Notice2022-18481
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 29, 2022
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
Notice is hereby given that NMFS has received 17 scientific research permit application requests relating to Pacific salmon, steelhead, green sturgeon, and eulachon. The proposed research is intended to increase knowledge of species listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and to help guide management and conservation efforts. The applications may be viewed online at: https:// apps.nmfs.noaa.gov/preview/preview_open_for_comment.cfm.
Full Text
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 166 (Monday, August 29, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52745-52749]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-18481]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[RTID 0648-XC294]
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 applications; for 14 permit renewals and 3
new permits.
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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that NMFS has received 17 scientific
research permit application requests relating to Pacific salmon,
steelhead, green sturgeon, and eulachon. The proposed research is
intended to increase knowledge of species listed under the Endangered
Species Act (ESA) and to help guide management and conservation
efforts. The applications 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>.
DATES: Comments or requests for a public hearing on the applications
must be received at the appropriate address (see ADDRESSES) no later
than 5 p.m. Pacific Standard Time on September 28, 2022.
ADDRESSES: All written comments on the applications should be sent by
email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#432d2e25306d3420316e22333330032d2c22226d242c35"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="d6b8bbb0a5f8a1b5a4fbb7a6a6a596b8b9b7b7f8b1b9a0">[email protected]</span></a> (please include the permit number in
the subject line of the email).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Diana Dishman, Portland, OR (ph.: 503-
736-4466), email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#7b3f121a151a553f120813161a153b15141a1a551c140d"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="94d0fdf5faf5bad0fde7fcf9f5fad4fafbf5f5baf3fbe2">[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:
Species Covered in This Notice
The following listed species are covered in this notice:
Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha): Threatened Puget Sound
(PS); threatened Snake River (SnkR) spring/summer-run; endangered Upper
Columbia River (UCR) spring-run; threatened Upper Willamette River
(UWR), threatened Central Valley spring-run (CVS); endangered
Sacramento River (SacR) winter-run; threatened California Coastal (CC).
Steelhead (O. mykiss): Threatened Middle Columbia River (MCR);
threatened PS; threatened SnkR; threatened UCR; threatened UWR;
threatened Central California Coast (CCC); threatened California
Central Valley (CCV); threatened South-Central California Coast (S-
CCC).
Chum salmon (O. keta): Threatened Hood Canal Summer-run (HCS).
Coho salmon (O. kisutch): Threatened Oregon Coast (OC); endangered
Central California Coast (CCC).
Sockeye salmon (O. nerka): Endangered SnkR.
Eulachon (Thaleichthys pacificus): Threatened southern (S).
Green sturgeon (Acipenser medirostris): Threatened southern
Distinct Population Segment (SDPS).
Authority
Scientific research 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 222-226). 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.
Applications Received
Permit 1124-7R
Under permit 1124-7R, the Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG)
is seeking to renew for 5 years a permit that would authorize them to
continue five research projects they have been conducting in the Snake
River basin for over 20 years. The permit would continue to cover the
following actions: one general fish population inventory; one project
designed to monitor SnkR spr/sum Chinook salmon natural production; one
project researching kokanee and SnkR sockeye salmon populations in
three lakes in the upper Salmon River subbasin; one project monitoring
salmon and steelhead fish health; and one project monitoring natural
steelhead production. Under the permit, the IDFG would continue to take
adult and juvenile SnkR spr/sum Chinook salmon, SnkR steelhead, and
SnkR sockeye salmon in mainstem and tributary habitat throughout the
Snake, Clearwater, and Salmon River subbasins.
Juveniles would be collected via screw trap, hook-and-line angling,
backpack electrofishing and, in the Stanley Basin lakes, midwater
trawls. Juvenile fish would be captured, handled (anesthetized,
weighed, measured, and checked for marks or tags), and released. A
subsample of captured juveniles would be anesthetized, tissue sampled
and implanted with passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags before
being released. A further subsample of captured sockeye juveniles would
be intentionally sacrificed for genetic analysis. Adults captured at
traps and weirs would be handled (anesthetized, weighed, measured, and
checked for marks or tags), and released. In addition, tissues may be
collected from carcasses encountered during spawning surveys. Other
than the juveniles that would be sacrificed for genetic analysis, the
researchers are not planning to kill any additional listed fish,
however a further small number may be killed as an inadvertent result
of the proposed activities.
Permit 1585-5R
Under permit 1585-5R the Washington Department of Natural Resources
(WDNR) is seeking to renew for 5 years a permit that would authorize
them to continue to take juvenile PS Chinook salmon, PS
[[Page 52746]]
steelhead, HCS chum salmon, and southern DPS eulachon in streams on
WDNR land in the central Puget Sound Basin (Mason, Kitsap, King,
Pierce, Thurston, Snohomish and Lewis counties in Washington). The
purpose of the work is to determine whether listed fish are present in
the small streams of those watersheds. Juvenile salmonids would be
collected via backpack electrofishing, handled (anesthetized, weighed,
measured, and checked for marks or tags), and released. The permit
would also allow WDNR to take adult Southern DPS eulachon--a species
for which there are currently no take prohibitions--where they may be
encountered in the Lower Chehalis River. Eulachon are not being
targeted but may unintentionally be captured.
The captured fish would be identified and released back to the
waters from which they came. In some cases, the researchers may not
actually capture any fish but would merely note their presence, however
electrofishing where listed species are observed would still be
reported as take. The researchers are not proposing to kill any of the
listed fish being taken, but a small number may be killed as an
inadvertent result of these activities. The information gathered would
be used to inform land management decisions on WDNR holdings. This
information would benefit listed species by helping WDNR identify
existing man-made fish barriers that should be removed or replaced with
structures that fish can pass over or through.
Permit 14283-4R
Under permit 14283-4R, Environmental Assessment Services (EAS) is
seeking to renew for 5 years a permit that would authorize them to
continue to take juvenile and adult UCR spring-run Chinook salmon, UCR
steelhead, and MCR steelhead to support the U.S. Department of Energy's
Hanford Site Cleanup Mission and regulatory drivers under the
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act
(CERCLA). The research would take place various locations in the
Columbia River, extending from a point upstream of Wanapum Dam to an
area a few kilometers above the confluence of the Columbia and Yakima
Rivers. Juveniles would be collected via backpack electrofishing, boat
electrofishing, hook-and-line angling, longline, and beach seine.
Juvenile fish would be captured, handled (anesthetized, weighed,
measured, and checked for marks or tags), and released. Adults would be
collected via hook and line angling, longline, and beach seine. No
adults would be captured during electrofishing activities, and if any
were to be encountered, the equipment would immediately be turned off
and the fish allowed to swim away. Captured adults would be handled
(anesthetized, weighed, measured, and checked for marks or tags), and
released. The research would benefit listed fish by helping monitor and
reduce contamination from the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. The
researchers do not propose to kill any listed fish but a small number
may inadvertently be killed by the activities.
Permit 15730-3R
Under permit 15730-3R the Salmon Protection and Watershed Network
(SPAWN) is seeking to renew for 5 years a permit that would authorize
them to continue to take juvenile CC Chinook salmon, CCC coho salmon,
and CCC steelhead in Lagunitas Creek and its tributaries in Marin
County, California, in order to provide baseline, habitat, and
monitoring data for juvenile and adult ESA-listed salmonids throughout
the CCC coho range. Juveniles would be collected via fyke net and would
be captured, handled (enumerated, measured, and checked for marks or
tags), and released. A subsample of captured juveniles would be
anesthetized, tissue sampled, and marked before being released. Spawned
adults or post-spawn carcasses would be enumerated during spawning
surveys, and tissue samples may be collected. The researchers are not
proposing to kill any of the listed fish being captured, but a small
number may be killed as an inadvertent result of these activities. The
research is expected to benefit listed species by providing data to
inform future research, restoration, and conservation efforts involving
Oncorhynchus species.
Permit 16110-3R
Under permit 16110-3R the Marin Municipal Water District (Marin
Water) is seeking to renew for 5 years a permit that would authorize
them to continue to take adult and juvenile CC Chinook salmon, CCC coho
salmon, and CCC steelhead in order to document trends in coho salmon
abundance, determine freshwater and marine survival rates for coho
salmon, assess the relationship between population trends and
management efforts, and determine which coho life stage has the lowest
survival rates. Juveniles would be collected via screw trap and
backpack electrofishing and observed during snorkel surveys. Juvenile
fish would be captured, handled (enumerated, measured, and checked for
marks or tags), and released. A subsample of captured juveniles would
be anesthetized, tissue sampled and PIT-tagged prior to release.
Adults would be observed during snorkel surveys and spawning
surveys and, although screw traps do not target adult fish, some adult
CCC steelhead moving downstream may be collected at a screw trap in
Lagunitas Creek. Any adults collected in this way would be handled
(enumerated, checked for marks or tags), and released. Spawned adults
or post-spawn carcasses would be enumerated during spawning surveys,
and tissues may be collected from any carcasses at that time. The
researchers are not proposing to kill any of the listed fish being
captured, but a small number may be killed as an inadvertent result of
these activities. This research is expected to benefit the listed
species by providing information on population trends in watersheds
impacted by Marin Water's water supply operations and thereby help
managers tailor those operations in ways designed to help achieve
recovery goals.
Permit 16417-4R
Under permit 16417-4R the Santa Clara Valley Water District (SCVWD)
is seeking to renew for 5 years a permit that would authorize them to
continue to take juvenile and adult CCC steelhead and juvenile S-CCC
steelhead in the Coyote Creek, Guadalupe River, Pajaro Creek, and
Stevens Creek watersheds and Lake Almaden. The work would continue to
help fill data gaps with regard to O. mykiss distribution and habitat
usage in Santa Clara County, California. The data to be gathered would
also be used to improve understanding of fish migrations in the context
of SCVWD water operations and monitor efforts to remediate total
maximum daily mercury loads in the county.
Juveniles would be collected via beach seining and backpack
electrofishing, and observations would be conducted at weirs, fish
ladders, and dams where no trapping occurs. Captured juvenile fish
would be handled (anesthetized, weighed, measured, and checked for
marks or tags), enumerated, and released. A subsample of captured
juveniles would be anesthetized, tissue sampled and PIT-tagged prior to
release. Spawning surveys would be conducted without disturbing redds,
and adults would be observed (live and by video) at weirs, fish
ladders, dams. The researchers are not proposing to kill any of the
listed fish being captured, but a small number may be killed as an
inadvertent result of these activities. The research is
[[Page 52747]]
expected to benefit listed species by improving alignment of water
supply management and fisheries needs to help steelhead survive and
recover.
Permit 16446-3R
Under permit 16446-3R, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla
Indian Reservation (CTUIR) is seeking to renew for 5 years a permit
that would authorize them to continue to take juvenile MCR steelhead
during the course of research designed to monitor listed fish
population status in the Walla Walla River watershed, Washington. The
data gathered on fish abundance, trends, genetics, diversity,
productivity, and population structure would be used to inform
management decisions regarding land use activities and recovery
planning in the Walla Walla subbasin. The researchers would use rotary
screw traps and backpack electrofishing units to capture the fish. At
the screw traps, the fish would then be identified, measured, weighed,
tissue sampled, and implanted with PIT-Tags (if they do not already
have tags). Fish captured via electrofishing would be handled,
measured, allowed to recover, and released in a safe area. Some adult
carcasses would also be sampled. If fish are found in areas
experiencing low flows, those fish could be relocated to safer areas.
The CTUIR researchers are not proposing to kill any of the listed fish
being captured, but a small number may be killed as an inadvertent
result of these activities.
Permit 16979-3R
Under permit 16979-3R, the Washington Department of Fish and
Wildlife (WDFW) is seeking to renew for 5 years a permit that would
authorize them to continue to take adult and juvenile UCR spring-run
Chinook salmon and UCR steelhead while collecting data on their
abundance, status, distribution, diversity, species/ecological
interactions, and behavior in the Columbia River--from its confluence
with the Yakima River upstream to Chief Joseph Dam in Washington. The
research would benefit fish by helping managers (a) understand the
distribution and proportion of hatchery and natural origin steelhead,
and Chinook in UCR tributaries, (b) understand the influences of other
biotic and abiotic factors with respect to recovering listed species,
(c) understand the potential effects of proposed land use practices,
(d) determine appropriate regulatory and habitat protection measures in
the areas where land use actions are planned, (e) project the impacts
of potential hydraulic projects, and (f) evaluate the effectiveness of
local forest practices and instream habitat improvement projects in
terms of their ability to protect and enhance listed salmonid
populations.
The WDFW researchers would capture fish via a wide variety of means
(snorkeling, dip netting, seining, using electrofishing equipment,
traps and weirs, and barbless hook-and-line sampling). The captured
fish would be variously tissue sampled, measured, tagged, allowed to
recover, and released. The researchers do not intend to kill any of the
fish being captured, but a small percentage of them may inadvertently
be killed as a result of the proposed activities.
Permit 17428-4R
Under permit 17428-4R, the Pacific States Marine Fisheries
Commission (PSMFC) is seeking to renew for 5 years a permit that would
authorize them to continue to take adult SacR winter-run Chinook salmon
and CVS Chinook salmon, and juvenile and adult CCV steelhead in the
lower American River and lower Stanislaus River, California, in order
to monitor the abundance of juvenile salmon, infer biological responses
to ongoing habitat restoration activities, and generate data for salmon
life-cycle models. Juveniles would be collected via screw trap and
would be handled (anesthetized, enumerated, measured, and checked for
marks or tags), and released. A subsample of captured juveniles would
be anesthetized, tissue sampled, and PIT-tagged prior to release.
Although screw traps do not target adult fish, some adult steelhead
moving downstream may be collected at screw traps. Any adults collected
in this way would be handled (enumerated, checked for marks or tags),
and released. Spawned adults or post-spawn carcasses that drift into
the screw traps would also be enumerated and tissues may be collected
from any carcasses encountered.
The researchers are not proposing to kill any of the listed fish
being captured, but a small number may be killed as an inadvertent
result of these activities. This work would benefit listed species by
providing information on whether management activities should be
modified to enhance the abundance, production, condition, and survival
of juvenile CVS Chinook Salmon and CCV Steelhead in the American and
Stanislaus Rivers. Improving life-cycle models would also provide
insight on factors affecting abundance and help managers develop
actions to address and mitigate those factors.
Permit 17851-4R
Under permit 17851-4R, the Coastal Watershed Institute (CWI) is
seeking to renew for 5 years a permit that would authorize them to
continue to take juvenile PS Chinook salmon, PS steelhead, HCS chum
salmon, and southern DPS eulachon at the estuary of the Elwha River,
Washington. The purpose of the work is to define the nearshore
restoration response to Elwha dam removals--with an emphasis on
ecological function of nearshore habitats for juvenile salmon and
forage fish. Juvenile salmonids would be collected via beach seine,
handled (identified, weighed, measured, and checked for marks or tags),
and released. The permit would also allow CWI to take adult Southern
DPS eulachon--a species for which there are currently no take
prohibitions--via beach seine. Eulachon are not being targeted but may
unintentionally be captured, and would be handled and released. The
researchers are not proposing to kill any of the listed fish being
captured, but a small number may be killed as an inadvertent result of
these activities.
This research would provide information beneficial to ESA-listed
and unlisted native fish by defining nearshore habitat use by key
species before, during, and after dam removal. This information will
allow managers to identify if adaptive management, sediment management,
or additional restoration considerations are warranted in the Elwha
River estuary following dam removal. This work will also provide
information on nearshore habitat response to dam removal that is
relevant to co-managers of other ESA-listed salmon and steelhead on the
West Coast.
Permit 18001-4R
Under permit 18001-4R, the Pierce County, Washington, Department of
Public Works and Utilities (Pierce County) is seeking to renew for 5
years a permit that would authorize them to continue to take adult PS
Chinook salmon and PS steelhead in the waterways of Pierce County,
Washington, in order to determine the distribution and diversity of
anadromous fish species in the waterbodies adjacent to and within the
County's jurisdiction. Juvenile salmonids would primarily be collected
via beach seine and backpack electrofishing, although fish capture
methods could also include dip nets or minnow traps. Juvenile fish
would be captured, handled (weighed, measured, and checked for marks or
tags), and released. Adults could also potentially
[[Page 52748]]
be encountered during beach seining and, if they are, adult PS Chinook
salmon and PS steelhead would be handled (weighed, measured, and
checked for marks or tags), and released. All captured fish would be
released into the same stream reach from which they were collected. The
researchers are not proposing to kill any of the listed fish being
captured, but a small number of fish may be killed as an inadvertent
result of these activities.
These surveys would help establish listed salmonid presence in
waterbodies about which this is currently little or inconclusive data.
This information would be used to assess the impacts proposed projects
might have on listed species and to guide decisions on where future
projects should be implemented. The research would benefit PS Chinook
salmon and PS steelhead by helping Pierce County develop a best
management practices program, codify in-water work timing windows that
would minimize harm to listed fish, and plan future habitat enhancement
projects.
Permit 20792-2R
Under permit 20792-2R, FISHBIO is seeking to renew a permit that
would authorize them to continue to take adult CVS Chinook salmon, CCV
steelhead, and southern DPS green sturgeon in the San Joaquin River and
South Delta in California in order to detail the relative abundance and
distribution of predatory fishes (i.e., striped, largemouth, spotted,
and smallmouth bass, and catfishes) and characterize the diets of
predators to determine how habitat and environmental conditions affect
the composition of the non-native fish community. Data collected on
non-native resident fishes will help identify areas of elevated
predator abundance and improve understanding of predation impacts on
juvenile salmonids migrating through this region. Listed species are
not being targeted by this work, although some may be unintentionally
encountered or captured. Juveniles and adults would be collected via
boat electrofishing, and those captured would be handled (enumerated,
measured, checked for marks or tags), their health assessed, and
released. No listed species would be tagged during the course of this
study; any captured listed species would be measured and released. The
researchers are not proposing to kill any of the listed fish being
captured, but a small number of juveniles may be killed as an
inadvertent result of these activities. This project is likely to
benefit listed species by better delineating the abundance and
distribution of non-native fish species that prey upon them.
Permit 21571-3R
Under permit 21571-3R, The United States Geological Survey (USGS)
is seeking to renew for 5 years a permit to conduct research on
migration survival among MCR steelhead in the Yakima River system in
Washington State. The research would look at how well the listed fish
are surviving passage through various reaches of the Yakima River. The
USGS researchers would capture juvenile MCR steelhead and tag them with
acoustic and PIT tags. They would then use PIT tag detectors and
acoustic receivers to follow the fish as they move downstream. The
researchers would also use boat electrofishing equipment to count
predators in several reaches, but they would not use that equipment to
capture any listed animals for handling and adult steelhead would be
avoided in all cases.
The research would benefit the listed fish by helping managers
understand what survival risks the young salmonids face when migrating
downriver in the Yakima system. River co-managers would then be able to
use that information to take actions designed to increase fish
survival. The USGS researchers do not intend to kill any listed
animals, but a small number may die as an inadvertent result of the
planned activities.
Permit 22127-2R
Under permit 22127-2R, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)
is seeking to renew for 5 years a permit that would authorize them to
continue to take juvenile and adult PS Chinook salmon and PS steelhead
in the Puyallup River basin (Pierce and King Counties, Washington), in
order to gather information about bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus)
movement and life history strategies in the basin. Bull trout are
listed under the ESA and managed by USFWS. This research is not
targeting ESA-listed fish under NMFS' jurisdiction (PS Chinook salmon
and PS steelhead), but a small number may be unintentionally captured
because their ranges overlap the target species. Juveniles may be
collected via backpack electrofishing, gill net, and beach seine, and
adults may be collected via gill net. Any adult or juvenile PS Chinook
salmon or PS steelhead captured would be immediately released. The
researchers are not proposing to kill any of the listed fish being
captured, but a small number may be killed as an inadvertent result of
these activities. While this work is intended to benefit listed bull
trout by providing fine-scale information about their movement timing
and upstream residency, any management and recovery actions informed by
this work would likely also benefit PS Chinook salmon and PS steelhead
due to their overlapping ranges and habitats.
Permit 26368
Under permit 26368, Idaho State University is seeking a new 5 year
permit that would authorize them to annually take juvenile MCR
steelhead, SnkR spring/summer-run Chinook salmon, SnkR steelhead, UWR
Chinook salmon, UWR steelhead, and OC coho salmon at more than a dozen
locations from Idaho to western Oregon. The purpose of the research is
to conduct a range-wide comparison of native Rainbow Trout population
genetics and structure across much of western North America. The work
would benefit listed fish (primarily steelhead) by providing of
information about population and subspecies structure, local
biodiversity in a variety of settings, and some measure of how intra-
and inter-species variability contribute to ecosystem maintenance. That
information, in turn, would be used to monitor and adjust for variances
in species diversity and population structure and health across a broad
section of the listed species' habitat.
The juvenile fish would be collected via backpack electrofishing
and hook-and-line angling. Only juvenile steelhead would be captured,
handled (anesthetized, weighed, measured, and checked for marks or
tags), sampled, and released. All other captured listed fish would be
allowed to recover in aerated water and then released immediately. The
researchers are not proposing to kill any of the listed fish being
captured, but a small number of fish may be killed as an inadvertent
result of these activities.
Permit 26412
Under permit 26412, FISHBIO, Inc. is seeking a new 5 year permit
that would authorize them to annually take juvenile and adult SacR
winter-run Chinook salmon, CVS Chinook salmon, and CCV steelhead, and
adult southern DPS green sturgeon in the upper Sacramento River, in
Glenn, Butte, and Tehama Counties, California. The purpose of this
study is to provide new information or bolster limited existing
information on the residency, movement patterns, and spatiotemporal
distributions of juvenile non-native Striped bass (Morone saxatilis) in
the upper reaches of the Sacramento River. ESA-listed fish are not
being targeted by this sampling
[[Page 52749]]
effort, although some of them may be unintentionally captured as their
range overlaps with Striped bass in the study area.
ESA-listed salmon, steelhead, and sturgeon may be collected via
hook-and-line angling or observed by camera or sonar. All listed fish
captured would be handled (enumerated, measured, and checked for marks
or tags), and released. Sampling would be limited to 6 to 10 days per
month, and the permit would authorize no mortalities for listed fish.
The information to be gathered is expected to benefit listed species by
providing resource managers data to help them assess predation risks to
outmigrating salmonids and juvenile southern DPS green sturgeon in the
Sacramento River.
Permit 26626
Under permit 26626, the National Park Service (NPS) is seeking a
new 5 year permit that would authorize them to annually take adult and
juvenile PS Chinook salmon and PS steelhead, as well as subadult PS
steelhead and spawned carcasses of both species, in the Elwha River
Basin in Clallam County, Washington. The purpose of the study is to
continue monitoring the recolonization of Pacific salmonids and lamprey
after dam removal in the Elwha River. The majority of fish encountered
during this study would be observed during snorkel surveys but not
handled. Small numbers of juveniles of both species would be collected
via backpack electrofishing, and captured juveniles would be
anesthetized, tissue-sampled and marked prior to release. Adult PS
Chinook salmon and PS steelhead would be collected via tangle net and
hook-and-line angling in addition to observations during snorkel
surveys. Captured adults would be anesthetized, tissue sampled, and
tagged with a Floy, internal radio, or external radio tag prior to
release. Spawned adults and post-spawn carcasses would be counted
during spawning surveys. Subadult PS steelhead would also be observed
during snorkel surveys and captured via tangle nets and hook-and-line
angling; these fish would also be anesthetized, tissue sampled, and
tagged with a Floy, internal radio, or external radio tag prior to
release. The researchers are not proposing to kill any of the listed
fish being captured, but a small number may be killed as an inadvertent
result of these activities.
The information gathered from this work would help scientists and
managers assess spatial extent, relative abundance, migration patterns,
and life history attributes of Pacific salmonids and map how those
factors relate to four stages of restoration in the Elwha River:
protection, recolonization, local adaptation, and recovered. This
project is designed to generate data for assessing the life history
responses of migratory salmonids to dam removal, and the work would
help resource managers involved with the Elwha Ecosystem Restoration
Project better carry out PS steelhead and Chinook recovery actions.
This notice is provided pursuant to section 10(c) of the ESA. NMFS
will evaluate the applications, associated documents, and comments
submitted to determine whether the applications meet the requirements
of section 10(a) of the ESA and Federal regulations. The final permit
decisions will not be made until after the end of the 30-day comment
period. NMFS will publish notice of its final action in the Federal
Register.
Dated: August 23, 2022.
Lisa Manning,
Acting Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2022-18481 Filed 8-26-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on August 29, 2022.
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