2017-27737. Marine Mammals and Endangered Species

AGENCY:

National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION:

Notice; issuance of permits and permit amendments.

SUMMARY:

Notice is hereby given that permits or permit amendments have been issued to the following entities under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) and the Endangered Species Act (ESA), as applicable.

ADDRESSES:

The permits and related documents are available for review upon written request or by appointment in the Permits and Conservation Division, Office of Protected Resources, NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Room 13705, Silver Spring, MD 20910; phone [phone]; fax [phone].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Lisa Lierheimer (File No. 21217 and 21397), Sara Young (File No. 17152-02), and Shasta McClenahan (File No. 20556).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Notices were published in the Federal Register on the dates listed below that requests for a permit or permit amendment had been submitted by the below-named applicants. To locate the Federal Register notice that announced our receipt of the application and a complete description of the research, go to www.federalregister.gov and search on the permit number provided in the table below.

File No.	RIN	Applicant	Previous Federal Register notice	Permit or amendment issuance date
17152-02	0648-XC136	Point Blue Conservation Science (Responsible Party: Russell Bradley), 3820 Cypress Drive, #11, Petaluma, California 94954	77 FR 48130; August 13, 2012	November 9, 2017.
20556	0648-XF508	Georgia Department of Natural Resources (Responsible Party: Jonathan Ambrose) 2070 U.S. Highway 278 Southeast, Social Circle, GA 30025	82 FR 32328; July 13, 2017	November 22, 2017.
21217	0648-XF696	Aaron Roberts, Ph.D., University of North Texas, Biological Sciences, 1155 Union Circle, #310559, Denton, TX 76203	82 FR 43944; September 20, 2017	November 6, 2017.
21397	0648-XF696	Burke Museum, Mammalogy (Responsible Party: Julie Stein), University of Washington, Box 353010, Seattle, WA 98195	82 FR 43944; September 20, 2017	November 6, 2017.

In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), a final determination has been made that the activities proposed are categorically excluded from the requirement to prepare an environmental assessment or environmental impact statement.

As required by the ESA, as applicable, issuance of these permits was based on a finding that such permits: (1) Were applied for in good faith; (2) will not operate to the disadvantage of such endangered species; and (3) are consistent with the purposes and policies set forth in Section 2 of the ESA.

Authority: The requested permits have been issued under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.), the regulations governing the taking and importing of marine mammals (50 CFR part 216), the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), and the regulations governing the taking, importing, and exporting of endangered and threatened species (50 CFR parts 222-226), as applicable.

Dated: December 20, 2017.

Julia Harrison,

Chief, Permits and Conservation Division, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.