Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 156 / Tuesday, August 17, 2021 / Notices 45969 

initial IHA (83 FR 30406; June 28, 2018) 

and the modified IHA (85 FR 86538; 

December 30, 2020). Within 90 days 

after completion of pile driving 

activities, the Navy must provide NMFS 

with a monitoring report which 

includes summaries of recorded takes 

and estimates of the number of marine 

mammals that may have been harassed. 

If no comments are received from NMFS 

within 30 days, the draft final report 

will constitute the final report. If 

comments are received, a final report 

addressing NMFS comments must be 

submitted within 30 days after receipt of 

comments. 

In the unanticipated event that: (1) 

The specified activity clearly causes the 

take of a marine mammal in a manner 

prohibited by the IHA, such as an 

injury, serious injury or mortality; (2) an 

injured or dead animal is discovered 

and cause of death is known; or (3) an 

injured or dead animal is discovered 

and cause of death is not related to the 

project activities, the Navy will follow 

the protocols described in the Section 3 

of Marine Mammal Monitoring Report 

(Appendix D of the IHA application). 

Comments and Responses 

A notice of NMFS’ proposal to issue 

a renewal IHA to the Navy was 

published in the Federal Register on 

July 19, 2021 (86 FR 38025). That notice 

described and referenced descriptions of 

the Navy’s activities, the marine 

mammal species that may be affected by 

the activities, the anticipated effects on 

marine mammals and their habitat, 

estimated amount and manner of take, 

and proposed mitigation, monitoring 

and reporting measures. NMFS received 

no public comments. 

Determinations 

The activities planned by the Navy 

are identical to a subset of those 

analyzed in the 2018 IHA (83 FR 30406; 

June 28, 2018) and discussed in the 

modified 2020 IHA (85 FR 86538; 

December 30, 2020), as are the method 

of taking and the effects of the action. 

The potential effects of the Navy’s 

activities are limited to Level A 

harassment of one species (harbor seals) 

and Level B harassment in the form of 

behavioral disturbance for three species 

(California sea lions, Steller sea lions, 

and harbor seals). As the activities 

described herein represent a subset, the 

take that was analyzed and described in 

the proposed renewal (86 FR 38025; July 

18, 2021) is relatively smaller than 

authorized previously in the overall 

projects described in the modified 2020 

IHA (85 FR 86538; December 30, 2020). 

In analyzing the effects of the activities 

in the 2018 IHA (83 FR 30406; June 28, 

2018) and the modified 2020 IHA (85 FR 

86538; December 30, 2020), NMFS 

determined that the Navy’s activities 

would have a negligible impact on the 

affected species or stocks and the takes 

would be of small numbers. The 

mitigation measures and monitoring and 

reporting requirements as described 

above are identical to the 2018 IHA (83 

FR 30406; June 28, 2018) and modified 

2020 IHA (85 FR 86538; December 30, 

2020). 

NMFS has concluded that there is no 

new information suggesting that our 

analysis or findings should change from 

those reached for the 2020 modified 

IHA. This includes consideration of the 

estimated abundance of the stocks for 

Steller sea lions (eastern United States 

stock) increasing slightly and the 

estimated abundance for the stock of 

California sea lions (United States stock) 

decreasing slightly. Based on the 

information and analysis contained here 

and in the referenced documents, NMFS 

has determined the following: (1) The 

required mitigation measures will effect 

the least practicable impact on marine 

mammal species or stocks and their 

habitat; (2) the authorized takes will 

have a negligible impact on the affected 

marine mammal species or stocks; (3) 

the authorized takes represent small 

numbers of marine mammals relative to 

the affected stock abundances; (4) the 

Navy’s activities will not have an 

unmitigable adverse impact on taking 

for subsistence purposes as no relevant 

subsistence uses of marine mammals are 

implicated by this action; and (5) 

appropriate monitoring and reporting 

requirements are included. 

Endangered Species Act (ESA) 

Section 7(a)(2) of the Endangered 

Species Act of 1973 (ESA: 16 U.S.C. 

1531 et seq.) requires that each Federal 

agency insure that any action it 

authorizes, funds, or carries out is not 

likely to jeopardize the continued 

existence of any endangered or 

threatened species or result in the 

destruction or adverse modification of 

designated critical habitat. No 

incidental take of ESA-listed marine 

mammal species is expected to result 

from these activities, and none would be 

authorized. Therefore, NMFS has 

determined that consultation under 

section 7 of the ESA is not required for 

this action. 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA) 

To comply with the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

(NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and 

NOAA Administrative Order (NAO) 

216–6A, NMFS must review our 

proposed action (i.e., the issuance of an 

IHA) with respect to potential impacts 

on the human environment. This action 

is consistent with categories of activities 

identified in Categorical Exclusion B4 

(IHA with no anticipated serious injury 

or mortality) of the Companion Manual 

for NOAA Administrative Order 216– 

6A, which do not individually or 

cumulatively have the potential for 

significant impacts on the quality of the 

human environment and for which 

NMFS has not identified any 

extraordinary circumstances that would 

preclude this categorical exclusion. 

Accordingly, NMFS has determined that 

the issuance of the IHA qualifies to be 

categorically excluded from further 

NEPA review. 

Renewal 

NMFS has issued a renewal IHA to 

the Navy for the take of marine 

mammals incidental to conduct the 

Service Pier Extension Project at Naval 

Base Kitsap Bangor in Silverdale, 

Washington from August 11, 2021 

through July 15, 2022. 

Dated: August 11, 2021. 

Catherine Marzin, 

Acting Director, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2021–17525 Filed 8–16–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XB333] 

Marine Mammals; File No. 25850 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; receipt of application. 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that 

the University of California at Davis, 

387 North Quad Ave., Room 1210 PES, 

Davis, CA 95616 (Responsible Party: 

Chris Yarnes, Ph.D.) has applied in due 

form for a permit to import parts from 

killer whales (Orcinus orca) for 

scientific research. 

DATES: Written, telefaxed, or email 

comments must be received on or before 

September 16, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: The application and related 

documents are available for review by 

selecting ‘‘Records Open for Public 

Comment’’ from the ‘‘Features’’ box on 

the Applications and Permits for 

Protected Species (APPS) home page, 

https://apps.nmfs.noaa.gov, and then 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
45970 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 156 / Tuesday, August 17, 2021 / Notices 

selecting File No. 25850 from the list of 

available applications. These documents 

are also available upon written request 

via email to NMFS.Pr1Comments@

noaa.gov. 

Written comments on this application 

should be submitted via email to 

NMFS.Pr1Comments@noaa.gov. Please 

include File No. 25850 in the subject 

line of the email comment. 

Those individuals requesting a public 

hearing should submit a written request 

via email to NMFS.Pr1Comments@

noaa.gov. The request should set forth 

the specific reasons why a hearing on 

this application would be appropriate. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Shasta McClenahan, Ph.D. or Jordan 

Rutland, (301) 427–8401. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

subject permit is requested under the 

authority of the Marine Mammal 

Protection Act of 1972, as amended 

(MMPA; 16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) and the 

regulations governing the taking and 

importing of marine mammals (50 CFR 

part 216). 

The applicant proposes to import 

biological samples from Canada for 

stable isotope analysis to study trophic 

ecology and distribution. An unlimited 

number of samples from up to 40 killer 

whales may be imported annually. The 

requested duration of the permit is five 

years. 

In compliance with the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), an initial 

determination has been made that the 

activity proposed is categorically 

excluded from the requirement to 

prepare an environmental assessment or 

environmental impact statement. 

Concurrent with the publication of 

this notice in the Federal Register, 

NMFS is forwarding copies of the 

application to the Marine Mammal 

Commission and its Committee of 

Scientific Advisors. 

Dated: August 12, 2021. 

Julia Marie Harrison, 

Chief, Permits and Conservation Division, 

Office of Protected Resources, National 

Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2021–17607 Filed 8–16–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[Docket No. 210806–0159] 

RTID 0648–XW032 and 0648–XW013 

Listing Endangered and Threatened 

Wildlife; 12-Month Findings on 

Petitions To List Spring-Run Oregon 

Coast Chinook Salmon and SpringRun Southern Oregon and Northern 

California Coastal Chinook Salmon as 

Threatened or Endangered Under the 

Endangered Species Act 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of 12-month petition 

findings. 

SUMMARY: We, NMFS, announce 12- 

month findings on 2 petitions to list 

populations of spring-run Chinook 

salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) as 

threatened or endangered Evolutionarily 

Significant Units (ESUs) under the 

Endangered Species Act (ESA) and to 

designate critical habitat concurrently 

with the listings. We have completed a 

comprehensive analysis of Oregon Coast 

(OC) and Southern Oregon and Northern 

California Coastal (SONCC) spring-run 

Chinook salmon populations in 

response to the petitions. Based on the 

best scientific and commercial data 

available, including the ESU 

configuration report, we have 

determined that listing the OC and 

SONCC spring-run Chinook salmon 

populations as threatened or 

endangered ESUs is not warranted. We 

determined that the OC and SONCC 

spring-run Chinook salmon populations 

do not meet the ESU Policy criteria to 

be considered ESUs separate from the 

OC and SONCC fall-run Chinook 

salmon populations and, therefore, do 

not meet the statutory definition of a 

species under the ESA. We also 

announce the availability of an ESU 

configuration report we prepared to 

inform our determination. 

DATES: These findings were made on 

August 17, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: The documents informing 

the 12-month findings, including the 

ESU configuration report (Ford et al. 

2021), are available by submitting a 

request to the Assistant Regional 

Administrator, Protected Resources 

Division, West Coast Regional Office, 

501 W Ocean Blvd., Suite 4200, Long 

Beach, CA 90802, Attention: OC and 

SONCC spring-run Chinook salmon 12- 

month Findings. The documents are 

also available electronically at https://

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/protectedresource-regulations?title=&field_

species_vocab_target_

id=Chinook+Salmon&sort_by=field_

relevant_date_value. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gary 

Rule, NMFS West Coast Region at 

gary.rule@noaa.gov, (503) 230–5424; or 

Heather Austin, NMFS Office of 

Protected Resources at heather.austin@

noaa.gov, (301) 427–8422. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

On September 24, 2019, the Secretary 

of Commerce received a petition from 

the Native Fish Society, Center for 

Biological Diversity, and Umpqua 

Watersheds (hereafter, the OC 

Petitioners) to list OC spring-run 

Chinook salmon as a threatened or 

endangered ESU under the ESA. 

Currently, OC spring-run Chinook 

salmon populations are part of the OC 

Chinook salmon ESU that combines 

populations of spring- and fall-run 

Chinook salmon and is not listed under 

the ESA. The OC Petitioners request that 

OC spring-run Chinook salmon be 

considered as a separate ESU and listed 

as threatened or endangered. The OC 

Petitioners also request the designation 

of critical habitat for OC spring-run 

Chinook salmon concurrent with ESA 

listing. On April 13, 2020, we published 

a positive 90-day finding (85 FR 20476) 

(RTID 0648–XW013) announcing that 

the petition presented substantial 

scientific or commercial information 

indicating that the petitioned action 

may be warranted. In our 90-day 

finding, we also announced the 

initiation of a status review to determine 

whether the spring-run populations of 

OC Chinook salmon constitute an ESU, 

and, if so, whether that OC spring-run 

Chinook salmon ESU is in danger of 

extinction or likely to become so within 

the foreseeable future throughout all or 

a significant portion of its range; and we 

requested information to inform our 

status review. 

On May 4, 2020, the Secretary of 

Commerce received a petition from 

Richard K. Nawa (hereafter, the SONCC 

Petitioner, or Petitioners when referring 

collectively to the OC Petitioners and 

the SONCC Petitioner) to identify 

SONCC spring-run Chinook salmon as a 

separate ESU and list the ESU as 

threatened or endangered under the 

ESA. Currently, SONCC spring-run 

Chinook salmon populations are part of 

the SONCC Chinook salmon ESU that 

combines populations of spring- and 

fall-run Chinook salmon and is not 

listed under the ESA. The SONCC 


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