Notice2024-17799
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 12, 2024
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
Notice is hereby given that NMFS has received two direct take permit applications and two permit modification requests pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(A) of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) for research and enhancement purposes. The proposed activities are intended to enhance the survival of species listed under the ESA and to help guide management and conservation efforts.
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 155 (Monday, August 12, 2024)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 155 (Monday, August 12, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65605-65606]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-17799]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[RTID 0648-XE176]
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; two permit applications and two permit
modification requests to enhance the propagation and survival of
endangered and threatened species.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that NMFS has received two direct take
permit applications and two permit modification requests pursuant to
section 10(a)(1)(A) of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) for research
and enhancement purposes. The proposed activities are intended to
enhance the survival of species listed under the ESA and to help guide
management and conservation efforts.
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 September 11,
2024.
ADDRESSES: Written comments should be submitted to: NMFS West Coast
Region, 650 Capitol Mall, Room 5-100, Sacramento, CA 95814. Comments
may also be submitted via email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#1a5b777b747e7b3459687b747c75687e5a74757b7b347d756c"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="19587478777d78375a6b78777f766b7d5977767878377e766f">[email protected]</span></a>. Please
include the permit number in any correspondence or comments provided.
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>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amanda Cranford, Sacramento,
California (Phone: 916-930-3706, Email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#22634f434c46430c6150434c444d5046624c4d43430c454d54"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="fbba969a959f9ad5b8899a959d94899fbb95949a9ad59c948d">[email protected]</span></a>).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Species Covered in This Notice
Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) Evolutionarily Significant
Units (ESU):
Endangered Sacramento River winter-run, and
Threatened Central Valley spring-run
Steelhead (O. mykiss) Distinct Population Segments (DPS):
Threatened California Central Valley (CCV)
North American green sturgeon (Acipenser medirostris):
Threatened Southern DPS (SDPS)
Background
Permit 27626
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) proposes to
reintroduce and bolster native fish populations in Big Chico Creek by
translocating fishes from nearby waters. Several species have been
extirpated from Big Chico Creek due to rotenone treatment that occurred
between Higgin's Hole and Iron Canyon in 1986. Target native fishes
include: Sacramento Sucker (Catostomidae occidentalis), Sacramento
Pikeminnow (Ptychocheilus grandis), Hardhead (Mylopharodon
conocephalus), Western Brook Lamprey (Lampetra richardsoni), and Riffle
Sculpin (Cottus gulosus). Several of these fishes are ranked as of
moderate concern in the California Species of Special Concern List
within the California Natural Diversity Database. Reintroducing these
species back into their native range increases resilience and provides
a unique opportunity to restore previously documented native fish
assemblage.
Fish will be captured using beach seines as much as is feasible,
with the exception of Brook Lamprey, which will be captured using
backpack electrofishing. Where beach seines are not effective or
possible, CDFW will use minnow traps to capture fish. Fish will be
inspected for parasites and any health concerns, and the anterior
portion of their dorsal fins will be clipped for genetic analysis.
Depending on size of fish collected, a Floy tag may be applied for the
purposes of tracking movement within Big Chico Creek and assessing the
success of translocations. Fish will be transported in oxygenated water
to the receiving sites in Big Chico Creek. Receiving sites will be
determined each year based on access, safety of crew, and locations of
previous years' translocations.
Permit 28124
The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) will deploy a
Juvenile Salmonid Collection System (JSCS) in the McCloud Arm of Shasta
Reservoir as part of a feasibility study to assess the reintroduction
of Sacramento River winter-run Chinook salmon above Shasta Dam. The
primary purpose of JSCS deployment is to evaluate methods of juvenile
salmon collection in head-of-reservoir conditions to support efforts to
reintroduce the endangered population of Sacramento River winter-run
Chinook salmon to cold-water habitat above Shasta and Keswick dams.
The JSCS is a channel-spanning fish trap designed for head-of-
reservoir conditions, and is comprised of a debris boom, guidance nets,
fish trap and platform (live box, fykes, and decks), temperature
curtain, and anchoring system. The JSCS is a passive system that does
not rely on pumps or power, and instead leverages fish behavior and
water velocities to capture juvenile salmon during outmigration before
the fish enter the main body of the reservoir. The JSCS is intended to
capture the experimental population of Sacramento River winter-run
Chinook salmon from Livingston Stone National Fish Hatchery (Livingston
Stone NFH) reared and released at Ah Di Na on the McCloud River. DWR
may sample a subsection of trapped salmon to assess their growth rates
and condition. DWR may recover juvenile salmon carcasses during
warmwater predator gut content analysis and will provide salvaged
mortalities to CDFW and the Southwest Fisheries Science Center (SWFSC).
DWR will conduct mark-recapture studies with hatchery-raised juvenile
Sacramento River winter-run or Central Valley spring-run Chinook salmon
to inform evaluation of trap efficiency and capture probability. DWR
will provide all salmon captured at the JSCS to CDFW and the Winnemem
Wintu Tribe for relocation and release.
Permit 16477-4M
This permit modification request is intended to support a suite of
emergency actions under development by NMFS, CDFW, and the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to enhance the survival of Central Valley
spring-run Chinook salmon. In 2023, the three remaining independent
Central Valley spring-run Chinook salmon populations in Mill, Deer, and
Butte Creeks experienced a cohort collapse. The primary purpose of
Livingston Stone NFH is to conserve endangered Sacramento River winter-
run Chinook salmon. However, beginning in 2024, additional actions will
be taken to conserve threatened Central Valley spring-run Chinook
salmon that are incidentally captured during adult winter-run Chinook
salmon broodstock collection activities.
USFWS proposes to trap, genetically identify, hold, and spawn a
limited number of adult spring-run Chinook
[[Page 65606]]
salmon captured in the Keswick Dam fish trap. Eggs produced from these
fish will be incubated at Livingston Stone NFH until the eyed stage, at
which time they will be moved off-station by CDFW to remote-site
incubators (RSIs) installed on Butte, Clear, Deer, and/or Mill creeks.
In addition to the artificial propagation of spring-run Chinook salmon
at Livingston Stone NFH in the capacity described above, natural-origin
spring-run Chinook salmon trapped at Keswick Dam in excess of the
agreed upon spawning target, or otherwise not selected for propagation,
be translocated to Butte, Clear, Deer, and/or Mill creeks, instead of
returning them to the Sacramento River at Caldwell Park. This action
will promote spawning in higher-quality tributary spawning and rearing
habitats that are spatially separated from adult fall-run Chinook
salmon spawners.
Permit 18181-6M
The permit modification requested by CDFW will allow for the
operation of RSIs in various Central Valley rivers. The use of RSIs is
expected to enhance the survival of ESA-listed Chinook salmon by: (1)
spreading the risk of adverse impacts to early life stages caused by
drought conditions; (2) assessing the efficacy of RSI systems for
potential use in any future reintroduction program efforts; and/or (3)
studying the growth, survival, and outmigration timing of juvenile
salmon in their historical habitat to inform long-term reintroduction
planning. RSIs may be deployed and operated in the McCloud River using
Sacramento River winter-run Chinook salmon eggs from Livingston Stone
NFH. RSIs in Butte, Clear, Deer, and/or Mill creeks would utilize
Central Valley spring-run Chinook salmon eggs from adults incidentally
captured at the Keswick Dam fish trap and spawned at Livingston Stone
NFH.
CDFW also proposes to carry out monitoring and evaluation
activities to assess the performance of reintroduction efforts in the
McCloud River. Snorkel surveys may be conducted to monitor outmigration
timing, juvenile distribution, and habitat use. Juveniles will be
recaptured using rotary screw traps (or an alternative juvenile capture
method, if determined necessary), which may include efficiency trials
to expand fish counts to estimates of growth, survival and productivity
of juveniles in the McCloud River. Habitat-associations will be
assessed through snorkel surveys and/or backpack electrofishing at
various locations in the McCloud River from Ah Di Na to Lake Shasta.
Authority
Scientific research and 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 222-
226). NMFS issues permits based on finding 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
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 6, 2024.
Angela Somma,
Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected Resources,
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-17799 Filed 8-9-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
</pre><script data-cfasync="false" src="/cdn-cgi/scripts/5c5dd728/cloudflare-static/email-decode.min.js"></script></body>
</html>Indexed from Federal Register on August 12, 2024.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.