Comment from Joe Carriero

The National Park Service (NPS) appreciates the opportunity to review the subject documen t. IN REPLY REFER TO: (2310) September 13, 2010 National Marine Fisheries Service Office of Protected Resources 1315 East West Highway Silver Spring, MD 20910 ATTN: Greg Silber Subject: NPS Comments on Notice of Intent to Prepare a Recovery Plan for the Sei Whale (RIN 0648–XX37) The National Park Service (NPS) appreciates the opportunity to review the subject document. Although Sei whales (Balanoptera borealis) are found throughout the world, they are a rare species for units of the National Park Service. They are listed on the IUCN Red List as well as the Global Migratory Species List. The NPS Natural Resource Information Portal indicates that Sei whales are present in parks along the eastern seaboard from Cape Cod National Seashore to Everglades and Biscayne National Parks including Fire Island, Assateague Island, Cape Hatteras, Cape Lookout, and Cape Canaveral National Seashores. In the Pacific Ocean, they migrate and forage in Channel Islands and Redwood National Parks, and likely move up the coast to Golden Gate National Recreation Area and Point Reyes National Seashore. Sei whales have also been sighted off the coast of Olympic National Park in the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary. Potential factors that may impact the survival of the Sei whale near or in NPS units include strandings, offshore and alternative energy development projects, shipping and fishing vessel collisions, entanglement, loss of prey resources, climate change, noise impacts and pollution, Department of Defense activities, and fisheries interactions. We have not yet researched historical Sei whale strandings in NPS units. We appreciate your attention to our comments. If you have any questions or need additional information, please contact Dr. Peter Dratch, NPS Endangered Species Program Manger, at peter_dratch@nps.gov or at 970-225-3596.