17134 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 66 / Friday, April 6, 2007 / Notices 

Recreational Fisheries Statistical Survey 

(MRFSS) and National Research Council 

(NRC). 

1 p.m. to 3 p.m. – Discussion on 

recreational data issues (continued). 

3:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. – Implementation 

of MSA will be presented; annual catch 

limits/accountability measures. 

4 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. – Science concerns 

and stock assessments will be 

discussed. 

4:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. – NOAA Fisheries 

Budget will be discussed. 

Wednesday, May 2, 2007 

8 a.m. to 9 a.m. – Implementation of 

MSA will be presented; National 

Environmental Protection Act (NEPA). 

9 a.m. to 10 a.m. – Enforcement 

updates and vessel monitoring system 

(VMS) will be presented. 

10:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. – Specific 

management issues will be discussed; 

circle hooks, etc. 

11 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. – National 

Outreach Plan will be presented. 

1 p.m. to 2 p.m. – National Fish 

Habitat Plan will be presented. 

2 p.m. to 3 p.m. – Aquaculture 

Legislation update will be presented. 

3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. – State 

Directors will discuss areas of concern: 

grants, etc. 

Thursday, May 3, 2007 

8 a.m. to 10 a.m. – State Directors 

discussion of areas of concern 

(continue). 

10 a.m. to 11 a.m. – Wrap-up meeting. 

The above agenda items may not be 

taken in the order in which they appear 

and are subject to change as necessary 

to allow for full discussion. 

Special Accommodations 

These meetings are physically 

accessible to people with disabilities. 

Requests for sign language 

interpretation or other auxiliary aids 

should be directed to Chris Moore, 

Chief, Partnerships and 

Communications Division, Office of 

Sustainable Fisheries, NMFS; telephone: 

(301) 713–2379 ext: 165, at least 5 days 

prior to the meeting date. 

Dated: April 2, 2007. 

James P. Burgess, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E7–6399 Filed 4–5–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[I.D. /607C] 

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. 

SUMMARY: Limit 10(i) of the June 28, 

2005, Endangered Species Act (ESA) 

provides that road maintenance 

programs that comply with a program 

substantially similar to that contained in 

the Oregon Department of 

Transportation (ODOT) Guide that is 

determined to meet or exceed the 

protections provided by the ODOT 

Guide can be excepted from the 

prohibitions provided in earlier sections 

of that rule. The Five Counties Salmon 

Conservation Program’s (5 C) ‘‘A Water 

Quality and Stream Habitat Protection 

Manual for County Road Maintenance 

in Northwestern California Watersheds’’

(Manual), is a comprehensive road 

maintenance program for Humboldt, Del 

Norte, Siskiyou, Trinity, and Mendocino 

Counties (5 C area). If the Manual is 

qualified under Limit 10(i), each of the 

five counties would adopt the Manual 

as its road maintenance program. To 

facilitate NMFS review of the Manual 

under Limit 10(i), 5 C prepared a 

submittal package that addresses each of 

the approval criterion in the 4(d) rule. 

The Manual would affect two 

Evolutionarily Significant Units (ESUs) 

of threatened salmon and two Distinct 

Population Segments (DPSs) of 

threatened steelhead identified in the 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION below. The 

Manual specifies the future management 

practices for routine road maintenance 

activities within the 5 C area. This 

notice serves to inform the public of the 

availability of the Manual and submittal 

package for review and comment. 

DATES: Written comments on the 

Manual and submittal package must be 

received at the appropriate address or 

fax number (see ADDRESSES) no later 

than 5 p.m. Pacific Daylight Savings 

Time on May 7, 2007. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments should 

be addressed to Garwin Yip, Protected 

Resources Division, National Marine 

Fisheries Service, 1655 Heindon Road, 

Arcata, CA 95521. Comments may also 

be sent via fax to (707) 825–4840 or email at 5C4DRule.SWR@noaa.gov. 

Comments will not be accepted if 

submitted via the Internet. Copies of the 

Manual and submittal package are 

available on the Internet at http:// 

www.5counties.org. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Garwin Yip at phone number: (707) 

825–5166, or e-mail: 

garwin.yip@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

notice is relevant to the salmonid ESUs 

and DPSs listed as threatened in the 5 

C area and covered by the June 2005 

4(d) Rule. These ESUs and DPSs include 

the Southern Oregon/Northern 

California Coast coho salmon ESU, 

California Coastal Chinook salmon ESU, 

Northern California steelhead DPS, and 

Central California Coast steelhead DPS. 

Background 

On June 28, 2005, NMFS adopted a 

rule under section 4(d) of the ESA of 

1973, as amended prohibiting the ‘‘take’’

of 20 groups of salmon and steelhead 

listed as threatened under the ESA the 

4(d) Rule. That rule also describes limits 

on the extension of the definition of take 

to certain state and local programs in 13 

specific categories, including Routine 

Road Maintenance (Limit 10). Limit 

10(i) provides that routine road 

maintenance activities conducted by 

employees or agents of a state, county, 

city, or port that complies with a 

program substantially similar to that 

contained in the ODOT Guide that is 

determined to meet or exceed the 

protections provided by the ODOT 

Guide are eligible for the limitation on 

the definition of ‘‘take’’ of threatened 

species as to those road maintenance 

activities. 

Each of the 5 counties of Humboldt, 

Del Norte, Siskiyou, Trinity, and 

Mendocino will adopt the Manual to 

obtain coverage under Limit 10(i) of the 

4(d) Rule, should NMFS find the 

Manual is consistent with Limit 10(i). 

For NMFS to approve the Manual under 

Limit 10(i), it must find that the Manual 

meets or exceeds the protections 

provided by the ODOT Guide. To 

facilitate the approval of the Manual, 

the 5 C prepared the submittal package 

that includes a comparison, where 

applicable, of each category of 

maintenance practices and how they are 

equal to or exceeds the protections 

provided by the ODOT Guide. 

In March 2007, the 5 C submitted the 

submittal package and Manual to NMFS 

for approval under the 4(d) rule. Within 

the Manual, Chapter 1 explains 

watershed basics, stream habitat needs, 

and road treatment principles. Chapter 

2 explains the regulatory process in 

establishing the necessary permits in 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 66 / Friday, April 6, 2007 / Notices 17135 

order to implement any of the routine 

road maintenance activities. Chapters 3 

through 9 provide the Best Management 

Practices (BMPs) for routine road 

maintenance activities, and includes a 

description of the activity, any 

environmental concerns, permits that 

may be required, and useful references. 

The Manual also consists of specific 

road maintenance activities, staff 

training, implementation and 

effectiveness monitoring, adaptive 

management, emergency response 

measures, and reporting requirements. 

For each road maintenance activity, 

the Manual provides BMPs designed to 

achieve desired conservation outcomes. 

Only activities that fall under the 

definition of ‘‘maintenance’’ are include 

in the Manual. Repair and maintenance 

include activities that are conducted on 

currently serviceable structures, 

facilities, and equipment which involve 

no expansion of or change in use of 

such structures, facilities, and 

equipment beyond those which existed 

previously, and do not result in 

significant negative hydrological 

impact. 

The road maintenance project 

categories covered by the Manual 

include maintaining roads (e.g., grading, 

road surfacing, dust abatement, 

vegetation management, and winterizing 

the road system), maintaining culverts 

(e.g., culvert cleaning, improvement, 

repair, sizing, and replacement; ditch 

relief culverts, and temporary stream 

diversions), disposal of spoils, managing 

maintenance yards (e.g., facility 

housekeeping practices, building and 

grounds maintenance, vehicle and 

equipment maintenance, and material 

use and storage), maintaining bridges 

(e.g., bridge maintenance, repair, and 

drift removal), working with an 

emergency (e.g., emergency 

maintenance, slide and settlement 

repair, and accident clean-up), and 

dealing with snow and ice (snow and 

ice removal, de-icing/anti-icing and 

sanding). 

As specified in 50 CFR 

223.203(b)(10)(i), the prohibitions of 50 

CFR 223.203(a) relating to certain 

threatened species do not apply to 

routine road maintenance activities 

provided that NMFS finds that the 

program meets or exceeds the 

protections provided by the ODOT 

Guide. 

Authority 

Under section 4 of the ESA, the 

Secretary of Commerce is required to 

adopt such regulations as he deems 

necessary and advisable for the 

conservation of species listed as 

threatened. The ESA salmon and 

steelhead 4(d) rule (June 28, 2005; 70 FR 

37160) specifies categories of activities 

that contribute to the conservation of 

listed salmonids and sets out the criteria 

for such activities. The rule further 

provides that the prohibitions of 

paragraph (a) of the rule do not apply to 

activity associated with routine road 

maintenance, provided that any state or 

local program comports with the 

standard described above and has been 

approved by NMFS to be in accordance 

with the salmon and steelhead 4(d) rule 

(June 28, 2005; 70 FR 37160). 

Dated: March 30, 2007. 

Angela Somma, 

Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office 

of Protected Resources, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E7–6413 Filed 4–5–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[I.D. 040207B] 

Endangered Species; File No. 1547–01 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; issuance of permit 

modification. 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that 

the New York State Department of 

Environmental Conservation (Kathryn 

Hattala, Principal Investigator), 21 

South Putt Corners Road; New Paltz, 

New York 12561, has been issued a 

modification to scientific research 

Permit Number 1547. 

ADDRESSES: The permit modification 

and related documents are available for 

review upon written request or by 

appointment in the following offices: 

Permits, Conservation and Education 

Division, Office of Protected Resources, 

NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Room 

13705, Silver Spring, MD 20910; phone 

(301) 713–2289; fax (301) 427–2521; and 

Northeast Region, NMFS, One 

Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 

01930–2298; phone (978) 281–9328; fax 

(978) 281–9394. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Malcolm Mohead or Brandy Hutnak, 

(301) 713–2289. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On 

February 23, 2007, notice was published 

in the Federal Register that a 

modification of Permit Number 1547, 

issued October 27, 2006, (71 FR 65470), 

had been requested by the above named 

organization. The requested permit 

modification has been granted under the 

authority of the Endangered Species Act 

of 1973, as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 

1531 et seq.) and the regulations 

governing the taking, importing, and 

exporting of endangered and threatened 

species (50 CFR parts 222–226). 

In order to evaluate seasonal 

movement of shortnose sturgeon 

(Acipenser brevirostrum) in Haverstraw 

and Newburgh Bays of the Hudson 

River, the NYSDEC was previously 

authorized annually to capture a 

maximum of 500 adult and juvenile 

shortnose sturgeon with gill nets, and to 

measure, weigh, scan for tags, insert 

passive integrated transponder tags and 

Carlin tags (if untagged) and then 

release. The applicant now proposes to 

collect soft fin-ray tissue samples from 

all captured shortnose sturgeon. The 

goal of the additional research would be 

to document and map the genetic 

identity of shortnose sturgeon in the 

Hudson River. The modification would 

run concurrently with the original 

permit until October 31, 2011. 

Issuance of this modification, as 

required by the ESA, was based on a 

finding that such permit (1) was applied 

for in good faith, (2) will not operate to 

the disadvantage of the endangered 

species which is the subject of this 

permit, and (3) is consistent with the 

purposes and policies set forth in 

section 2 of the ESA. 

Dated: April 2, 2007. 

P. Michael Payne, 

Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education 

Division, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E7–6484 Filed 4–5–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[I.D. 040207A] 

Endangered Species; File No. 1580 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Issuance of permit. 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that 

Dynegy Northeast Generations, Inc. 

(Dynegy), 992–994 River Road, 

Newburgh, New York 12550, has been 

issued a permit to take shortnose 

sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum) for 

purposes of scientific research. 

ADDRESSES: The permit and related 

documents are available for review 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with NOTICES