[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 110 (Thursday, June 6, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Page 28856]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-14169]



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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
[I.D. 053096C]


Endangered Species; Permits

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

ACTION: Issuance of modification 1 to permit 948 (P563A).

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that NMFS has issued a modification to 
a permit that authorizes takes of Endangered Species Act-listed species 
for the purpose of scientific research/monitoring, subject to certain 
conditions set forth therein, to the Northern Wasco County People's 
Utility District at The Dalles, OR (NWCPUD).

ADDRESSES: The application 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, 525 NE Oregon 
Street, Suite 500, Portland, OR 97232-4169 (503-230-5400).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The modification to a permit was 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 ESA-
listed fish and wildlife permits (50 CFR parts 217-222).
    Notice was published on March 5, 1996 (61 FR 8568) that an 
application had been filed by NWCPUD (P563A) for modification 1 to 
scientific research/monitoring permit 948. Modification 1 to permit 948 
was issued on May 10, 1996. Permit 948 authorizes
    takes of juvenile, endangered, Snake River sockeye salmon 
(Oncorhynchus nerka); juvenile, threatened, naturally-produced and 
artificially-propagated, Snake River spring/summer chinook salmon 
(Oncorhynchus tshawytscha); and juvenile, threatened, Snake River fall 
chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) associated with an annual 
monitoring study designed 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 individual fish condition likely to be 
affected by passage 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.
    For Modification 1, NWCPUD is authorized an increase in their 
annual take of juvenile, threatened, artificially-propagated, Snake 
River spring/summer chinook salmon and juvenile, threatened, Snake 
River fall chinook salmon as a result of NMFS's 1996 juvenile 
outmigration estimates. A corresponding increase in the number of 
indirect mortalities of these ESA-listed species is also authorized. 
Modification 1 is valid for the duration of the permit. Permit 948 
expires on September 30, 1999.
    Issuance of the modification, as required by the ESA, was based on 
a finding that such action: (1) Was requested in good faith, (2) will 
not operate to the disadvantage of the ESA-listed species that are the 
subject of the permit, 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: May 30, 1996.
Margaret Lorenz,
Acting Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 96-14169 Filed 6-5-96; 8:45 am]
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