[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 190 (Friday, October 1, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60721-60723]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-24738]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RIN 0648-XZ21
Notice of Intent to Prepare a Programmatic Environmental Impact
Statement on Implementing Recovery Actions for Hawaiian Monk Seals
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. Department of Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of Intent to prepare a Programmatic Environmental Impact
Statement; announcement of public scoping period; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) announces its
intent to prepare a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS)
to analyze the environmental impacts of implementing specific
management actions and administering the associated research and
enhancement program for Hawaiian monk seals (Monachus schauinslandi) in
the Northwestern and Main Hawaiian Islands. Publication of this notice
begins the official public scoping process that will help identify
alternatives and determine the scope of environmental issues to be
considered in the PEIS.
ADDRESSES: Written statements and questions regarding the public
scoping process must be postmarked by November 15, 2010. To be included
on a mailing list and receive newsletters and copies of the Draft and
Final PEIS, please send mailing address and/or email address to Jeff
Walters, Hawaiian Monk Seal Recovery Coordinator, Protected Resources
Division, NOAA NMFS Pacific Islands Regional Office, 1601 Kapiolani
Blvd., Suite 1110, Honolulu, HI 96814. Comments on this notice and the
scoping process for this action may be submitted by:
Mail: 1601 Kapiolani Blvd., Suite 1110, Honolulu, HI
96814.
Scoping Meetings: Oral and written comments will be
accepted during the upcoming scoping meetings. See SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION, SCOPING MEETINGS (below) for dates and locations of public
scoping meetings for this issue.
Email: [email protected].
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeff Walters, NMFS Pacific Islands
Regional Office, 1601 Kapiolani Blvd., Suite 1110, Honolulu, HI 96814,
or via the following email address: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS is the Federal agency responsible for
management of Hawaiian monk seals, under the Endangered Species Act
(ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and the Marine Mammal Protection Act
(MMPA; 16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.). NMFS funds and conducts research and
enhancement activities on Hawaiian monk seals in the Northwestern
Hawaiian Islands (NWHI) and Main Hawaiian Islands (MHI). In 1976, NMFS
listed Hawaiian monk seals as ``endangered'' under the ESA and
``depleted'' under the MMPA. As required under section 4 of the ESA,
NMFS published a Recovery Plan for the species in 1983, which was
revised in 2007. The funds administered by NMFS to implement recovery
actions, including research and enhancement, have been designated by
Congress and allocated within NMFS' annual budgets for the purpose of
promoting Hawaiian monk seal recovery. The intent of this PEIS is to
evaluate, in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), the potential direct, indirect, and
cumulative impacts on the human environment of the alternative
approaches to implementing recovery actions, including research and
enhancement activities, under the Hawaiian monk seal recovery program.
Background
The Hawaiian monk seals' population has experienced a prolonged
decline and currently only approximately 1,200 monk seals remain.
Numerous threats to the survival of Hawaiian monk seals are identified
in the Hawaiian monk seal Recovery Plan. In the NWHI, young seals are
starving, pups are being killed by sharks, seals are getting entangled
in marine debris, and sea level rise threatens terrestrial habitats.
Low juvenile survival over the past two decades is the primary cause of
the population's decline. There is insufficient recruitment into the
breeding population, and the population decline will likely continue
without intervention. Enhancement activities, including but not limited
to translocating seals from areas of lower to higher survival
probability, are being considered to improve juvenile survival and the
overall health of the population.
The purpose of implementing recovery activities for Hawaiian monk
seals is to promote the recovery of the species population to levels at
which ESA protection is no longer needed. Research, enhancement, and
management activities on Hawaiian monk seals considered in this PEIS
are funded, undertaken, and permitted by NMFS, which are federal
actions requiring NEPA compliance. The need for this action is rooted
in fundamental
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biological and ecological factors that are now limiting the population.
As part of this action, NMFS is developing measures that will help
identify factors limiting the population, minimize human-induced
impacts and other factors affecting survival, promote recovery, prevent
harm, and avoid jeopardy or continued disadvantage to the species.
Research and monitoring will continue to play a key role in determining
whether enhancement activities achieve their desired outcomes.
NMFS administers funds that have been designated by Congress and
allocated within NMFS' annual budget for the purpose of implementing
recovery actions on Hawaiian monk seals. Using these funds, NMFS
implements various management, research, and enhancement activities for
recovery of the species. This PEIS would satisfy the NEPA compliance
requirements for funding and undertaking recovery actions for Hawaiian
monk seals, including the subset of actions requiring MMPA and ESA
permits.
The purposes of the ESA, as described in section 2, are to provide
a means whereby the ecosystems upon which threatened and endangered
species may depend may be conserved, to provide a program for the
conservation of such threatened and endangered species, and to take
such steps as may be appropriate to achieve the purposes of the
treaties and conventions set forth in section 2(a) of the ESA.
Proposed Action and Possible Alternatives
This notice initiates a public scoping period that will help
determine the structure of each alternative considered in the PEIS.
NMFS has identified the proposed action and several other alternatives,
including the No Action Alternative. The final scope and structure of
the alternatives will reflect the combined input from the public,
research institutions, affected State and Federal agencies, and NMFS
administrative and research offices. The number and structure of the
alternatives that are analyzed in the PEIS will be determined at a
later date. Themes to include in the range of potential alternatives
are presented here to provide a framework for public comments:
No Action Alternative: Under this alternative, currently
permitted research and enhancement activities on Hawaiian monk seals
would continue until expiration of the permit in 2014 (NMFS ESA-MMPA
Permit No. 10137-04 issued to the NMFS Pacific Islands Fisheries
Science Center). Recovery Plan actions authorized by this permit would
not be implemented beyond 2014. Currently, the existing research and
enhancement activities include, but are not limited to:
1. Population assessment (e.g., counting, resighting, marking for
identification, flipper tags);
2. Health and disease studies (e.g., tissue sampling, morphometric
measurements);
3. Foraging studies (e.g., telemetry, scat collection);
4. De-worming research (e.g., fecal samples, testing anti-parasite
treatments);
5. Translocation of weaned pups within the NWHI to improve juvenile
survival;
6. Mitigation of fishery interactions (e.g., disentanglement,
removal of fishing hooks); and
7. Mitigation of adult male aggression (e.g., removal and
relocation of aggressive males).
Status Quo Alternative: The Status Quo Alternative would
consist of the existing types and scope of management, research and
enhancement activities (including those identified in the No Action
Alternative). New permits would be issued to maintain the current
levels of research and enhancement activities. Existing management
activities include but are not limited to protecting seals that haul
out on recreational beaches and creating effective outreach messages,
brochures, signs and volunteer programs to minimize human disturbance
and other adverse impacts.
Enhanced Implementation Alternative (Proposed Action): The
Proposed Action would result in implementation and continuation of
activities identified in the Status Quo, as well as additional
activities to achieve more comprehensive Recovery Plan implementation.
These additional activities would include, but are not limited to:
1. Vaccination studies (including potential vaccination);
2. Aversive conditioning (e.g., the development of tools to modify
undesirable seal behavior including interactions with humans or
domestic animals);
3. Archipelago-wide translocation to improve juvenile survival; and
4. De-worming.
The PEIS will assess the direct, indirect, and cumulative effects
of implementing the alternative approaches for funding, undertaking,
and permitting the management, research and enhancement activities on
Hawaiian monk seals as well as other components of the marine ecosystem
and human environment. Anyone having relevant information they believe
NMFS should consider in its analysis should provide a description of
that information along with complete citations for supporting
documents.
Public Involvement
Scoping is an early and open process for determining the scope of
issues to be addressed in a PEIS and for identifying the significant
issues related to the proposed action. A principal objective of the
scoping and public involvement process is to identify a range of
reasonable management alternatives that will delineate critical issues
and provide a clear basis for distinguishing among those alternatives
and selecting a preferred alternative. Through this notice, we are
notifying the public that a NEPA analysis and decision--making process
for this proposed action has been initiated so that interested or
affected people may participate and contribute to the final decision.
NMFS will ask for additional public comments once the Draft PEIS is
prepared and available. For additional information about Hawaiian monk
seals and the PEIS process, please visit our website at http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/permits/eis/hawaiianmonkseal.htm. NMFS estimates
the Draft PEIS will be available in late spring 2011.
Scoping Meetings
Public scoping meetings will be held on the following dates, times,
and locations:
1. Wednesday, October 20, 2010, 5:30 -- 8:30 p.m., Central Union
Church, 1660 South Beretania Street, Honolulu, O`ahu;
2. Thursday, October 21, 2010, 6 -- 9 p.m., Mokup[atilde]papa
Discovery Center, 308 Kamehameha Avenue, Suite 109, Hilo, Hawai`i;
3. Monday, October 25, 2010, 6 -- 9 p.m., NOAA Sanctuaries New
Community Learning Center, 726 South K[itilde]hei Road, K[itilde]hei,
Maui;
4. Tuesday, October 26, 2010, 6 -- 9 p.m., Hale Mahaolu Home
Pumehana, 290 Kolapa Place, Kaunakakai, Moloka`i; and
5. Wednesday, October 27, 2010, 6 -- 9 p.m., Wilcox Elementary
School, 4319 Hardy Street, L[itilde]hu`e, Kaua`i.
Comments will be accepted at these meetings as well as during the
scoping period, and can be submitted to NMFS by November 15, 2010 (see
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT). We request that you include in your
comments: (1) Your name, address, and affiliation (if any); and (2) Any
background documents to
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support your comments as you think necessary.
Special Accommodations
These meetings are accessible to people with disabilities. Requests
for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aids should be
directed to Rachel Sprague, (808) 944-2200 (phone) or (808) 973-2941
(fax), at least 5 days before the scheduled meeting date.
Dated: September 22, 2010.
Eric C. Schwaab,
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 2010-24738 Filed 9-30-10; 8:45 am]
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