[Federal Register: July 17, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 136)]
[Notices]
[Page 34725-34726]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr17jy09-23]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
RIN 0648-XF79
Marine Mammals and Endangered Species; National Marine Fisheries
Service File No. 932-1905; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service File No. MA-
009526
AGENCIES: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce; Fish and Wildlife
Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice; issuance of permit.
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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the NMFS Marine Mammal Health and
Stranding Response Program (MMHSRP), Silver Spring, MD (Dr. Teri
Rowles, Principal Investigator), has been issued a permit to conduct
enhancement and research activities on marine mammals.
ADDRESSES: The permit and related documents are available for review
upon written request or by appointment in the following offices:
Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of Protected
Resources, NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Room 13705, Silver Spring, MD
20910; phone (301) 713-2289; fax (301) 713-0376; and
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of Management Authority,
4401 North Fairfax Drive, Room 212, Arlington, VA 22203 (1-800-358-
2104).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amy Sloan or Kristy Beard, NMFS Office
of Protected Resources, (301) 713-2289.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The subject permit has been issued under the
authority of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, as amended
(MMPA; 16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.); the regulations governing the taking
and importing of marine mammals (50 CFR parts 18 and 216); the
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.);
the regulations governing the taking, importing, and exporting of
endangered and threatened species (50 CFR parts 17 and 222-226); and
the Fur Seal Act of 1966, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1151 et seq.).
Permit No. 932-1905/MA-009526 authorizes the MMHSRP to: (1) Carry
out response, rescue, rehabilitation, and release of threatened and
endangered marine mammals under NMFS jurisdiction [Cetacea and
Pinnipedia (excluding walrus)] under sections 109(h) and 112(c) and
Title IV of the MMPA; and carry out such activities as enhancement
under section 10 the ESA; (2) Conduct health-related scientific
research studies on marine mammals and marine mammal parts under NMFS
jurisdiction under section 104 of the MMPA and section 10 of the ESA;
(3) Conduct Level B harassment on marine mammals under NMFS and U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) jurisdiction [West Indian manatee
(Trichechus manatus), walrus (Odobenus rosmarus), polar bear (Ursus
maritimus), and sea otters (Enhydra lutris)] incidental to all MMHSRP
activities in the United States; (4) Collect, salvage, receive,
possess, transfer, import, export, analyze, and curate marine mammal
specimens under NMFS jurisdiction for purposes delineated in numbers
(1) and (2) above; and (5) Salvage (from dead stranded animals),
receive, possess, transfer, import, export, analyze, and curate marine
mammal specimens under USFWS jurisdiction [including dugong and
manatees (Sirenia), walrus, polar bear, marine otter (Lontra felina),
sea otter] for purposes consistent with Title IV of the MMPA and
section 10 of the ESA. The permit has been issued for a 5-year period.
The NMFS MMHSRP has prepared a Final Programmatic Environmental
Impact Statement (FPEIS) in compliance with the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321et seq.), which covers the entirety
of the MMHSRP program's activities, including those covered by the
issued permit. The FPEIS was published on March 6, 2009 (74 FR 9817).
The ROD was signed on April 21, 2009. The FPEIS is available on the
following web site: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/health/eis.htm.
Issuance of this permit, as required by the ESA, was based on a
finding that such permit: (1) Was applied for in good faith; (2) will
not operate to the disadvantage of such endangered species; and (3) is
consistent with the purposes and policies set forth in section 2 of the
ESA.
[[Page 34726]]
Dated: July 10, 2009.
Tammy C. Adams,
Acting Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of
Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
Dated: July 10, 2009.
Timothy J. Van Norman,
Chief, Branch of Permits, Division of Management Authority, U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. E9-17087 Filed 7-16-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S