[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 76 (Thursday, April 18, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16898-16899]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-9515]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
[I.D. 041196B]
Endangered Species; Permits
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Issuance of permit 995 (P605) and a second amendment of permit
747 (P45H).
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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that NMFS has issued a permit and an
amendment to a permit that authorize takes of an Endangered Species
Act-listed species for the purpose of scientific research/enhancement,
subject to certain conditions set forth therein, to Ms. Pamela A.
Petrusso, in collaboration with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation at Red
Bluff, CA (BOR), and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at Red Bluff,
CA (FWS).
ADDRESSES: The applications and related documents are available for
review in the following offices, by appointment:
Office of Protected Resources, F/PR8, NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway,
Silver Spring, MD 20910-3226 (301-713-1401); and
Director, Southwest Region, NMFS, NOAA, 501 West Ocean Blvd., Suite
4200, Long Beach, CA 90802-4213 (310-980-4016).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The permit and the second amendment of a
permit were issued under the authority of section 10 of the Endangered
Species Act of 1973 (ESA) (16 U.S.C. 1531-1543) and the NMFS
regulations governing listed fish and wildlife permits (50 CFR parts
217-222).
Notice was published on February 23, 1996 (61 FR 6975) that an
application had been filed by Ms. Pamela A. Petrusso, in collaboration
with BOR (P605), for a permit to take an ESA-listed species. Permit 995
was issued to Ms. Petrusso on April 2, 1996. Permit 995 authorizes Ms.
Petrusso a take of juvenile, endangered, Sacramento River winter-run
chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) associated with a study
designed to determine the physical condition of juvenile chinook salmon
rearing in mainstem habitats between Keswick Dam and Red Bluff on the
Sacramento River. The project will contribute to BOR's efforts to
reduce migration impediments to the four runs of Sacramento River
chinook salmon by providing baseline data for interpretation of the
results of entrainment studies. In addition, the study will advance the
understanding of the early life history and ecology of young chinook
salmon in the upper Sacramento River. Permit 995 will expire on June
30, 1998.
Permit 747 was issued to FWS on August 8, 1991. Permit 747 had
authorized FWS takes of adult and juvenile, endangered, Sacramento
River winter-run chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) associated
with scientific research, monitoring, and enhancement activities to
promote the survival of this ESA-listed species. In the interest of
ESA-listed species enhancement, supplementation hatchery programs and a
captive broodstock program were initiated. In 1995, genetics research
found that the artificial propagation of winter-run chinook salmon has
likely resulted in hybridization with spring-run chinook salmon. In
addition, hatchery-produced winter-run chinook salmon have not been
returning to the mainstem Sacramento River as intended, but rather, are
returning to Battle Creek where FWS's Coleman National Fish Hatchery is
located, apparently as a result of imprinting on Battle Creek water.
Permit 747 was to expire on December 31, 1995. The first amendment
of permit 747 was issued on December 20, 1995 (61 FR 346, January 4,
1996) and provided, in part, an extension of the permit through March,
1996 and a moratorium on the collection of adult ESA-listed fish for
broodstock for the duration of the permit. An extension of the permit
was necessary to allow FWS to continue research, monitoring, and
enhancement activities until new permits replaced permit 747 (60 FR
58334, November 27, 1995) and to provide an opportunity to address the
technical concerns with FWS' ESA-listed fish artificial propagation
program. The purpose of the moratorium on the collection of adult ESA-
listed fish for broodstock is to avoid compromising the genetic
integrity of the winter-run chinook salmon population due to the
technical problems and to avoid a significant drain on the 1996
spawning population if juveniles continue to imprint exclusively on
Battle Creek.
[[Page 16899]]
The second amendment of permit 747 was issued to FWS on March 27,
1996. Three actions are provided by this amendment. They are: (1) An
extension of permit 747 through November 30, 1996; (2) the continuation
of the moratorium on the collection of adult ESA-listed fish for
broodstock for the duration of permit 747; and (3) the continuation of
the authorization for a take of ESA-listed fish associated with the
maintenance and care of hatchery fish that are part of FWS's
propagation and captive broodstock programs. Due to continued technical
concerns with hybridization and imprinting problems, it was not
feasible for NMFS to complete the necessary actions required to issue a
new enhancement permit by the end of March, 1996. The take of ESA-
listed fish associated with the scientific research/monitoring
component of permit 747 has been deleted and is now authorized under
permit 990, issued on March 20, 1996 (61 FR 14297, April 1, 1996). The
second amendment is in effect for the duration of permit 747.
Issuance of the permit and the second amendment to a permit, as
required by the ESA, was based on a finding that such actions: (1) Were
requested in good faith, (2) will not operate to the disadvantage of
the ESA-listed species that is the subject of the permits, and (3) is
consistent with the purposes and policies set forth in section 2 of the
ESA and the NMFS regulations governing ESA-listed species permits.
Dated: April 11, 1996.
Margaret Lorenz,
Acting Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 96-9515 Filed 4-17-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F
