20954 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 76 / Wednesday, April 19, 2000 / Notices

during the comment period. NMFS will

publish a record of its final action in the

Federal Register.

Dated: April 13, 2000.

Craig Johnson,

Acting Chief, Endangered Species Division,

Office of Protected Resources, National

Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 00–9843 Filed 4–18–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

[I.D. 041400B]

Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management

Council; Public Meetings

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of public meetings.

SUMMARY: The Gulf of Mexico Fishery

Management Council will convene

public meetings of the Standing and

Special Red Drum Scientific and

Statistical Committee (SSC) and the Red

Drum Advisory Panel (AP).

DATES: The Standing and Special Red

Drum SSC will meet on Wednesday,

May 3, 2000 beginning at 1 p.m. and

will conclude by 12 noon on Thursday,

May 4, 2000; the Red Drum AP will

meet on Friday, May 5, 2000 from 8 a.m.

until 3 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The SSC meeting will be

held at the Tampa Airport Hilton Hotel,

2225 Lois Avenue, Tampa, FL 33607;

telephone 813–877–6688. The AP

meeting will be held at the New Orleans

Airport Hilton, 901 Airline Drive,

Kenner, LA 70062; telephone: 504–469–

5000.

Council address: Gulf of Mexico

Fishery Management Council, 3018 U.S.

Highway 301 North, Suite 1000, Tampa,

FL 33619.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Peter Hood, Fishery Biologist, Gulf of

Mexico Fishery Management Council;

telephone: 813–228–2815.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The SEC

will convene to review the 1999/2000

red drum stock assessment. A Red Dum

Stock Assessment Panel (SAP) member

will present the assessment to the SSC

related to setting an allowable biological

catch (ABC) range in the Gulf of Mexico.

The SSC may also review estimates of

stock size (biomass at maximum

sustainable yield [Bmsy]), minimum

stock size thresholds (MSST),

escapement rates of juveniles to offshore

waters, and adult red drum bycatch in

shrimp trawls. Based on this review, the

SSC may recommend to the Council

levels for total allowable catch (TAC),

bag limits, size limits, commercial

quotas, and other measures for the red

drum fishery.

The AP will meet to review the 1999/

2000 red drum stock assessment. A Red

Drum SAP member will also present the

assessment to the AP. The AP will also

provide recommendations to the

Council.

Based on recommendations from the

above meetings, the Council, at its May

meeting in New Orleans, LA will decide

if changes are needed to current red

drum management measures. Currently,

it is illegal to harvest or possess red

drum in Federal waters.

A copy of the agenda can be obtained

by contacting the Gulf Council (see

ADDRESSES).

Although other non-emergency issues

not on the agenda may come before the

Standing and Special Red Drum SSC

and the Red Drum AP for discussion, in

accordance with the Magnuson-Stevens

Fishery Conservation and Management

Act, those issues may not be the subject

of formal action during these meetings.

Actions of the Standing and Special

Reef Fish SSC and the Red Drum AP

will be restricted to those issues

specifically identified in the agendas

and any issues arising after publication

of this notice that require emergency

action under Section 305(c) of the

Magnuson-Stevens Act, provided the

public has been notified of the Council’s

intent to take action to address the

emergency. Special Accommodations.

These meetings are physically

accessible to people with disabilities.

Requests for sign language

interpretation or other auxiliary aids

should be directed to Anne Alford at the

Council (see ADDRESSES) by April 27,

2000.

Dated: April 7, 2000.

Gary C. Matlock,

Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries,

National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 00–9846 Filed 4–18–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–M

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

[I.D. 041300B]

Endangered Species; Permits

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Receipt of an application for a

scientific research permit (1249); receipt

of applications to modify permits (1115,

1156, 1193); and issuance of

modifications to an existing permit

(1048).

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given of the

following actions regarding permits for

takes of endangered and threatened

species for the purposes of scientific

research and/or enhancement:

NMFS has received a permit

application from Mr. E.P. Taft, of Alden

Research Laboratory (ALR) (1249);

NMFS has received applications for

permit modifications from: Chelan

County Public Utility District No. 1 at

Wenatchee, WA (CCPUD)(1115), the

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

at Corvallis, OR (EPA)(1156), and the

Fish Passage Center at Portland, OR

(FPC)(1193); and NMFS has issued

modifications to a scientific research

permit to the Sonoma County Water

Agency (SCWA) (1048).

DATES: Comments or requests for a

public hearing on any of the new

applications or modification requests

must be received at the appropriate

address or fax number (see ADDRESSES)

no later than 5 p.m. eastern daylight

time on May 19, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the

new application or any of the new

modification requests should be sent to

the appropriate office as indicated

below. Comments may also be sent via

fax to the number indicated for the

application or modification request.

Comments will not be accepted if

submitted via e-mail or the internet. The

applications and related documents are

available for review in the indicated

office, by appointment:

For permits 1115, 1156, 1193:

Protected Resources Division, F/NWO3,

525 NE Oregon Street, Suite 500,

Portland, OR 97232–2737 (ph: 503–230–

5400, fax: 503–230–5435).

For permit 1048: Protected Species

Division, NMFS, 777 Sonoma Avenue,

Room 325, Santa Rosa, CA 95404–6528

(ph: 707–575–6066, fax: 707–578–3435).

For permit 1249: Office of Protected

Resources, Endangered Species

Division, F/PR3, 1315 East-West

Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910 (ph:

301–713–1401, fax: 301–713–0376).

Documents may also be reviewed by

appointment in the Office of Protected

Resources, F/PR3, NMFS, 1315 EastWest Highway, Silver Spring, MD

20910–3226 (301–713–1401).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

For permit 1249: Terri Jordan, Silver

Spring, MD (ph: 301–713–1401, fax:

301–713–0376, e-mail:

Terri.Jordan@noaa.gov).

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 76 / Wednesday, April 19, 2000 / Notices 20955

For permit 1048: Dan Logan,

Protected Resources Division, Santa

Rosa, CA (ph: 707–575–6053, fax: 707–

578–3435, e-mail:

Dan.Logan@noaa.gov).

For permits 1156, 1193:

Leslie Schaeffer, Portland, OR (ph: 503–

230–5433, fax: 503–230–5435, e-mail:

Leslie.Schaeffer@noaa.gov).

For permit 1115: Robert Koch,

Portland, OR (ph: 503–230–5424, fax:

503–230–5435, e-mail:

Robert.Koch@noaa.gov).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Authority

Issuance of permits and permit

modifications, as required by the

Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16

U.S.C. 1531–1543) (ESA), is based on a

finding that such permits/modifications:

(1) Are applied for in good faith; (2)

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. Authority to take listed species is

subject to conditions set forth in the

permits. Permits and modifications are

issued in accordance with and are

subject to the ESA and NMFS

regulations governing listed fish and

wildlife permits (50 CFR parts 222–226).

Those individuals 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). The holding of such

hearing is at the discretion of the

Assistant Administrator for Fisheries,

NOAA. All statements and opinions

contained in the permit action

summaries are those of the applicant

and do not necessarily reflect the views

of NMFS.

Species Covered in This Notice

The following species, evolutionarily

significant units (ESU’s), and runs are

covered in this notice:

Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus

tshawytscha): threatened Snake River

(SnR) spring/summer, threatened SnR

fall, endangered upper Columbia River

(UCR) spring, threatened Puget Sound

(PS), threatened Upper Willamette River

(UWR), threatened Lower Columbia

River (LCR).

Coho salmon (O. kisutch): threatened

Southern Oregon/Northern California

Coast (SONCC), threatened Central

California Coast (CCC).

Sockeye salmon (O. nerka):

endangered SnR.

Steelhead (O. mykiss): endangered

UCR, threatened middle Columbia River

(MCR), threatened SnR, threatened LCR.

Shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser

brevirostrum).

To date, final protective regulations

for threatened PS, UWR, and LCR

chinook salmon and SnR, MCR, and

LCR steelhead under section 4(d) of the

ESA have not been promulgated by

NMFS. Protective regulations are

currently proposed for PS, UWR, and

LCR chinook salmon (65 FR 169,

January 3, 2000) and SnR, MCR, and

LCR steelhead (64 FR 73479,

December 30, 1999). This notice of

receipt of applications requesting takes

of these species is issued as a precaution

in the event that NMFS issues final

protective regulations. The initiation of

a 30-day public comment period on the

applications, including their proposed

takes of PS, UWR, and LCR chinook

salmon and SnR, MCR, and LCR

steelhead does not presuppose the

contents of the eventual final protective

regulations.

New Application Received

ARL (1249) requested a 2-year permit

to take a maximum of 200 1+ yr

captively bred shortnose sturgeon from

the Conte Anadromous Fish Research

Center to conduct applied fish passage

facility research and development, with

the intent of identifying what fish

passage design and operating conditions

are necessary to maximize biological

effectiveness of shortnose sturgeon

diversion around dams in the

Connecticut and Santee-Cooper River

systems.

Modification Requests Received

CCPUD requests a modification to

permit 1115, which authorizes annual

takes of adult and juvenile naturally

produced and artificially propagated

UCR spring chinook salmon and adult

and juvenile naturally produced and

artificially propagated UCR steelhead

associated with six fish passage studies

at Rocky Reach Dam, Rock Island Dam,

and the Lake Chelan hydroelectric

project on the Columbia River. The

goals of the research are: (1) to evaluate

the juvenile fish bypass systems at the

mainstem river dams, (2) to monitor

juvenile fish gas bubble trauma at the

dams, (3) to develop operational

measures that will enhance adult

steelhead passage survival at the dams,

(4) to evaluate new acoustic tagging

technology used to monitor the behavior

of juvenile salmonids as they migrate

through passage facilities at Rocky

Reach Dam, (5) to use passive integrated

transponder (PIT) and radio tagging

technology to assess the survival of

juvenile salmonids at the dams, and (6)

to determine the types and numbers of

adult salmonids that may be present in

the Lake Chelan bypass reach after spill

at the Lake Chelan hydroelectric project

is curtailed. Results from the research

will be used to improve the operation of

fish passage facilities at the dams,

determine how fish are affected by gas

bubbles and what can be done to

minimize gas bubble trauma, evaluate

the relative benefits of PIT and radio

tagging technologies, and identify a

mitigation strategy to protect

anadromous fish that may become

stranded in the Lake Chelan bypass

reach after spill is curtailed. For the

modification, CCPUD requests an

increase in the annual takes of juvenile

naturally produced and artificially

propagated UCR spring chinook salmon

and juvenile naturally produced UCR

steelhead associated with Studies 1, 2,

4, and 5. Associated increases in ESAlisted juvenile fish indirect mortalities

are also requested. The modification is

requested to be valid for the duration of

permit 1115, which expires on

December 31, 2002.

On April 7, 2000, NMFS published a

notice in the Federal Register (65 FR

18310) that an application had been

received from EPA for a modification

request to permit 1156. For the

modification EPA had requested an

annual take of juvenile naturally

produced and artificially propagated

UCR spring chinook salmon, juvenile

naturally produced and artificially

propagated PS chinook salmon, juvenile

UWR chinook salmon, juvenile SnR

steelhead, juvenile naturally produced

and artificially propagated UCR

steelhead, juvenile MCR steelhead, and

juvenile LCR steelhead associated with

research designed to collect data to

enforce the Clean Water Act in the

Pacific Northwest. NMFS has received

an amendment of EPA’s application for

a modification to permit 1156. In the

application amendment, EPA requests

an annual take of LCR chinook salmon

associated with the research. The

additional species is requested because

an additional sampling location has

been added to the research to

accommodate and coordinate with the

Regional Environmental Monitoring and

Assessment Program in the Cascades

Ecoregion. The ESA-listed fish are

proposed to be captured using

electrofishing, examined, and released.

The modification as amended is

requested to be valid for the duration of

the permit, which expires on

December 31, 2002.

FPC requests a modification to permit

1193, which authorizes annual takes of

juvenile SnR sockeye salmon, juvenile

SnR fall chinook salmon, juvenile

naturally produced and artificially

propagated SnR spring chinook salmon,

20956 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 76 / Wednesday, April 19, 2000 / Notices

juvenile naturally produced and

artificially propagated UCR spring

chinook salmon, and juvenile naturally

produced and artificially propagated

UCR steelhead associated with FPC’s

Smolt Monitoring Program at the

hydropower dams on the Snake and

Columbia Rivers in the Pacific

Northwest. For the modification, FPC

requests annual takes of juvenile MCR

steelhead and juvenile LCR chinook

salmon and an increase in the annual

takes of juvenile SnR fall chinook

salmon and juvenile naturally produced

and artificially propagated SnR spring/

summer chinook salmon associated

with the research. The increased take is

requested because a larger than

anticipated outmigration run of these

ESA-listed species is estimated in 2000

and to provide a sufficient number of

tagged fish to develop statistically

significant survival estimates. Tagged

fish are proposed to be used to provide

information relative to fish migration

timing through the Columbia Basin

hydrosystem. ESA-listed juvenile fish

are proposed to be captured, handled

(examined and/or PIT tagged), and

released. Associated increases in ESAlisted juvenile fish indirect mortalities

are also requested. The modification is

requested to be valid for the duration of

permit 1193, which expires on

December 31, 2003.

Permit Modification Issued

Notice was published on March 25,

1999 (64 FR 14432), that SCWA had

applied for a modification to permit

1048 to take threatened Central

California Coast coho salmon.

Modification 1 to Permit 1048 was

issued on April 5, 2000, and authorizes

an increase in annual intentional take of

adult, juvenile, and carcasses of

threatened CCC coho salmon associated

with fish population and habitat studies

within the Russian River basin of the

CCC coho salmon ESU. The scientific

research consists of five assessment

tasks for which ESA-listed fish will be

taken: (1) Population trend estimates, (2)

carcass counts, (3) redd surveys, (4)

acquisition of tissue and scale samples

for genetic analysis; and (5) habitat

quality evaluation. A corresponding

increase in unintentional mortalities is

in ESA-listed adult and juvenile salmon

is authorized. Modification 1 is valid for

the duration of permit 1048, which

expires June 30, 2002.

Dated: April 13, 2000.

Craig Johnson,

Acting Chief, Endangered Species Division,

Office of Protected Resources, National

Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 00–9845 Filed 4–18–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

National Commission on Mathematics

and Science Teaching for the 21st

Century; Meeting

AGENCY: National Commission on

Mathematics and Science Teaching for

the 21st Century, Department of

Education

ACTION: Notice of meeting.

SUMMARY: This notice sets forth the

schedule and proposed agenda of a

forthcoming meeting of the National

Commission on Mathematics and

Science Teaching for the 21st Century

(Commission). This notice also

describes the functions of the

Commission. Notice of this meeting is

required under section 10(a)(2) of the

Federal Advisory Committee Act and is

intended to notify the general public of

their opportunity to attend.

DATE AND TIME: Monday, May 8, 2000

from 3:30 to approximately 6:30 p.m.

and Tuesday, May 9 from 8:30 a.m. to

adjournment at approximately 4:30 p.m.

ADDRESSES: Washington Plaza, Franklin

Room, 10 Thomas Circle, NW at

Massachusetts Avenue and 14th Street,

Washington, DC 20005, telephone: (202)

842–1300, (800) 424–1140, fax: (202)

371–9602.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr.

Linda P. Rosen, Executive Director, The

National Commission on Mathematics

and Science Teaching for the 21st

Century, U.S. Department of Education,

Room 6W252, 400 Maryland Avenue,

SW, Washington, DC 20202, telephone:

(202) 260–8229, fax: (202) 260–7216.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

National Commission on Mathematics

and Science Teaching for the 21st

Century was established by the

Secretary of Education and is governed

by the provisions of the Federal

Advisory Committee Act (FACA) (Pub.

L. 92–463, as amended; 5 U.S.C.A.

Appendix 2). The Commission was

established to address the pressing need

to significantly raise student

achievement in mathematics and

science by focusing on the quality of

mathematics and science instruction in

K–12 classrooms nationwide. The

Commission will develop a set of

recommendations with a corresponding,

multifaceted action strategy to improve

the quality of teaching in mathematics

and science.

The meeting of the Commission is

open to the public. The proposed

agenda will focus on the Commission’s

draft report and potential

recommendations. Other topics that

may be addressed at the meeting

include: (1) Financial incentives for

mathematics and science teachers, (2)

alternative routes into the profession,

and (3) preparation of teachers of

mathematics and science. The proposed

agenda will include both plenary

sessions and presentations.

Space may be limited and you are

encouraged to register in advance if you

plan to attend. You may register through

the Internet at America Counts@ed.gov

or Jamila Rattler@ed.gov. Please

include your name, title, affiliation,

complete address (including e-mail, if

available), telephone and fax numbers.

If you are unable to register through the

Internet, you may fax your registration

information to The National

Commission on Mathematics and

Science Teaching for the 21st Century at

(202) 260–7216 or mail to The National

Commission on Mathematics and

Science Teaching for the 21st Century,

U.S. Department of Education, Room

6W252, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW,

Washington, DC 20202. Any individual

who will need accommodations for a

disability in order to attend the meeting

(i.e., interpreting services, assistive

listening devices, materials in

alternative format) should notify Jamila

Rattler at (202) 260–8229 by no later

than April 27, 2000. We will attempt to

meet requests after this date, but cannot

guarantee availability of the requested

accommodation. The meeting site is

accessible to individuals with

disabilities.

Records will be kept of all

Commission proceedings, and will be

available for public inspection at The

National Commission on Mathematics

and Science Teaching for the 21st

Century, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW,

Room 6W252 from the hours of 8:30

a.m. to 5:00 p.m. weekdays, except

Federal holidays.

Frank S. Holleman, III,

Deputy Secretary.

[FR Doc. 00–9701 Filed 4–18–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4000–01–M

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Environmental Management SiteSpecific Advisory Board, Rocky Flats

AGENCY: Department of Energy.