 
survival and downstream migration survival and timing. The researchers 
would also conduct limnological studies on the lakes and monitor 
sockeye rearing. This research--which has been conducted every year 
since 1996--would continue to provide information on the relative 
success of the Pettit and Alturas Lakes (Idaho) sockeye salmon 
reintroduction programs and thereby benefit the listed fish by 
improving those programs. Juvenile SR sockeye salmon, spr/sum Chinook 
salmon, and steelhead would be collected at Pettit and Alturas Lakes, 
ID, using rotary screw traps and weirs. The fish would be sampled for 
biological information and released or tagged with passive integrated 
transponders and released. In addition, to determine trap efficiencies, 
a portion of the tagged juvenile SR

[[Page 74770]]

sockeye salmon would be released upstream of the traps, captured at the 
traps a second time, and re-released. The Tribes do not intend to kill 
any of the fish being captured, but a small percentage may die as an 
unintended result of the research activities.
1465--4R
    The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (IDEQ) is seeking to 
renew for five years their permit to annually take juvenile threatened 
SR steelhead, threatened SR fall Chinook salmon, threatened SR spr/sum 
Chinook salmon, and endangered SR sockeye salmon during the course of 
two research projects designed to ascertain the condition of many Idaho 
streams. The purposes of the research are to (a) determine whether 
aquatic life is being properly supported in Idaho's rivers, streams, 
and lakes, and (b) assess the overall condition of Idaho's surface 
waters. The fish would benefit from the research because the data it 
produces would be used to inform decisions about how and where to 
protect and improve water quality in the state. The researchers would 
use backpack- and boat electrofishing equipment to capture the fish. 
They would then be weighed and measured (some may be anesthetized to 
limit stress) and released. The IDEQ does not intend to kill any of the 
fish being captured, but a small percentage may die as an unintended 
result of the research activities.
Permit 16521--2R
    The WDFW is seeking a to renew for five years their permit to 
annually capture, handle, and release juvenile UCR steelhead and 
Chinook salmon in the Hanford reach of the Columbia River and near the 
Tri-Cities, Washington. The purpose of the research is to gather data 
on fall Chinook abundance, length frequency distribution, and losses in 
the area. The information collected from these surveys has been used 
and continues to be used to evaluate protections for juvenile fall 
Chinook under the Hanford Reach Fall Chinook Protection Program 
Agreement and gauge the efficacy of the Coded Wire Tagging Program for 
marking of wild up-river bright fall Chinook in the Hanford Reach. 
These surveys can provide biologists and managers with definitive data 
on the presence or impacts on both non-listed and ESA Listed Chinook 
and steelhead residing in near shore habitats in this area of the 
Columbia River. These data, in turn, would be used to help guide 
management actions for the benefit of the listed species in the future. 
The researchers would use beach seines and backpack electrofishing 
equipment to capture the fish. The captured fish would be anesthetized, 
measured, allowed to recover, and released back to the river. The 
researchers do not expect to kill any listed fish, but a small number 
may die as an unintended result of the research activities.
Permit 16446--2R
    The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) 
are seeking to renew for five years their permit to take MCR steelhead 
during the course of research designed to monitor listed fish 
population status in the Walla Walla River watershed, Washington. The 
data gathered (on fish abundance, trends, genetics, diversity, 
productivity, and population structure) would be used to inform 
management decisions regarding land use activities and recovery 
planning in the Walla Walla sub-basin. The researchers would use rotary 
screw traps and backpack electrofishing units to capture the fish. At 
the screw traps, the fish would then be identified, measured, weighed, 
tissue sampled, and implanted with PIT-Tags (if they do not already 
have tags). Fish captured via electrofishing would be handled, 
measured, allowed to recover, and released in a safe area. Some adult 
carcasses would also be sampled. The researchers do not expect to kill 
any of the fish being captured, but a small number may die as an 
unintended result of the research activities.
Permit 18696--2M
    The Idaho Power company is seeking to modify their five-year permit 
to annually capture juvenile white sturgeon in Lower Granite Reservoir. 
The researchers would use small-mesh gill nets and d-ring nets to 
capture the fish. The gill net fishing would take place at times 
(October and November) and in areas (the bottom of the reservoir) 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 
research targets a species that is not listed, but the research should 
benefit listed salmonids by generating information about the habitat 
conditions in Lower Granite Reservoir and by helping managers develop 
conservation plans for the species that inhabit it. 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.
    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: October 21, 2016.
Angela Somma,
Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected Resources, 
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2016-25922 Filed 10-26-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P