2023-08031. 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 and 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 via email to [e-mail].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Carrie Hubard (Permit No. 26593), Jennifer Skidmore (Permit Nos. 21419, 26689, 26716, and 27102), Shasta McClenahan, Ph.D. (Permit Nos. 26622 and 27049), Amy Hapeman (Permit No. 22156–03), and Courtney Smith, Ph.D. (Permit No. 21059); at (301) 427–8401.

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 activities, go to https://www.federalregister.gov and search on the permit number provided in table 1 below.

Table 1—Issued Permits and Permit Amendments

Permit No.	RTID	Applicant	Previous Federal Register notice	Issuance date
21059–01	0648–XF378	Philip N. Hooge, Ph.D., Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, P.O. Box 140, Gustavus, AK 99826	83 FR 17655, April 23, 2018	March 29, 2023.
21419–01	0648–XG029	Shannon Atkinson, Ph.D., University of Alaska Fairbanks, 17101 Point Lena Loop Road, Juneau, AK 99801	83 FR 21765, May 10, 2018	March 8, 2023.
22156–03	0648–XC712	Douglas Nowacek, Ph.D., Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University Marine Laboratory, 135 Duke Marine Lab Road, Beaufort, NC 28516	88 FR 4156, January 24, 2023	March 15, 2023.
26593	0648–XC409	Adam A. Pack, Ph.D., University of Hawaii at Hilo, 200 West Kawili Street, Hilo, HI 96720	87 FR 59063, September 29, 2022	March 13, 2023.
26622	0648–XC250	Randall Wells, Ph.D., Chicago Zoological Society's Sarasota Dolphin Research Program, c/o Mote Marine Laboratory, 1600 Ken Thompson Parkway, Sarasota, FL 34236	87 FR 48157, August 8, 2022	March 9, 2023.
26689	0648–XC425	Elsie Sunderland, Ph.D., Harvard University, 29 Oxford Street, Pierce Hall No. 127, Cambridge, MA 02138	87 FR 60125, October 4, 2022	March 30, 2023.
26716	0648–XC455	Kathleen Hunt, Ph.D., George Mason University, Department of Biology, 8936 Center Street, Manassas, VA 20110	87 FR 66162, November 2, 2022	March 31, 2023.
27049	0648–XC753	Cristy Rocio Gonzalez Barrientos, D.V.M., Texas A&M University, 2711 Wilderness Drive North, College Station, TX 77845	88 FR 9254, February 13, 2023	March 28, 2023.
27102	0648–XC721	Institute for Marine Sciences, 115 McAllister Way, Ocean Health Building, Santa Cruz, CA 95060 (Responsible Party: Logan Pallin, Ph.D.)	88 FR 7688, February 6, 2023	March 27, 2023.

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 permit 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 MMPA 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 ESA of 1973, as amended (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: April 12, 2023.

Julia M. Harrison,

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