[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 84 (Tuesday, May 2, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21502-21503]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-10742]



[[Page 21502]]

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

[I.D. 042595B]


Endangered Species; Permits

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Issuance of permits 946 (P770#68), 947 (P504F), 948 (P563A), 
949 (P45Q), and 950 (P45R).

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that NMFS has issued permits 
authorizing takes of listed species for the purpose of scientific 
research, subject to certain conditions set forth therein, to the 
Northwest Fisheries Science Center, NMFS (NWFSC), the Northern Wasco 
County People's Utility District (NWCPUD), the U.S. Army Corps of 
Engineers, Department of Defense (Corps), the National Biological 
Survey (NBS), and the Oregon Cooperative Fishery Research Unit, 
National Biological Survey (OCFRU).

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
    Environmental and Technical Services Division, F/NWO3, NMFS, 525 NE 
Oregon Street, Portland, OR 97232-4169 (503-230-5400).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice was published on January 19, 1995 (60 
FR 3844) that an application had been filed by NWFSC (P770#68) for a 
permit to take listed species as authorized by 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).
    NWFSC requested a take of the following listed species while 
conducting six studies: Adult and juvenile Snake River spring/summer 
chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), juvenile Snake River fall 
chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), and juvenile Snake River 
sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka). The objective of Study 1 is to 
compare the survival to adulthood of spring/summer chinook salmon 
smolts transported from either Lower Granite or Little Goose Dam on the 
Snake River to below Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River with the 
survival to adulthood of smolts migrating volitionally through six or 
seven dams and reservoirs under prevailing river conditions. The 
objective of Study 2 is to assess the migration timing and relative 
survival of transported and inriver juvenile chinook salmon migrating 
volitionally from Bonneville Dam to the mouth of the Columbia River. 
The objective of Studies 3-6 is to determine the effectiveness of fish 
guidance devices and other bypass system components being considered 
for installation at four Snake and Columbia River hydroelectric dams 
for the purpose of improving anadromous fish passage past these dams 
during juvenile outmigration. Permit 946 was issued to NWFSC on April 
7, 1995. Study 1 will take place during 3 of the next 5 years, Study 2 
will take place for a duration of 5 years, and Studies 3-6 will take 
place in 1995 only.
    Notice was published on January 30, 1995 (60 FR 5624) that an 
application had been filed by the Corps (P504F) for a permit to take 
listed species as authorized by the above laws and regulations.
    The Corps requested authorization to capture, tag, release, 
recapture, and re-release juvenile, listed, artificially-propagated 
spring/summer chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) as part of a 
turbine passage survival study at Lower Granite Dam on the Snake River 
in Washington. The purpose of the research is to determine the 
immediate and delayed (48 to 120 hour) survival rates of run-of-the-
river chinook salmon smolts passing through a turbine at the dam under 
different locations and operating conditions. This information will be 
used to: (1) Develop a turbine model study, which is part of a Corps 
project to minimize fish turbine passage mortality; (2) refine normal 
dam operations to minimize adverse effects to migrating juvenile fish; 
and (3) provide a baseline for turbine survival estimates needed under 
the changing conditions of a reservoir drawdown. Permit 947 was issued 
to the Corps on April 13, 1995. The duration of the study will be from 
April 15 to June 10 in 1995 only.
    Notice was published on January 30, 1995 (60 FR 5624) that an 
application had been filed by NWCPUD (P563A) for a permit to take 
listed species as authorized by the above laws and regulations.
    NWCPUD requested a take of the following listed species while 
conducting research: Juvenile, naturally produced and artificially-
propagated, Snake River spring/summer chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus 
tshawytscha), juvenile Snake River fall chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus 
tshawytscha), and juvenile Snake River sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus 
nerka). The objective of the annual study is to assess run-of-the-river 
juvenile anadromous fish condition after passage through the screened 
turbine intake channel at The Dalles Dam, located on the Columbia 
River. Continued observation of juvenile fish passing through the 
screened intake channel during the smolt migration provides specific 
information on possible unsuitable passage conditions below the water 
surface which are not directly observable. Permit 948 was issued to 
NWCPUD on April 11, 1995. The research will take place from April to 
September for the next 5 years.
    Notice was published on February 9, 1995 (60 FR 7752) that an 
application had been filed by NBS (P45Q) for a permit to take listed 
species as authorized by the above laws and regulations.
    NBS requested authorization for a lethal take of juvenile, listed, 
naturally-produced Snake River spring/summer chinook salmon 
(Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) as part of a study designed to compare the 
physiological responses of wild chinook smolts with hatchery-produced 
chinook smolts when subjected to the bypass and collection facility at 
Lower Granite Dam on the Lower Snake River in Washington. A comparison 
of the physiological responses of wild and hatchery-produced chinook 
smolts may indicate what aspects of bypass and collection for downriver 
transportation past hydropower projects are most stressful to wild 
listed fish. Permit 949 was issued to NBS on April 13, 1995. The 
duration of the study is April 15 to June 30 in 1995 only.
    Notice was published on March 9, 1995 (60 FR 12913) that an 
application had been filed by OCFRU (P45R) for a permit to take listed 
species as authorized by the above laws and regulations.
    OCFRU requested authorization to take juvenile, listed, Snake River 
spring/summer and fall chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) as 
part of a study designed to provide information that will be used to: 
(1) Recommend siting of the bypass outfall to be constructed at The 
Dalles Dam on the Columbia River, (2) evaluate the juvenile salmonid 
nighttime spill pattern at The Dalles Dam, (3) assess the relationship 
between flow rate and juvenile salmonid outmigration velocity in The 
Dalles pool and elsewhere, (4) evaluate juvenile salmonid passage 
routes at John Day Dam on the Columbia River, (5) estimate juvenile 
salmonid mortality in the lower Columbia River, and (6) provide 
information on the vulnerability of salmonids to predation by northern 
squawfish (Ptychocheilus oregonensis). The listed fish to be used for 
the research will be collected with [[Page 21503]] run-of-the-river 
fish and anesthetized at the John Day Handling Facility at John Day Dam 
by NMFS personnel under the authority of permit 822. The NMFS personnel 
will then provide OCFRU personnel with a representative sample made up 
of listed and non-listed fish. Once the fish are provided to OCFRU, 
they will be implanted with radio telemetry transmitters (radio tags), 
held for 36-48 hours in tanks supplied with circulating river water to 
determine tag retention and delayed mortality, released near the mouth 
of the John Day River, and tracked electronically to determine their 
fate. Permit 950 was issued to OCFRU on April 19, 1995. The duration of 
the study is from April 15 to July 15 in 1995 only.
    Issuance of these permits, as required by the ESA, was based on a 
finding that such permits: (1) Were applied for in good faith, (2) will 
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 and the NMFS regulations 
governing listed species permits.

    Dated: April 26, 1995.
Russell J. Bellmer,
Chief, Endangered Species Division, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 95-10742 Filed 5-1-95; 8:45 am]
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