76400 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 235 / Wednesday, December 8, 2010 / Notices 

listed marine mammals in rehabilitation 

in California, using methods currently 

approved in Permit No. 13602. The 

applicant is requesting permission to 

hold up to three Hawaiian monk seals 

at Long Marine Laboratory at any given 

time, an increase of one animal from 

that described in the amendment 

application. The amendment is 

requested for the duration of the permit. 

Concurrent with the publication of 

this notice in the Federal Register, 

NMFS is forwarding copies of this 

application to the Marine Mammal 

Commission and its Committee of 

Scientific Advisors. 

Dated: December 1, 2010. 

P. Michael Payne, 

Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education 

Division, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2010–30873 Filed 12–7–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XA071 

Endangered and Threatened Species; 

Take of Anadromous Fish 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service, National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration, 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Applications for two new 

scientific research permits. 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that 

NMFS has received two scientific 

research permit application requests 

relating to salmonids listed under the 

Endangered Species Act (ESA). The 

proposed research is intended to 

increase knowledge of the species and 

to help guide management and 

conservation efforts. 

DATES: Written comments on the permit 

applications must be received at the 

appropriate address or fax number (see 

ADDRESSES) no later than 5 p.m. Pacific 

standard time on January 7, 2011. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments on these 

applications should be submitted to the 

Protected Resources Division, NMFS, 

777 Sonoma Avenue, Room 315, Santa 

Rosa, CA 95404. Comments may also be 

submitted via fax to (707) 578–3435 or 

by e-mail to FRNpermits.SR@noaa.gov. 

The applications and related documents 

may be viewed online at: https:// 

apps.nmfs.noaa.gov/preview/ 

preview_open_for_comment.cfm. These 

documents are also available upon 

written request or by appointment by 

contacting NMFS by phone (707) 575– 

6097 or fax (707) 578–3435. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jeffrey Jahn, Santa Rosa, CA (ph.: 707– 

575–6097, e-mail: 

Jeffrey.Jahn@noaa.gov). Permit 

application instructions are available 

from the address above, or online at 

apps.nmfs.noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Species Covered in This Notice 

This notice is relevant to Federally 

threatened California Coastal (CC) 

Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus 

tshawytscha), endangered Central 

California Coast (CCC) Coho salmon (O. 

kisutch), and threatened CCC steelhead 

(O. mykiss). 

Authority 

Scientific research permits are issued 

in accordance with section 10(a)(1)(A) 

of the ESA of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531– 

1543) and regulations governing listed 

fish and wildlife permits (50 CFR parts 

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 which 

are the subject of the permits; and (3) 

are consistent with the purposes and 

policies set forth in 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 14513 

Dr. Stephanie Carlson, University of 

California at Berkeley, is requesting a 5- 

year permit to take adult and juvenile 

CC Chinook salmon, CCC coho salmon, 

and CCC steelhead associated with four 

research projects in two watersheds in 

central California. In the four studies 

described below, researchers do not 

expect to kill any listed fish but a small 

number may die as an unintended result 

of the research activities. However, a 

low number of moribund CCC steelhead 

may be collected for analysis as part of 

Project 3, in Pescadero Lagoon. 

Project 1 is a study on the summer 

ecology of juvenile salmonids in streams 

of the Lagunitas Creek (Marin County) 

and Pescadero Creek (San Mateo 

County) watersheds. The study will 

examine the variation in growth and 

survival of juvenile CCC coho salmon 

and CCC steelhead rearing in streams 

that experience elevated water 

temperatures and low stream flow 

volumes in summer. Annually, Dr. 

Carlson proposes to capture (backpack 

electrofisher, seine, dip-net), handle 

(identify, measure and weigh), mark 

(fin-clips, passive integrated 

transponder (PIT) tag), sample (scale 

collection), and release fish. Movements 

of PIT-tagged fish will be monitored 

throughout the summer using hand held 

and stationary PIT-tag readers. In 

September and October, the study areas 

will be re-sampled using the same 

methods as described above. Fish will 

be scanned for PIT-tags and those 

recaptured will be re-weighed and 

measured to determine growth rates. 

Throughout winter, fish will be 

monitored for their movements using 

hand held and stationary PIT-tag 

readers. Data gathered from this study 

will provide information on fish growth 

and survival rates and how these relate 

to abiotic and biotic variables within the 

watersheds. 

Project 2 is a biotelemetry study of 

smolt migrations in the Lagunitas Creek 

and Pescadero Creek watersheds. In the 

Lagunitas Creek watershed, smolts will 

be captured in down migrant traps 

operated by the National Park Service 

(Permit 1046) and the Marin Municipal 

Water District (Permit 1047). In the 

Pescadero Creek Watershed, Dr. Carlson 

proposes to capture (fyke net, seine) 

CCC coho salmon and CCC steelhead 

smolts. In both study areas, Dr. Carlson 

proposes to anesthetize a subset of 

captured fish and implant acoustic tags 

in order to determine salmonid 

residence time and movements 

throughout the two estuary 

environments. Strategically placed 

acoustic receivers will track the 

movements of the tagged salmonids in 

each system. Data collected from tagged 

fish in these systems will be used to 

determine differences in survival 

between permanently-open versus 

seasonally-closed estuaries and the 

significance of estuary rearing on the 

timing of ocean entry. 

Project 3 is a study on the ecology of 

juvenile salmonids in Tomales Bay, and 

Pescadero Lagoon and their overall 

dependence on estuarine resources 

based on an analysis of diet and fish 

growth. In the two estuaries, Dr. Carlson 

proposes to capture (hook-and-line, 

seine), handle (identify, measure, 

weigh), sample (fin-clip, scale 

collection, gastric lavage), and release 

smolts. In Pescadero Lagoon, a subset of 

fish will be implanted with PIT tags. 

Adults that are captured will be handled 

(identified, measured), sampled (scale 


jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 235 / Wednesday, December 8, 2010 / Notices 76401 

collection) and released. The data 

gathered from this project, in addition to 

Project 2, will provide information on 

the ecology of juvenile salmonids in 

estuarine environments, their feeding 

habits, and how they differ between 

systems with permanently-open 

(Tomales Bay) versus seasonally-closed 

(Pescadero Creek lagoon) estuaries/ 

lagoons. 

Project 4 examines smolt production 

in the Lagunitas Creek watershed by 

analyzing collected otoliths to 

determine where smolts that survived to 

breed as adults reared as juveniles. The 

otoliths will be obtained from carcasses 

encountered during annual spawner 

surveys conducted by the National Park 

Service and Marin Municipal Water 

District. Dr. Carlson proposes to conduct 

additional surveys in order to augment 

the otolith collection. The results of this 

project could provide important 

information on the habitat attributes 

associated with high productivity areas 

and could help identify areas of poor 

productivity that might be candidate 

sites for habitat restoration. 

Permit 15548 

Thomas R. Payne and Associates is 

seeking a ten-year permit to take listed 

adult and juvenile CCC steelhead while 

collecting biological data. The purpose 

of the research is to monitor the 

distribution, relative abundance and 

diversity, the condition and general 

health of fish populations and to 

describe the existing habitat conditions 

of Suisun Creek, Green Valley Creek, 

and Ledgewood Creek in Solano County 

and Napa County, California. The 

research would benefit CCC steelhead 

by producing data to support 

development of the Solano Habitat 

Conservation Plan under development 

as a requirement of a March 1999 

biological opinion for the Solano Project 

Water Service Contract Renewal issued 

by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 

Monitoring activities will take place 

between July and October at multiple 

sites in the three creeks using a 

backpack electrofisher to stun and net 

fish. Captured fish will be anesthetized 

prior to handling and then identified, 

counted, measured, weighed, and 

released. The researchers do not intend 

to kill any captured fish but a small 

number may die as an unintended result 

of the research 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: December 2, 2010. 

Therese Conant, 

Acting Chief, Endangered Species Division, 

Office of Protected Resources, National 

Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2010–30908 Filed 12–7–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Patent and Trademark Office 

[Docket No.: PTO–P–2010–0071] 

Pilot Program for Extended Time 

Period To Reply to a Notice To File 

Missing Parts of Nonprovisional 

Application 

AGENCY: United States Patent and 

Trademark Office, Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The United States Patent and 

Trademark Office (USPTO) previously 

published a notice requesting comments 

on a proposed change to missing parts 

practice in nonprovisional applications. 

The USPTO has considered the 

comments and is implementing a pilot 

program (Extended Missing Parts Pilot 

Program) in which an applicant can 

request a twelve-month time period to 

pay certain fees and to reply to a Notice 

to File Missing Parts of Nonprovisional 

Application. Under the Extended 

Missing Parts Pilot Program, applicant 

must file a nonprovisional application 

within twelve months of the filing date 

of a provisional application and directly 

claim the benefit of the provisional 

application, as well as submit a 

certification and request to participate 

in the Extended Missing Parts Pilot 

Program with the nonprovisional 

application. In addition, applicant must 

not file a nonpublication request. 

Applicant will be given a twelve-month 

period to decide whether the 

nonprovisional application should be 

completed by paying the search fee, the 

examination fee, any excess claim fees, 

and the surcharge ($130.00 for nonsmall entity or $65.00 for small entity) 

for the late submission of the search fee 

and examination fee within that twelvemonth period. The nonprovisional 

application will be published under the 

existing eighteen-month publication 

provisions. Therefore, applicant should 

also submit the basic filing fee, an 

executed oath or declaration, and 

application papers that are in condition 

for publication, on filing of the 

application with the request to 

participate in the pilot. If the basic filing 

fee, an executed oath declaration, and/ 

or application papers that are in 

condition for publication are not 

submitted with the application and the 

request to participate in the pilot, 

applicant will need to submit these 

items within a two-month (extendable) 

time period. In view of the comments, 

the USPTO is cautiously moving 

forward by implementing the proposed 

procedure as a pilot program. 

Specifically, the pilot program will 

require applicant to submit a 

certification and request to participate 

in the pilot program, rather than 

automatically applying the procedure to 

all applicants. The USPTO is providing 

a certification and request form that 

includes educational information 

regarding domestic benefit claims, 

foreign filings, patent term adjustment 

(PTA) effects, the need for a complete 

disclosure of the invention, potential 

increase in fees, and the benefits of 

submitting a complete set of claims. In 

addition, the USPTO is implementing a 

number of educational initiatives to 

assist independent inventors and other 

applicants. The Extended Missing Parts 

Pilot Program will benefit applicants by 

permitting additional time to determine 

if patent protection should be sought— 

at a relatively low cost—and by 

permitting applicants to focus efforts on 

commercialization during this period. 

The Extended Missing Parts Pilot 

Program will benefit the USPTO and the 

public by adding publications to the 

body of prior art, and by removing from 

the USPTO’s workload those 

nonprovisional applications for which 

applicants later decide not to pursue 

examination. Applicants are advised 

that the extended missing parts period 

does not affect the twelve-month 

priority period provided by the Paris 

Convention for the Protection of 

Industrial Property. Thus, any foreign 

filings must still be made within twelve 

months of the filing date of the 

provisional application if applicant 

wishes to rely on the provisional 

application in the foreign-filed 

application or if protection is desired in 

a country requiring filing within twelve 

months of the earliest application for 

which rights are left outstanding in 

order to be entitled to priority. 

DATES: Effective Date: December 8, 2010. 

Duration: The Extended Missing Parts 

Pilot Program will run for twelve 

months from its effective date. 

Therefore, any certification and request 

to participate in the Extended Missing 

Parts Pilot Program must be filed before 

December 8, 2011. The USPTO may 

extend the pilot program (with or 


jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with NOTICES