Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 39 / Tuesday, February 27, 2001 / Notices 12501

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

[I.D. 021401A]

Endangered Species; Permits

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Expiration of scientific research

permits 948 and 956.

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: The

purpose of this notice is to announce

that scientific research permits issued to

the Northern Wasco County People’s

Utility District at The Dalles, OR

(NWCPUD) and the U.S. Geological

Survey at Cook, WA (USGS) have

expired and that pending modifications

to those permits will not be issued.

ADDRESSES: Comments may 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 948 and 956: Protected

Resources Division, F/NWR3, 525 NE

Oregon Street, Suite 500, Portland, OR

97232–4169 (ph: 503–230–5400, fax:

503–230–5435).

Documents may also be reviewed by

appointment in the Office of Protected

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

20910–3226 (phone:301–713–1401).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

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 and

evolutionary significant units (ESUs) are

covered in this notice:

Sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus

nerka): endangered Snake River (SnR).

Chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha):

endangered, naturally produced and

artificially propagated, upper Columbia

River (UCR) spring; threatened,

naturally produced and artificially

propagated, SnR spring/summer;

threatened SnR fall.

Steelhead (O. mykiss): endangered,

naturally produced and artificially

propagated, UCR; threatened SnR.

Expired Permits

Notice was published on March 6,

1998 (63 FR 11220) that NWCPUD

applied for modification 2 to scientific

research permit 948 for, in part, an

annual take of juvenile SnR steelhead.

Notice was published on February

11, 1999 (64 FR 6880) that NWCPUD

applied for modification 3 to scientific

research permit 948 for an annual take

of juvenile, naturally produced and

artificially propagated, UCR spring

chinook salmon. Permit 948 authorized

NWCPUD annual takes of juvenile SnR

sockeye salmon; juvenile, naturally

produced and artificially propagated,

SnR spring/summer chinook salmon;

juvenile SnR fall chinook salmon; and

juvenile, naturally produced and

artificially propagated, UCR steelhead

associated with research designed to

assess juvenile anadromous fish

condition after passage through the

screened turbine intake channel at The

Dalles Dam, located on the lower

Columbia River in the Pacific

Northwest. These requested permit

actions will not be issued because

NWCPUD’s permit expired (on

September 30, 1999) before NMFS could

issue them. NWCPUD has submitted an

application for a permit (1229) to

replace permit 948 (see 65 FR 2381,

January 14, 2000).

Notice was published on March 6,

1998 (63 FR 11222) that USGS applied

for modification 3 to scientific research

permit 956 for an annual take of

juvenile SnR steelhead. Permit 956

authorized USGS annual takes of

juvenile, naturally-produced and

artificially-propagated, SnR spring/

summer chinook salmon and juvenile

SnR fall chinook salmon associated with

a study designed to obtain data on the

distribution, abundance, movement, and

habitat preferences of the anadromous

fish that migrate through Lower Granite

Reservoir; to evaluate the operation of a

surface bypass collector in the forebay

of Lower Granite Dam; and to verify

species of hydroacoustic surveys. The

requested permit modification will not

be issued because USGS’s permit

expired (on September 30, 1999) before

NMFS could issue it. USGS has

submitted an application for a permit

(1240) to replace permit 956 (see 65 FR

11288, March 2, 2000).

Dated: February 15, 2001.

Phil Williams,

Acting Chief, Endangered Species Division,

Office of Protected Resources, National

Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 01–4690 Filed 2–26–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

[I.D. 020801D]

Marine Mammals; File No. 990-1603-00

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Issuance of permit.

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that

John Muir Institute of the Environment,

University of California, Davis, One

Shields Avenue, Davis, California 95616

(Principal Investigator: Ms. Lizabeth

Bowen) has been issued a permit to

import/export California sea lion

(Zalophus californianus) blood samples

from Mexico and to France for purposes

of scientific research.

ADDRESSES: The permit and related

documents are available for review

upon written request or by appointment

in the following office(s):

Permits and Documentation Division,

Office of Protected Resources, NMFS,

1315 East-West Highway, Room 13705,

Silver Spring, MD 20910 (301/713–

2289); and

Regional Administrator, Southwest

Region, NMFS, 501 West Ocean Blvd.,