[Federal Register: May 12, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 92)]
[Notices]
[Page 27710-27712]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr12my06-59]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D. 050406C]
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 permits (1564, 1565,
1566, 1567, 1568) and one modification (1335 - modification 4).
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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that NMFS has received six scientific
research permit application requests relating to Pacific salmon. 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.
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 June 12, 2006.
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 e-mail to resapps.nwr@NOAA.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Garth Griffin, Portland, OR (ph.: 503-
231-2005, Fax: 503-230-5441, e-mail: Garth.Griffin@noaa.gov). Permit
application instructions are available from the address above.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Species Covered in This Notice
The following listed species are covered in this notice:
Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha): threatened lower
Columbia River (LCR), threatened upper Willamette River (UWR),
threatened Puget Sound (PS), endangered upper Columbia River (UCR).
Chum salmon (O. keta): threatened Columbia River (CR), threatened
Hood Canal (HC).
[[Page 27711]]
Steelhead (O. mykiss): threatened LCR, threatened UWR, threatened
UCR, threatened middle Columbia River (MCR).
Coho salmon (O. kisutch): threatened LCR, threatened Southern
Oregon Northern California Coasts (SONCC).
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 1335 - Modification 4
Permit 1335 currently authorizes the US Forest Service (USFS) to
take juvenile UCR Chinook salmon, UWR Chinook salmon, LCR Chinook
salmon, PS Chinook salmon, UCR steelhead, UWR steelhead, LCR steelhead,
MCR steelhead, CR chum salmon, HC chum salmon, and SONCC coho salmon on
Federal lands covered by the Northwest Forest Plan in Oregon and
Washington. The USFS is asking to modify their permit so they may be
allowed to take LCR coho salmon and newly listed hatchery HC chum
salmon, LCR Chinook salmon, UWR Chinook salmon, and SONCC coho salmon.
They also wish to extend the permit's expiration date to December 31,
2010. The purpose of the research is to assess watershed conditions and
limiting factors, and determine watershed health under the Northwest
Forest Plan. The activities will benefit listed fish by providing the
USFS with information to improve forest management. The USFS proposes
to capture (using backpack electrofishing), anesthetize, measure, and
release juvenile fish. The USFS does not intend to kill any fish being
captured but some may die as an unintentional result of the research
activities.
Permit 1564
The University of Washington, School of Aquatic and Fishery
Sciences (UW) is requesting a 5-year research permit to take juvenile
PS Chinook salmon. The objective of the research is to monitor the
success of habitat restoration projects in the Duwamish River estuary
the researchers wish to determine if the population characteristics of
local Chinook salmon have changed (improved) in response to recent
estuarine habitat restoration activities. The habitat restoration work
was conducted by the Port of Seattle and monitoring has been going on
since 2004 under a separate permit. The UW is now seeking their own
permit to continue the study. The habitat restoration projects were
designed to improve Chinook salmon rearing and migration habitat, and
the research will benefit the fish by helping managers learn the
effectiveness of those measures. The fish would be captured using
enclosure nets and beach seines. Half of the juvenile Chinook salmon
would be counted, checked for external marks and internal coded-wire
tags, measured, and released. The other half of the captured fish would
also have their stomachs flushed. The UW does not intend to kill any of
the fish being captured but a small number may die as an unintended
result of the activities.
Permit 1565
The National Park Service, Olympic National Park (ONP) is
requesting a 5-year research permit to take juvenile LCR Chinook
salmon, juvenile PS Chinook salmon, juvenile LCR steelhead, and
juvenile LCR coho salmon. The research activities are part of the
National Park Service Inventory and Monitoring Program and would be
conducted within the boundaries of Mount Rainier National Park. The
long-term goals for the program are to (1) monitor ecosystem status and
trends; (2) help park managers identify alternative management actions,
assess trade-offs, and evaluate outcomes; and (3) cooperate with other
Federal and state agencies and thereby share resources, achieve common
goals, and avoid unnecessary duplication of effort and expense. The
research would benefit the fish by helping improve management actions.
The ONP would use snorkeling and backpack electrofishing to assess
species presence and abundance. Captured fish would be measured for
length and released. The ONP does not intend to kill any of the fish
being captured but a small number may die as an unintended result of
the activities.
Permit 1566
The Northwest Fisheries Science Center (NWFSC) is requesting a 5-
year research permit to take juvenile PS Chinook salmon. The purpose of
this study is to monitor a number of proposed restoration sites along
the Puget Sound shoreline from near the Hiram Chittenden Locks north to
the town of Everett. The researchers would determine fish presence,
gauge individual fish health, and measure chemical contamination. The
goal is to establish a pre-restoration baseline of the conditions at
each of the proposed restoration sites so the researchers can determine
how effective the restoration is. The fish would benefit from ongoing
improvement in the restoration efforts. Sediments would be collected
from each site and chemically analyzed. The fish would be captured in
beach seines, measured, and sampled for individual condition factors
and whole body lipid content. Some of the captured fish would be
sacrificed during the process, and a few more fish may die as an
unintended result of the research.
Permit 1567
Ridolfi Inc. is requesting a 5-year research permit to take
juvenile PS Chinook salmon. The purpose of this study is to monitor
habitat restoration sites in Commencement Bay, Washington. Data from
the research would be used to measure the success of restoration
efforts, identify adaptive management approaches, address monitoring
requirements specified by permitting agencies, and serve as an outreach
tool for disseminating project information to interested parties. The
fish would benefit from ongoing improvement in the restoration actions.
The fish would be captured using block nets and beach seines at six
restoration sites throughout Commencement Bay and its tributaries. The
fish would be collected, identified, checked for marks or coded-wire
tags, and measured. Ridolfi does not intend to kill any of the fish
being captured, but a small number may die as an unintended result of
the activities.
Permit 1568
The NWFSC is requesting a 5-year research permit to take juvenile
PS Chinook salmon. The purpose of this project is to provide
information on the basic life histories, ecology and genetic
compositions of wild and hatchery juvenile Chinook salmon in the
Snohomish River estuary. The study is designed to (1) characterize the
ecology of existing Chinook salmon populations and life history types
in the Snohomish
[[Page 27712]]
River Estuary, and (2) evaluate how effectively habitat protection and
restoration actions in the estuary help Chinook salmon populations in
the Snohomish River Basin. The information gathered by this research
would benefit the fish by helping recovery planning in the Snohomish
River estuary and other estuaries of the Puget Sound. The fish would be
captured using Fyke nets and beach seines. They would then be
anesthetized, measured, and weighed. The fish would also be tissue-
sampled and checked for external marks and coded-wire tags. A portion
of the captured fish would be sacrificed for full necropsy and a few
more may die as an unintended result of the research.
This notice is provided pursuant to section 10(c) of the ESA. NMFS
will evaluate the application, associated documents, and comments
submitted to determine whether the application meets 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: May 9, 2006.
Angela Somma,
Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected Resources,
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E6-7273 Filed 5-11-06; 8:45 am]
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