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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 6 (Friday, January 10, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1966-1967]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-00320]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XE601]

Endangered and Threatened Species; Announcement of a Recovery 
Planning Workshop and Request for Information To Inform Recovery 
Planning for the Beringia Distinct Population Segment of Bearded Seal 
and the Arctic Ringed Seal

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

ACTION: Notice of public meeting; request for information.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces its intent to convene a workshop to solicit 
facts and information from experts to inform recovery planning for the 
Beringia Distinct Population Segment (DPS) bearded Seal (Erignathus 
barbatus nauticus) and the Arctic ringed seal (Phoca hispida hispida). 
We will not be asking for any consensus recommendations on how to 
recover these species. This workshop will be open to the public. We 
also request submission of information that might inform the 
development of the recovery plans.

DATES: 
    Workshop dates and information: The 2-day recovery planning 
workshop for the Beringia DPS bearded seal and the Arctic ringed seal 
will be held Thursday, January 23 through Friday, January 24, 2025. The 
workshop will begin each day at 8:30 a.m. and end each day at 4:30 p.m. 
Alaska local time. This workshop will also be accessible virtually.
    RSVP: If you plan to attend the workshop, virtually or in person, 
please contact NMFS Protected Resources Division, Alaska Region, at 
[email protected] by January 20, 2025 to receive the 
meeting link via email. The meeting link will also be posted on our 
website at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/ringed-seal/conservation-management and https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/bearded-seal/conservation-management.
    Date for information submission: Please submit information to 
inform recovery planning via the methods listed below in the ADDRESSES 
section by March 11, 2025.

ADDRESSES: Submit your information, identified by docket number NOAA-
NMFS-2024-0151 by either of the following methods:
    Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic comments via the 
Federal eRulemaking Portal. Visit https://www.regulations.gov and type 
NOAA-NMFS-2024-0151 in the Search box. Click on the ``Comment'' icon, 
complete the required fields, and enter or attach your comments.
    Mail: Submit written information to Anne Marie Eich, Assistant 
Regional Administrator for Protected Resources, Alaska Region NMFS, 
Attn: Records Office, P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802-1668.
    Instructions: NMFS may not consider comments or other information 
if sent by any other method, or to any other address or individual. All 
comments and information received are a part of the public record and 
NMFS will post the comments for public viewing on www.regulations.gov 
without change. All personal identifying information (e.g., name, 
address, etc.), confidential business information, or otherwise 
sensitive information submitted voluntarily by the sender is publicly 
accessible. NMFS will accept anonymous comments (enter ``N/A'' in the 
required fields if you wish to remain anonymous).
    Workshop address: BP Energy Center, 1014 Energy Ct., Anchorage, AK 
99508.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jenna Malek, NMFS Alaska Region, 
[email protected], (907) 271-1332, or Caroline Cummings, NMFS Alaska 
Region, [email protected], (907) 271-1508.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS published a final rule listing the 
Beringia DPS of the Erignathus barbatus nauticus subspecies of bearded 
seal as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) on December 
28, 2012 (77 FR 76739). NMFS published a final rule listing the Arctic 
subspecies of ringed seals (Pusa hispida hispida) as threatened under 
the ESA on December 28, 2012 (77 FR 76706). The final listing rules 
describe the background of the listing action for these species and 
provide a summary of our conclusions regarding their status. For 
additional background about these species, the reader is referred to 
our species web pages (available at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/bearded-seal and https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/ringed-seal).
    NMFS is required by section 4(f) of the ESA to develop and 
implement recovery plans for the conservation and survival of federally 
listed species unless the Secretary finds that such a plan will not 
promote the conservation of the species. Recovery means improvement in 
the status of listed species to the point at which the species no 
longer meets the definition of an endangered or threatened species and 
the protections of the ESA are no longer necessary. The ESA specifies 
that recovery plans are to include (1) a description of site-specific 
management actions necessary to achieve the plan's goals for the 
conservation and survival of the species; (2) objective, measurable 
criteria which, when met, would result in the species being removed 
from the list; and (3) estimates of the time and costs required to 
carry out the actions and achieve the plan's conservation goals. Under 
section 4(f) of the ESA, public notice and an opportunity for public 
review and comment are also provided during recovery plan development. 
This notice serves as the first public notice and opportunity for 
public input early in the process. Once a recovery plan has been 
drafted, it will be announced in the Federal Register and available on 
our website (see ADDRESSES section) for public review and comment 
before being finalized.

Recovery Planning Workshop Announcement

    From January 23 through 24, 2025, NMFS will hold a workshop at the 
BP Energy Center in Anchorage, AK to help inform our recovery planning 
for the Beringia DPS bearded seal and the Arctic ringed seal (see DATES 
and ADDRESSES section). We are inviting experts in specific topic 
areas, including the species' biology/ecology, threats to the species 
and the species' habitat, and the recovery planning process itself. 
These experts will help us to identify potential actions to address the 
threats to the species, identify gaps in knowledge and associated 
research needs, as well as begin developing recovery criteria for the 
species. In particular, this workshop will focus on addressing threats 
stemming from changes in the climate. Identified experts include 
representatives of the Ice Seal Committee, Federal and State agencies, 
scientific researchers, individuals from conservation organizations and 
non-governmental organizations, and the oil and gas industry. 
Information received at the workshop may be used to inform the

[[Page 1967]]

development of other conservation decisions and actions.
    NMFS will provide two moderators to manage the workshop as well as 
a note taker to document input received. We are seeking facts and 
information; we will not be asking for consensus recommendations on how 
to recover the Beringia DPS bearded seal and the Arctic ringed seal. 
NMFS will prepare a summary of the workshop, noting the main points 
raised by the participants and registered speakers. This workshop will 
be open to the public, and an opportunity for public feedback and 
questions will be provided at the end of each day.

Agenda

    January 23 will focus on the recovery planning process and 
requirements, the biology, status, and threats to the species, and 
discussions regarding potential recovery criteria;
    January 24 will focus on development of recovery criteria and 
actions related to climate change, anthropogenic threats, and any other 
recovery needs.

Request for Information

    We also invite the public to submit scientific or commercial 
information that may help to inform the recovery criteria and actions 
for the Beringia DPS bearded seal and the Arctic ringed seal. We are 
soliciting relevant information related to the species and their 
habitat, including but not limited to the following:
    1. Criteria for removing these species from the list of threatened 
and endangered species (These criteria could be either threats-based or 
abundance/trends based.);
    2. Human activities that contribute to threats to the species;
    3. Physical, biological, or chemical features of the environment 
that limit the recovery of these species;
    4. Recovery strategies addressing threats to physical and 
biological features that are essential to species conservation;
    5. Strategies and actions to recover these species;
    6. Estimates of the time and cost, and potential partners to 
implement recovery actions;
    7. Critical knowledge gaps and uncertainties that need to be 
resolved to better inform recovery efforts; and
    8. Research, monitoring, and evaluation needs to address knowledge 
gaps and uncertainties, or to assess the species' status, limiting 
factors, and threats relative to recovery goals.
    Information may be submitted via the methods listed above in the 
ADDRESSES section.

Reasonable Accommodations

    The workshop is accessible to persons with disabilities. Send 
requests for accessibility accommodations to 
[email protected] by January 13, 2025 and we will do our 
best to accommodate requests to the extent possible.
    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.

    Dated: January 3, 2025.
Lisa Manning,
Acting Chief, Endangered Species Conservation Division, Office of 
Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2025-00320 Filed 1-8-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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