[Federal Register: May 12, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 92)]
[Notices]
[Page 26363-26364]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr12my04-28]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D. 042304B]
Endangered and Threatened Species; Take of Anadromous Fish
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of availability and request for comment.
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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that NMFS has received an application
for incidental take permit 1481 (Permit) from the Idaho Department of
Fish and Game (IDFG) pursuant to the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as
amended (ESA). As required by the ESA, IDFG's application includes a
conservation plan (Plan) designed to minimize and mitigate any such
take of endangered or threatened species. The Permit application is for
the incidental take of ESA-listed adult and juvenile salmonids
associated with otherwise lawful recreational fisheries on non-listed
species in the Snake River and its tributaries in the State of Idaho.
NMFS also announces the availability of a draft Environmental
Assessment (EA) for the Permit modification application under the
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). This document serves to
notify the public of the availability for comment of the permit
modification application and the associated draft EA before a final
decision on whether to issue a Finding of No Significant Impact is made
by NMFS. All comments received will become part of the public record
and will be available for review pursuant to section 10(c) of the ESA.
DATES: Written comments on the draft EA must be received no later than
5 p.m. Pacific daylight time on May 27, 2004.
ADDRESSES: Written comments and requests for copies of the draft EA
should be addressed to Herb Pollard, Salmon Recovery Division, 10215 W.
Emerald, Suite 180, Boise, ID 83704, or faxed to (208) 378-5699.
Comments on this draft EA may be submitted by e-mail. The mailbox
address for providing e-mail comments is Permit1481.nwr@noaa.gov.
Include in the subject line the following document
[[Page 26364]]
identifier: ``Permit 1481 assessment''. The documents will also be
available on the Internet at http://www.nwr.noaa.gov. Comments may also be
submitted electronically through the Federal e-Rulemaking portal:
http://www.regulations.gov. Comments received will also be available for
public inspection, by appointment, during normal business hours by
calling (208) 378-5614.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Herb Pollard, Boise, ID, at phone
number (208) 378-5614 or e-mail: herbert.pollard@noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice is relevant to the Snake River
spring/summer chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), Snake River
fall-run chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha), Snake River sockeye salmon
(O. nerka), and Snake River steelhead (O. mykiss) ESUs. The proposed
permit will renew and replace permit 1233 which will expire on December
31, 2004. The duration of the proposed Permit and Plan is 5 years,
expiring on May 31, 2008.
Background
On May 26, 2000, NMFS issued permit 1233 to the State of Idaho to
conduct recreational fisheries managed by IDFG during 2000 through 2004
on non-listed species in the Snake River and its tributaries in the
State of Idaho. Permit 1233 authorizes IDFG an incidental take of adult
and juvenile, threatened, naturally produced Snake River spring/summer
chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), adult and juvenile,
threatened, naturally produced Snake River fall chinook salmon (O.
tshawytscha), and adult and juvenile, threatened, naturally produced
Snake River sockeye salmon (O. nerka) in recreational fisheries managed
by the State of Idaho.
IDFG requests a new permit to modify timing of currently authorized
fisheries, to expand currently authorized fishing areas, and to apply
an abundance-based sliding scale to incidental take limits for the
fisheries. The fishery area in the Salmon River would be increased from
the current boundaries of the mouth of Hammer Creek 30 miles (48.2803
km) upstream to the mouth of the Little Salmon River, to include the
area from the mouth of the Salmon River upstream approximately 120
miles (193.121 km) to the mouth of the South Fork Salmon River. IDFG
also requests that a sliding scale of harvest impacts, based on the
combined return of listed spring and summer run chinook salmon counted
at Lower Granite Dam be applied to the allowable incidental take of
adult, threatened, Snake River spring/summer chinook salmon associated
with the authorized fisheries. The proposed permit is the fourth in a
series of permits (Permit 844, 1993-1998; Permit 1150, 1999; and Permit
1233, 2000-2004 preceded this application) which have provided ESA
authorization for recreational fishing activities that may incidentally
take listed Snake River salmon and steelhead.
In its Plan, IDFG is proposing to limit state recreational
fisheries such that the incidental impacts on ESA-listed salmonids will
be minimized. Three alternatives for the IDFG fisheries are provided in
the Plan: (1) The no action alternative; (2) the proposed conservation
plan alternative (based on continuing fisheries at levels similar to
those permitted since 1995); and (3) historical fishing levels.
Environmental Assessment/Finding of No Significant Impact
The EA package includes a draft EA evaluating whether the potential
effects of issuing the new incidental take permit to replace the
existing permit and whether such issuance is a major Federal action
significantly affecting the quality of the human environment, within
the meaning of section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy
Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended. Three Federal action alternatives have
been analyzed in the draft EA: (1) The no action alternative; (2) issue
a permit with conditions; and (3) issue a permit without conditions.
NEPA requires Federal agencies to conduct an environmental analysis of
their proposed actions to determine if the actions may affect the human
environment. NMFS expects to take action on the ESA section 10(a)(1)(B)
submittal received from the applicant. Therefore, NMFS is seeking
public input on the scope of the required NEPA analysis, including the
range of reasonable alternatives and associated impacts of any
alternatives.
This notice is provided pursuant to section 10(c) of the ESA and
the NEPA regulations (40 CFR 1506.6). NMFS will evaluate the
application, associated documents, and comments submitted thereon to
determine whether the application meets the requirements of the NEPA
regulations and section 10(a) of the ESA. If it is determined that the
requirements are met, a permit will be issued for incidental takes of
ESA-listed anadromous salmonids under the jurisdiction of NMFS. The
final NEPA and permit determinations will not be completed until after
the end of the 15-day comment period and will fully consider all public
comments received during the comment period. NMFS will publish a record
of its final action in the Federal Register.
Dated: May 7, 2004.
Phil Williams,
Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected Resources,
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 04-10787 Filed 5-11-04; 8:45 am]
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