Endangered and Threatened Species; Take of Anadromous Fish, 3287-3288 [2017-00300]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 7 (Wednesday, January 11, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3287-3288]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-00300]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XF130


Endangered and Threatened Species; Take of Anadromous Fish

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

ACTION: Application for one enhancement permit renewal.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that NMFS has received, from the United 
States Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), a permit application 
(16608-2R) to enhance the propagation and survival of species listed 
under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973, as amended. Under 
permit application 16608-2R, Reclamation is requesting renewal of 
permit 16608, for a five year period, to continue implementation of the 
San Joaquin River Restoration Program (SJRRP) Steelhead Monitoring 
Program. The permit application may be viewed online at: https://apps.nmfs.noaa.gov/preview/preview_open_for_comment.cfm.

DATES: Comments or requests for a public hearing on the applications 
must be received at the appropriate address or fax number (see 
ADDRESSES) no later than 5 p.m. Pacific standard time on February 10, 
2017.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the application should be submitted to 
the California Central Valley Office, NMFS, 650 Capitol Mall, Suite 5-
100, Sacramento, CA 95814. Comments may also be submitted via fax to 
916-930-3629 or by email to Jeff.Abrams@noaa.gov (include the permit 
number in the subject line of the fax or email).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeff Abrams, Sacramento, CA (ph.: 916-
930-3714, Fax: 916-930-3629, email: Jeff.Abrams@noaa.gov). Permit 
application instructions are available from the address above, or 
online at https://apps.nmfs.noaa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Species Covered in This Notice

    The following listed species are covered in this notice:
    Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha): Threatened Central 
Valley (CV) spring-run;
    Steelhead (O. mykiss): Threatened California Central Valley (CCV).

Authority

    Enhancement permits are issued in accordance with Section 
10(a)(1)(A) of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1531 et. seq) and regulations 
governing listed fish and wildlife permits (50 CFR parts 222-227). NMFS 
issues permits based on findings that such permits: (1) Are applied for 
in good faith; (2) if granted and exercised, would not operate to the 
disadvantage of the listed species that are the subject of the permit; 
and (3) are consistent with the purposes and policy of Section 2 of the 
ESA. The authority to take listed species is subject to conditions set 
forth in the permits.
    Anyone 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). Such hearings are held at the 
discretion of the Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NMFS.

Permit Application(s) Received

Permit 16608-2R

    Reclamation has applied for an enhancement permit under Section 
10(a)(1)(A) of the ESA for a period of 5 years that would allow take of 
adult CCV steelhead, and adult CV spring-run Chinook salmon. Actions 
taken pursuant to the application are designed to monitor for the 
presence of CCV steelhead that may be attracted into the SJRRP 
Restoration Area (Restoration Area), and to relocate those captured 
fish to locations with better access to suitable spawning habitat. 
Prior to the completion of ongoing SJRRP efforts to improve fish 
passage, fish that are attracted into the Restoration Area will not 
have access to spawning habitat upstream. The proposed activities are 
intended to benefit listed species by relocating captured steelhead 
back to areas where they have access to spawning habitat in the Merced 
River or other San Joaquin River tributaries. The proposed monitoring 
would further benefit steelhead by providing data on the distribution 
of steelhead and their use of the Restoration Area in order to inform 
future ESA consultations and SJRRP management actions. While adult CV 
spring-run Chinook salmon are not the target species for these efforts, 
some may be captured during permitted activities. The post capture 
handling of CV spring-run Chinook salmon is covered under ESA Section 
10(a)(1)(A) permit 17781.
    Listed fish would be captured by: Boat mounted electrofisher, fyke 
net, and trammel net. Handling would include conducting length 
measurements, gender identification, tissue and scale collection, 
checking for the presence of tags, and tagging by Passive Integrated 
Transponder (PIT). Captured steelhead would be transported by tank 
truck and released in the San Joaquin River downstream of the mouth of 
the Merced River. Observe/harass take may occur at occur at temporary 
weirs with electronic fish counting devices installed. Recaptured 
steelhead would be identified by the presence of a PIT tag. All persons 
implementing proposed activities would follow appropriate protocols to 
minimize injury to captured fish, including: Handling live steelhead 
with extreme care, monitoring water temperature to the maximum extent 
possible during sampling and processing procedures, maintaining 
adequate circulation and replenishment of water in holding units, 
following the NMFS 2000 electrofishing guidelines, and checking all 
traps at least daily. In addition, when a sample is comprised of a mix 
of species, any captured steelhead would be processed first, and 
steelhead rescued at the capture site would be allowed to recover to 
the maximum extent possible prior to being released into the mainstem 
San Joaquin River. The applicants are not proposing to kill any of the 
fish they capture, but a small number may die as an unintended result 
of the activities.

Public Comments Solicited

    NMFS invites the public to comment on the permit application and 
associated HGMPs during a 30 day public comment period beginning on the 
date of this notice. This notice is

[[Page 3288]]

provided pursuant to Section 10(c) of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1529(c)). All 
comments and materials received, including names and addresses, will 
become part of the administrative record and may be released to the 
public. We provide this notice in order to allow the public, agencies, 
or other organizations to review and comment on these documents.

Next Steps

    NMFS will evaluate the applications, associated documents, and 
comments submitted to determine whether the applications meet the 
requirements of Section 10(a)(1)(A) of the ESA and Federal regulations. 
The final permit decisions will not be made until after the end of the 
30-day public comment period and after NMFS has fully considered all 
relevant comments received. NMFS will publish notice of its final 
action in the Federal Register.

    Dated: January 4, 2017.
Angela Somma,
Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected Resources, 
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2017-00300 Filed 1-10-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P