27940 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 98 / Monday, May 21, 2001 / Notices

6, 2001 from 8:30 a.m. to 11:40 a.m. The

Visiting Committee on Advanced

Technology is composed of nine

members appointed by the Director of

NIST; who are eminent in such fields as

business, research, new product

development, engineering, labor,

education, management consulting,

environment, and international

relations. The purpose of this meeting is

to review and make recommendations

regarding general policy for the

Institute, its organization, its budget,

and its programs within the framework

of applicable national policies as set

forth by the President and the Congress.

The agenda will include a Cross-cut

Review of Human Resources, a

presentation by a member of the Visiting

Committee, a laboratory tour of the

Center for Advanced Research in

Biotechnology, and a Cross-cut Review

of NIST Impact on Law Enforcement.

Discussions scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.

end at 5:15 p.m. on June 5, 2001 and to

begin at 8:15 a.m. and to end at 11:40

a.m. on June 6, 2001, on staffing of

management positions at NIST, the

NIST budget, including funding levels

of the Advanced Technology Program

and the Manufacturing Extension

Partnership, and feedback sessions will

be closed.

DATES: The meeting will convene June

5, 2001 at 8:30 a.m. and will adjourn at

11:40 a.m. on June 6, 2001.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held in

the Employees Lounge, Administration

Building, at NIST, Gaithersburg,

Maryland.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Janet R. Russell, Administrative

Coordinator, Visiting Committee on

Advanced Technology, National

Institute of Standards and Technology,

Gaithersburg, MD 20899–1004,

telephone number (301) 975–2107.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

Assistant Secretary for Administration,

with the concurrence of the General

Counsel, formally determined on

February 12, 2001, that portions of the

meeting of the Visiting Committee on

Advanced Technology which involve

discussion of proposed funding of the

Advanced Technology Program and the

Manufacturing Extension Partnership

Program may be closed in accordance

with 5 U.S.C. 552b(c)(9)(B), because

those portions of the meetings will

divulge matters the premature

disclosure of which would be likely to

significantly frustrate implementation of

proposed agency actions; and that

portions of meetings which involve

discussion of the staffing issues of

management and other positions at

NIST may be closed in accordance with

5 U.S.C. 552b(c)(6), because divulging

information discussed in those portions

of the meetings is likely to reveal

information of a personal nature where

disclosure would constitute a clearly

unwarranted invasion of personal

privacy.

Dated: May 14, 2001.

Karen H. Brown,

Acting Director.

[FR Doc. 01–12688 Filed 5–18–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–13–M

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

[I.D. 051001B]

Endangered Species; Permits

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Receipt of an application for a

scientific research permit (1316);

Issuance of permits 1298 and 1266.

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given of the

following actions regarding permits for

takes of endangered and threatened

species for the purposes of scientific

research and/or enhancement under the

Endangered Species Act (ESA): NMFS

has received an application for a

scientific research permit from Dr. Jeff

Schmid, of The Conservancy of

Southwest Florida; NMFS has issued

permit 1298 to Ms. Melissa Salmon, of

Riverbanks Zoological Park and permit

1266 to John Glass, of REMSA, Inc.

DATES: Comments or requests for a

public hearing on any of the new

applications or modification requests

must be received at the appropriate

address or fax number no later than 5

p.m. eastern standard time on June 20,

2001.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on any of

the new applications or modification

requests should be sent to the

appropriate office as indicated below.

Comments may also be sent via fax to

the number indicated for the application

or modification request. Comments will

not be accepted if submitted via e-mail

or the Internet. The applications and

related documents are available for

review in the indicated office, by

appointment:

Endangered Species Division, F/PR3,

1315 East West Highway, Silver Spring,

MD 20910 (phone:301–713–1401, fax:

301–713–0376).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Terri Jordan, Silver Spring, MD (phone:

301-713-1401, fax: 301-713-0376, e-mail:

Terri.Jordan@noaa.gov)

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Authority

Issuance of permits and permit

modifications, as required by the

Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16

U.S.C. 1531-1543) (ESA), is based on a

finding that such permits/modifications:

(1) are applied for in good faith; (2)

would not operate to the disadvantage

of the listed species which are the

subject of the permits; and (3) are

consistent with the purposes and

policies set forth in section 2 of the

ESA. Scientific research and/or

enhancement permits are issued under

Section 10(a)(1)(A) of the ESA.

Authority to take listed species is

subject to conditions set forth in the

permits. Permits and modifications are

issued in accordance with and are

subject to the ESA and NMFS

regulations governing listed fish and

wildlife permits (50 CFR parts 222-226).

Those individuals requesting a

hearing on an application listed in this

notice should set out the specific

reasons why a hearing on that

application would be appropriate (see

ADDRESSES). The holding of such

hearing is at the discretion of the

Assistant Administrator for Fisheries,

NOAA. All statements and opinions

contained in the permit action

summaries are those of the applicant

and do not necessarily reflect the views

of NMFS.

Species Covered in This Notice

The following species are covered in

this notice:

Sea turtles

Threatened and endangered Green

turtle (Chelonia mydas)

Endangered Kemp’s ridley turtle

(Lepidochelys kempii)

Endangered Leatherback turtle

(Dermochelys coriacea)

Threatened Loggerhead turtle (Caretta

caretta)

Fish

Endangered Shortnose Sturgeon

(Acipenser brevirostrum)

New Applications Received

Application 1316

The applicant proposes to

characterize the essential habitat

associations of subadult Kemp’s ridley

turtles in the nearshore waters of the

upper Ten Thousand Islands. The

objectives are: (1) to monitor the

movements of Kemp’s ridley turtles via

radio and sonic telemetry and to

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 98 / Monday, May 21, 2001 / Notices 27941

quantify their habitat utilization from

the geographical position data, (2) to

produce a geographic information

system (GIS) database of benthic

habitats and subsequently map the

habitat types within the study area, and

(3) to test for habitat preferences of

Kemp’s ridley turtles in this region by

comparing the amount of time a turtle

spends in a given habitat relative to the

availability of all other habitat types.

Permits and Modified Permits Issued

Permit #1298

Notice was published on March 5,

2001 (66 FR 13305), that Ms. Melissa

Salmon, of Riverbanks Zoological Park

applied for a enhancement permit

(1298). The applicant has requested a 5–

year permit to continue to maintain

eleven adult shortnose sturgeon

received from the South Carolina

Department of Natural Resources in

1996 for education purposes. NMFS

believes that captive maintenance of

endangered shortnose sturgeon for

enhancement purposes is to the benefit

of the species as a whole. The source for

the captive display are shortnose

sturgeon maintained in hatchery

settings that have been deemed nonreleasable by NMFS. Because these

cultured sturgeon have been deemed

non-releasable at this time by NMFS,

alternatives to sacrifice were needed.

The recovery team for shortnose

sturgeon felt that these cultured fish

provided an excellent opportunity to

educate the public and increase

awareness of the species and its plight.

These fish are used in research activities

and, as recommended by the recovery

team, in enhancement activities such as

public education. Permit 1298 was

issued on May 4, 2001, authorizing take

of listed species. Permit 1298 expires

May 31, 2006.

Permit #1266

Notice was published on October 19,

2000 (65 FR 62709), that John Glass, of

REMSA, Inc. applied for a research/

enhancement permit (1266). The

applicant requested a 5–year permit to

take leatherback, green, loggerhead,

Kemp’s ridley and green turtles from the

Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico in

conjunction with US Army Corps of

Engineer Dredging projects for scientific

research and enhancement purposes.

Permit 1266 was issued on May 8, 2001,

authorizing take of listed species. Permit

1266 expires April 30, 2006.

Dated: May 15, 2001.

Phil Williams,

Acting Chief, Endangered Species Division,

Office of Protected Resources, National

Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 01–12747 Filed 5–18–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

[I.D. 051401C]

Marine Mammals; Scientific Research

and Enhancement Permit (PHF# 116-

1477)

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Receipt of application for

amendment.

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that

SeaWorld of Texas, 10500 Sea World

Drive, San Antonio, Texas, 78251, has

applied in due form for an amendment

to Permit No. 116-1477 to take Hawaiian

monk seals (Monachus schauinslandi)

for purposes of scientific research.

DATES: Written comments must be

received on or before June 20, 2001.

ADDRESSES: The application and related

documents are available for review

upon written request or by appointment

in the following office(s): (see

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION).

Written comments or requests for a

public hearing on this request, should

be submitted to the Chief, Permits and

Documentation Division, F/PR1, Office

of Protected Resources, NMFS, 1315

East-West Highway, Room 13705, Silver

Spring, MD 20910. Those individuals

requesting a hearing should set forth the

specific reasons why a hearing on this

particular amendment request would be

appropriate.

Comments may also be submitted by

facsimile at (301)713-0376, provided the

facsimile is confirmed by hard copy

submitted by mail and postmarked no

later than the closing date of the

comment period. Please note that

comments will not be accepted by email or by other electronic media.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Amy Sloan or Ruth Johnson, (301)713–

2289.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

subject permit amendment is requested

under the authority of the Marine

Mammal Protection Act 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 Endangered Species Act of

1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et

seq.), and the regulations governing the

taking, importing, and exporting of

endangered fish and wildlife (50 CFR

part 222.23).

Permit No. 116-1477 authorizes the

permit holder to permanently transfer

ten (10) captive, unreleasable female

Hawaiian monk seals from the National

Marine Fisheries Service’s Kewalo

Research Facility to SeaWorld of Texas

for research and enhancement purposes.

The primary objective of the Permit is

to make the seals available for scientific

research on an opportunistic basis in

order to benefit the wild population of

Hawaiian monk seals. As provided for

in the Permit, the permit holder requests

authorization to conduct research

studies on the ten captive female

Hawaiian monk seals now permanently

held at SeaWorld of Texas. The research

study involves systematic feeding of

certain prey to the captive seals and

subsequent comparison of fatty acid

composition of blubber samples with

the fatty acid composition of the food

consumed. The goal is to determine

whether the assessment of fatty acid

signatures in blubber samples of freeranging Hawaiian monk seals may be an

appropriate and reliable method for

qualitative and quantitative assessment

of their diet. This study is aimed at

reducing or eliminating adverse

interactions between current and

anticipated fishing operations with freeranging Hawaiian monk seals.

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 this

amendment application to the Marine

Mammal Commission and its

Committee of Scientific Advisors. The

application and related documents are

available for review in the following

office(s):

Permits Division, Office of Protected

Resources, NMFS, 1315 East-West

Highway, Room 13705, Silver Spring,

MD 20910; phone (301) 713–2289; fax

(301) 713–0376;

Regional Administrator, Southwest

Region, NMFS, 501 West Ocean

Boulevard, Suite 4200, Long Beach, CA

90802–4213; phone (562) 980–4001; fax

(562) 980–4018;