2021-14658. 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:

Sara Young (Permit No. 24365), Amy Hapeman (Permit No. 18890-01), and Jennifer Skidmore (Permit No. 25672); at [phone].

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 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
18890-01	0648-XD824	Alaska Department of Fish and Game, 1255 West 8th Street, Juneau, Alaska 99811-5526, (Responsible Party: Lori Quakenbush)	81 FR 59982; August 31, 2016	June 7, 2021.
23896	0648-XA964	Aleut Community of St. Paul Island, Tribal Government Ecosystem Conservation Office, 2050 Venia Minor Road, St. Paul Island, AK 99660 (Responsible Party: Lauren Divine, Ph.D.)	86 FR 16588; March 30, 2021	June 22, 2021.
24365	0648-XA878	Paul Ponganis, Ph.D., University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093-0204	86 FR 11730; February 26, 2021	June 1, 2021.
25672	0648-XB073	Miling Li, Sc.D., University of Delaware, 15 Innovation Way, Newark, DE 19711	86 FR 26209; May 13, 2021	June 22, 2021.

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: July 6, 2021.

Julia Marie Harrison,

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