[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 248 (Wednesday, December 28, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 79901-79903]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-28203]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[FWS-R5-NWRS-2022-N062; FF05R00000 FXRS12610500000]
Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument;
Proposed Joint Monument Management Plan
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior; National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration, Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of intent; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration intend to prepare a draft monument
management plan for the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National
Monument, which was established by Presidential Proclamation 9496 and
updated by Presidential Proclamation 10287. When the draft plan is
complete, we will advertise its availability and seek public comment.
We furnish this notice to advise the public and Federal, Tribal, State,
and local governments and agencies of our intentions, and to obtain
suggestions and information on the scope of issues to consider during
the planning process. An environmental assessment to evaluate the
potential effects of various management alternatives will also be
prepared. The environmental assessment will provide resource managers
with the information needed to determine if the potential effects may
be significant and warrant preparation of an environmental impact
statement, or if the potential impacts lead to a finding of no
significant impact.
DATES: To ensure consideration, we must receive your written comments
by January 27, 2023.
[[Page 79902]]
ADDRESSES: Document availability and comment submission: Additional
information about the Monument is available at https://www.fws.gov/national-monument/northeast-canyons-and-seamounts-marine and https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/new-england-mid-atlantic/habitat-conservation/northeast-canyons-and-seamounts-marine-national.
Please send your written comments or requests for more information
by one of the following methods:
Email: ncsmnm_planning@fws.gov.
U.S. Mail: Brittany Petersen, Marine Monument
Superintendent, USFWS; 300 Westgate Center Drive; Hadley, MA 01035.
For more information, please see Public Availability of Comments.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brittany Petersen, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, Marine National Monument Superintendent, by phone at
413-253-8329, or via email at ncsmnm@fws.gov; or Marianne Ferguson,
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, by phone at 978-675-
2188, or via email at marianne.ferguson@noaa.gov. Individuals in the
United States who are deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a
speech disability may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to access
telecommunications relay services. Individuals outside the United
States should use the relay services offered within their country to
make international calls to the point-of-contact in the United States.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On October 8, 2021, President Joseph Biden issued Proclamation
10287 (86 FR 57349, October 15, 2021), charging the Secretaries of the
managing agencies, the Department of the Interior and the Department of
Commerce (Departments), to prepare a joint management plan for the
Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument by September
15, 2023.
Monument Establishment and Management Responsibilities
On September 15, 2016, President Barack Obama issued Presidential
Proclamation 9496 (81 FR 65161, September 21, 2016), establishing the
Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument (Monument)
under the authority of the Antiquities Act of 1906. The canyon and
seamount area contains objects of historic and scientific interest that
are situated upon lands owned or controlled by the Federal Government--
the Monument was established for the purpose of preserving these
objects for the public interest. More information about the Monument's
establishment and regulated activities can be found in Presidential
Proclamation 9496 (81 FR 65161, September 21, 2016).
The Monument is composed of two units, located in the Atlantic
Ocean approximately 130 miles (mi) (209 kilometers (km)) southeast of
Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The Canyons Unit includes three underwater
canyons--Oceanographer, Gilbert, and Lydonia--and covers approximately
941 square mi (mi\2\) (2,437 square km (km\2\)). The Seamounts Unit
includes four seamounts--Bear, Mytilus, Physalia, and Retriever--and
encompasses 3,972 mi\2\ (10,287 km\2\). The waters and submerged lands
within the Monument boundaries total approximately 4,913 mi\2\ (12,725
km\2\).
The Secretary of the Interior and Secretary of Commerce share
management responsibilities for the Monument, as directed by
Presidential Proclamations 9496 and 10287, under their applicable legal
authorities. The Proclamations require the Secretaries to prepare a
management plan within their respective authorities for the Monument
and promulgate and implement regulations that address specific actions
necessary for the proper care and management of the Monument. With this
notice, the Departments are commencing development of the Monument
Management Plan (MMP, plan). The Departments will work cooperatively
under the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's (Service) lead in this
process and intend to cooperatively coordinate in the development and
timing of this planning process and implementation of the plan.
The Monument's Natural Resources
The Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument
harbors exceptional geological features, in an area where the Gulf
Stream and the Deep Western Boundary Current meet, creating the ideal
conditions that result in a nutrient-rich, biodiverse area in the
ocean. This area of productivity draws in a diversity of ocean life and
supplies these creatures with nursery, feeding, and migration habitats.
The submarine canyons and seamounts create dynamic currents and
eddies that enhance biological productivity and provide feeding and
wintering grounds for seabirds; pelagic species, including whales,
dolphins, and turtles; and highly migratory fish, such as tunas,
billfish, and sharks. The warm Gulf Stream conditions support at least
54 species of corals. The corals, together with other structure-forming
fauna such as sponges and anemones, create a foundation for vibrant
deep-sea ecosystems, providing food, spawning habitat, and shelter for
an array of fish and invertebrate species. The abundant waters are a
beacon for the Atlantic's seabirds, including Atlantic puffins
(Fratercula arctica), razorbills (Alca torda), shearwaters, gannetts,
and even Bermuda storm-petrels (Pterodroma cahow), which were once
thought to be extinct. Endangered species such as the sperm whale
(Physeter macrocephalus), Kemp's Ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys
kempii), and a variety of others have been viewed within the Monument's
boundaries. The ecological conditions found in the Monument sustain a
diverse food web that is unique to this area along the Atlantic coast.
The Canyons Unit
Oceanographer, Gilbert, and Lydonia Canyons are among the largest
of the major submarine canyons that line the U.S. continental shelf.
They extend approximately 22 to 30 mi in length (35 to 48 km), and
range in depth from approximately 500 feet (ft) (152 meters (m)) at
their heads to around 7,700 ft (2,345 m) where they intersect with the
continental rise, making them deeper than the Grand Canyon. Active
erosion and powerful ocean currents transport sediments and organic
carbon through the canyons, resulting in habitats for sponges, corals,
and other invertebrates that filter food from the water to flourish,
and for larger species such as squid, octopus, skates, flounders, and
crabs. Major oceanographic features, such as currents, temperature
gradients, eddies, and fronts, occur on a large scale and influence the
distribution patterns of such highly migratory oceanic species. These
unique conditions support an area with some of the highest diversity of
marine mammals along the East Coast of the United States.
The Seamounts Unit
Bear, Physalia, Mytilus, and Retriever Seamounts are extinct
underwater volcanoes, and the only seamounts in the U.S. Atlantic
Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). They form the beginning of the New
England Seamount chain, which stretches halfway across the western
North Atlantic Ocean. Bear Seamount is approximately 100 million years
old and the largest of the four; it rises approximately 8,200 ft (2,499
m) from the seafloor to within 3,280 ft (1,000 m) of the sea surface.
Its summit is over 12 mi (19 km) in diameter. The three smaller
seamounts reach to within 6,500 ft (1,981 m) of the sea surface. All
[[Page 79903]]
four seamounts have steep and complex topography that interrupts
passing currents; this action provides a constant supply of plankton
and nutrients to the animals that inhabit the unit. It also causes
upwelling of nutrient-rich waters toward the ocean surface. These
seamounts support highly diverse ecological communities, with deep-sea
corals that are hundreds to thousands of years old and a wide array of
other bottom-dwelling marine organisms not found on the surrounding
deep-sea floor. They provide shelter from predators, increased food,
nurseries, and spawning areas. The New England Seamounts have many rare
and endemic species, several of which are new to science and are not
known to live anywhere else on Earth.
The Monument Management Plan Development Process
The MMP's format will include elements similar to a National
Wildlife Refuge System comprehensive conservation plan (CCP), and the
planning process for those elements will be conducted in a manner
similar to the CCP planning and public involvement process. The MMP
will be updated every 15 years.
We will conduct environmental reviews of various management
alternatives and develop an environmental assessment (EA) in accordance
with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA; 42 U.S.C.
4321 et seq.), as amended; NEPA regulations (40 CFR parts 1500-1508);
other Federal laws and regulations; and our policies and procedures for
compliance with those laws and regulations.
The Service, as lead agency for NEPA purposes, will also designate
and involve as cooperating agencies the Department of Commerce, through
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the
Department of Defense, and the Department of State.
Public Involvement
The Service and NOAA will conduct the planning process in a manner
that will provide participation opportunities for the public, Tribes,
Federal and local government agencies, and other interested parties. At
this time, we are seeking ideas and comments to help guide the
management of the Monument. Potential topics may include, but are not
limited to:
Research
Outreach and engagement
Environmental education
Conservation of the resource
Because the Proclamations prohibit commercial fishing within the
Monument (with the exception of red crab and lobster until September
15, 2023), the MMP will not consider management alternatives that allow
commercial fishing. Opportunities for additional public input will be
announced throughout the planning process.
Next Steps
The Service and NOAA will consider your comments during development
of the Draft MMP/EA.
Public Availability of Comments
Before including your address, phone number, or other personal
identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your
entire comment--including your personal identifying information--may be
made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your
comments to withhold your personal identifying information from public
review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.
Kyla Hastie,
Acting Regional Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Hadley,
Massachusetts.
Kelly Denit,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 2022-28203 Filed 12-27-22; 8:45 am]
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