Notice2021-17401
Endangered and Threatened Species; Take of Anadromous Fish
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
August 13, 2021
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
Notice is hereby given that NMFS has received one permit application submitted by California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) to enhance the propagation and survival of species listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973, as amended, for a 5-year period. This document serves to notify the public of the availability of the permit application for review and comment, prior to a decision by NMFS whether to issue the permit.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 154 (Friday, August 13, 2021)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 154 (Friday, August 13, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44696-44697]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-17401]
[[Page 44696]]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[RTID 0648-XB326]
Endangered and Threatened Species; Take of Anadromous Fish
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of receipt of one enhancement permit application and
request for comment.
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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that NMFS has received one permit
application submitted by California Department of Fish and Wildlife
(CDFW) to enhance the propagation and survival of species listed under
the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973, as amended, for a 5-year
period. This document serves to notify the public of the availability
of the permit application for review and comment, prior to a decision
by NMFS whether to issue the permit.
DATES: Comments or requests for a public hearing on the application
must be received at the appropriate address (see ADDRESSES) no later
than 5 p.m. Pacific standard time on September 13, 2021.
ADDRESSES: The permit application may be viewed online at: <a href="https://apps.nmfs.noaa.gov/preview/preview_open_for_comment.cfm">https://apps.nmfs.noaa.gov/preview/preview_open_for_comment.cfm</a>. Written
comments on the application should be submitted to the NMFS California
Central Valley Office, 650 Capitol Mall, Suite 5-100, Sacramento, CA
95814. Comments may also be submitted by email to
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#92f3fff3fcf6f3bcf1e0f3fcf4fde0f6d2fcfdf3f3bcf5fde4"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="c1a0aca0afa5a0efa2b3a0afa7aeb3a581afaea0a0efa6aeb7">[email protected]</span></a> (include the permit number in the subject line
of the email).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amanda Cranford, Sacramento, CA
(Phone: 916-930-3706; Email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#c3a2aea2ada7a2eda0b1a2ada5acb1a783adaca2a2eda4acb5"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="e2838f838c8683cc8190838c848d9086a28c8d8383cc858d94">[email protected]</span></a>). Permit
application instructions are available from the address above, or
online at <a href="https://apps.nmfs.noaa.gov">https://apps.nmfs.noaa.gov</a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
ESA-Listed Species Covered in This Notice
Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha): Threatened, naturally
produced and hatchery propagated Sacramento River winter-run;
Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha): Threatened, naturally
produced and hatchery-propagated Central Valley (CV) spring-run;
Steelhead (O. mykiss): Threatened, naturally produced and
artificially propagated California Central Valley (CCV).
North American green sturgeon (Acipenser medirostris): Threatened,
naturally produced southern distinct population segment (sDPS).
Background
Permit 18181-4R
CDFW is seeking to renew an enhancement permit under section
10(a)(1)(A) of the ESA for a period of 5 years that would allow take of
both adult and juvenile Sacramento River winter-run Chinook salmon, CV
spring-run Chinook salmon, CCV steelhead, and sDPS North American green
sturgeon in the Sacramento River and its tributaries. This permit
renewal would cover four monitoring and rescue efforts carried out by
CDFW: (1) Juvenile emigration monitoring, (2) adult trapping for the
Steelhead Monitoring Program, (3) Upper Sacramento River restoration
site monitoring, and (4) fish salvage and rescue operations.
Each project has its own objectives. The Juvenile Emigration
Monitoring will take place at Tisdale Weir, Knights Landing, the
Feather River High Flow Channel, and the Delta Entry sites, with the
goals to monitor juvenile salmonid outmigration in real time, provide
summaries of timing, abundance, and size distribution, provide timing
information to water agencies for better management decisions, and
evaluate how environmental conditions (flow, temperature, turbidity)
affect downstream movement. The objectives of the Central Valley
Steelhead Monitoring will be conducted to estimate the steelhead
population abundance, examine trends in abundance, and identify spatial
distribution over time. The Upper Sacramento River Restoration Site
Monitoring aims to evaluate the outcome of the Central Valley Project
Improvement Act Section 3406(b)(13) gravel augmentation and restoration
projects through documentation of spawning activity, relative abundance
of juvenile salmonids using the restored habitat, habitat attributes
and quantities in restored sites, and habitat conditions and fish
presence in control and pre- and post-construction sites. Efforts
associated with the Central Valley Fish Rescues will involve the
collection, tagging, and relocation of entrained listed salmonids and
sDPS green sturgeon at the fish collection facility at Wallace Weir,
the Colusa Basin Drainage Canal, behind Fremont and Tisdale weirs, the
Sacramento River, Deer Creek, Mill Creek, Antelope Creek, and various
urban streams. The rescue program also assesses the magnitude of
stranding and aims to document conditions resulting in high levels of
stranding. CDFW staff will also monitor winter-run Chinook salmon redds
that are at risk of being dewatered. In the event that a redd is likely
to be dewatered, CDFW staff may physically modify the redd by hand to
prevent complete dewatering and increase the likelihood of survival.
Under the various studies, juvenile salmonids and smolts would be
observed via snorkel and video surveys and captured using rotary screw
traps and beach seines. In addition, juvenile salmonids would be
handled: Anesthetized, measured, checked for marks or tags, tagged
(acoustic tags for spring-run Chinook salmon, passive integrated
transponder (PIT) tags for steelhead, and elastomer tags for salmonids
used during rotary screw trap efficiency trials), sampled for tissues,
and released. A subsample of hatchery-origin (adipose fin clipped)
winter-run Chinook salmon and spring-run Chinook salmon juveniles and
smolts would be sacrificed for coded wire tag (CWT) retrieval and
analysis. In the case of rescues and relocations, fish may be collected
and transported (either via foot or transport truck, depending on the
distance to the release location) to more suitable habitat prior to
release.
Adult salmonids would be observed via snorkel, video, or spawning
surveys and captured using beach seines, fish weirs, and fyke traps.
Adult steelhead may also be captured in rotary screw traps. In
addition, adult salmonids would be handled as follows: anesthetized,
measured, checked for marks or tags, tagged (floy tags for all adult
salmonids, as well as PIT tags for steelhead, and acoustic tags for
both spring- and winter-run Chinook salmon), sampled for tissues, and
released. Tissues would be collected from any carcasses encountered.
Juvenile, subadult, and adult green sturgeon would be captured via
hoop nets and fyke traps, anesthetized, tissue sampled, tagged (PIT or
acoustic), and released. Additionally, juvenile green sturgeon may be
captured in rotary screw traps and adults may be encountered during
monitoring at weirs. Subadult and adult green sturgeon would also
receive floy tags. Adult sturgeon may also be collected and transported
live to more suitable habitat during rescue activities.
With the exception of the juvenile salmon CWT retrieval (above),
the researchers are not proposing to kill any of the fish being
captured, but a small number of fish may be incidentally killed as an
inadvertent result of these
[[Page 44697]]
activities. However, fish captured and relocated as part of the fish
rescues would likely perish due to low flows and dissolved oxygen,
coupled with high water temperatures, if it were not for this project.
The proposed projects could impact ESA-listed species by delaying
migration, resulting in stress, or indirect mortality or indirect non-
lethal effects as a result of stress, physical harm during insertion of
tags, and/or susceptibility to predation upon displacement at release.
These effects will be minimized by frequent (at least daily) trap
checks and taking all possible measures to expedite the process of
capturing, tagging, and releasing adult entrained fish. Anesthetization
will follow strict guidelines and use the least amount of sedative
necessary. Unintentional mortality of juvenile fish can occur during
rotary screw trapping and will be minimized through a reduction in
sampling effort or through increased checking/servicing of rotary-screw
traps.
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 part 222). 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;
(3) are consistent with the purposes and policies of section 2 of the
ESA; (4) further a bona fide and necessary or desirable scientific
purpose or enhance the propagation or survival of the endangered
species, taking into account the benefits anticipated to be derived on
behalf of the endangered species; and additional issuance criteria as
listed at 50 CFR 222.308(c)(5-12). The authority to take listed species
is subject to conditions set forth in the permit.
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.
Public Comments Solicited
NMFS invites the public to comment on the section 10(a)(1)(A)
enhancement permit application during a 30-day public comment period
beginning on the date of this notice. This notice is 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 permit application, associated documents,
and comments submitted to determine whether the applications meet the
requirements of section 10(a)(1)(A) of the ESA and the applicable
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: August 10, 2021.
Angela Somma,
Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected Resources,
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2021-17401 Filed 8-12-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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