Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 195 / Tuesday, October 7, 2008 / Notices 58563 

ceq.eh.doe.gov/nepa/regs/ceq/ 

toc_ceq.htm. Consequently, as part of an 

applicant’s package, and under their 

description of their program activities, 

applicants are required to provide 

detailed information on the activities to 

be conducted, locations, sites, species 

and habitat to be affected, possible 

construction activities, and any 

environmental concerns that may exist 

(e.g., the use and disposal of hazardous 

or toxic chemicals, introduction of nonindigenous species, impacts to 

endangered and threatened species, 

aquaculture projects, and impacts to 

coral reef systems). In addition to 

providing specific information that will 

serve as the basis for any required 

impact analyses, applicants may also be 

requested to assist NOAA in drafting of 

an environmental assessment, if NOAA 

determines an assessment is required. 

Applicants will also be required to 

cooperate with NOAA in identifying 

feasible measures to reduce or avoid any 

identified adverse environmental 

impacts of their proposal. The failure to 

do so shall be grounds for not selecting 

an application. In some cases if 

additional information is required after 

an application is selected, funds can be 

withheld by the Grants Officer under a 

special award condition requiring the 

recipient to submit additional 

environmental compliance information 

sufficient to enable NOAA to make an 

assessment on any impacts that a project 

may have on the environment. 

The Department of Commerce PreAward Notification Requirements for 

Grants and Cooperative Agreements: 

The Department of Commerce PreAward Notification Requirements for 

Grants and Cooperative Agreements 

contained in the Federal Register notice 

of February 11, 2008 (73 FR 7696), are 

applicable to this solicitation. 

Paperwork Reduction Act: This 

document contains collection-ofinformation requirements subject to the 

Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). The 

use of Standard Forms 424, 424A, 424B, 

and SF-LLL and CD–346 has been 

approved by the Office of Management 

and Budget (OMB) under the respective 

control numbers 0348–0043, 0348–0044, 

0348–0040, 0348–0046, and 0605–0001. 

Notwithstanding any other provision 

of law, no person is required to, nor 

shall a person be subject to a penalty for 

failure to comply with, a collection of 

information subject to the requirements 

of the PRA unless that collection of 

information displays a currently valid 

OMB control number. 

Executive Order 12866: This notice 

has been determined to be not 

significant for purposes of Executive 

Order 12866. 

Executive Order 13132 (Federalism): 

It has been determined that this notice 

does not contain policies with 

Federalism implications as that term is 

defined in Executive Order 13132. 

Administrative Procedure Act/ 

Regulatory Flexibility Act: Prior notice 

and an opportunity for public comment 

are not required by the Administrative 

Procedure Act or any other law for rules 

concerning public property, loans, 

grants, benefits, and contracts (5 U.S.C. 

553(a)(2)). Because notice and 

opportunity for comment are not 

required pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553 or any 

other law, the analytical requirements 

for the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 

U.S.C. 601 et seq.) are inapplicable. 

Therefore, a regulatory flexibility 

analysis has not been prepared. 

Mary E. Kicza, 

Assistant Adminstrator for Satellite and 

Information Services. 

[FR Doc. E8–23826 Filed 10–6–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration (NOAA) 

[Docket No. 0809181228–81232–01; I.D. 

GF001] 

Cooperative Institute To Investigate 

the Use of Satellite Applications for 

Regional and Global-Scale Forecast 

Systems 

AGENCY: OAR Cooperative Institutes 

Program Office (CIPO), Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Research (OAR), National 

Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration (NOAA), Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of funding availability. 

SUMMARY: NOAA Office of Oceans and 

Atmospheric Research (OAR) invites 

applications for a Cooperative Institute 

(CI) that will collaborate with NOAA 

scientists to improve weather forecast 

and warning accuracy; contribute to 

improvements in water resource 

forecasting capabilities; provide 

integrated weather information to meet 

future aviation and surface 

transportation needs; advance satellite 

sensor technology; develop highperformance computing, visualization, 

and scientific workstation technologies; 

and enhance environmental literacy to 

improve understanding. The CI would 

also conduct research needed to develop 

multiscale (global to local) data 

assimilation techniques with a strong 

satellite data emphasis, and provide the 

scientific expertise and the necessary 

computing infrastructure to help NOAA 

move forward on these issues. Through 

this competition, NOAA intends to 

establish competitively a new CI 

according to the policy and procedures 

described in NOAA Administrative 

Order 216–107 and the Cooperative 

Institute Interim Handbook both 

available at http://www.nrc.noaa.gov/ 

ci/. The proposed CI should be within 

daily commuting distance of NOAA 

facilities in Boulder and Fort Collins, 

Colorado. NOAA has identified five 

research themes that will address 

identified needs within the NOAA 

Weather and Water Goal that would 

benefit from collaborations with the CI. 

I. Satellite algorithm development, 

training and education. Research 

conducted under this theme is 

associated with development of 

satellite-based algorithms for weather 

forecasting, with emphasis on regional 

and mesoscale meteorological 

phenomenon. This work includes 

applications of basic satellite products 

such as feature track winds, 

thermodynamic retrievals, sea surface 

temperature, etc., in combination with 

model analyses and forecasts, as well as 

in situ and other remote sensing 

observations. Applications can be for 

current or future satellites. Also under 

this theme, satellite and related training 

material will be developed and 

delivered to a wide variety of users, 

with emphasis on operational 

forecasters. A variety of techniques can 

be used, including distance learning 

methods, Web-based demonstration 

projects and instructor-led training. 

II. Regional to Global Scale Modeling 

Systems. Research conducted under this 

theme is associated with the 

improvement of weather/climate models 

(minutes to months) that simulate and 

predict changes in the Earth system. 

Topics include atmospheric and ocean 

dynamics, radiative forcing, clouds and 

moist convection, land surface 

modeling, hydrology, and coupled 

modeling of the earth system. 

III. Data Assimilation. Research 

conducted under this theme will 

develop and improve techniques to 

assimilate environmental observations, 

including satellite, terrestrial, oceanic, 

and biological observations, to produce 

the best estimate of the environmental 

state at the time of the observations for 

use in analysis, modeling, and 

prediction activities associated with 

weather/climate predications (minutes 

to months) and analysis. 

IV. Climate-Weather Processes. 

Research conducted under this theme 

will focus on using numerical models 

and environmental data, including 

satellite observations, to understand 

processes that are important to creating 

environmental changes on weather and 

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58564 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 195 / Tuesday, October 7, 2008 / Notices 

short-term climate timescales (minutes 

to months) and the two-way interactions 

between weather systems and regional 

climate. 

V. Data Distribution. Research 

conducted under this theme will focus 

on identifying effective and efficient 

methods of quickly distributing and 

displaying very large sets of 

environmental and model data using 

data networks, using web map services, 

data compression algorithms, and other 

techniques. 

This announcement provides 

requirements for the proposed CI and 

includes details for the technical 

program, evaluation criteria, and 

competitive selection procedures. 

Applicants should review CI Interim 

Handbook (available at http:// 

www.nrc.noaa.gov/ci) prior to preparing 

a proposal for this announcement. 

DATES: Proposals must be received by 

OAR no later than January 5, 2009 5 

p.m., E.T. Proposals submitted after that 

date will not be considered. 

ADDRESSES: Applicants are strongly 

encouraged to apply online through the 

Grants.Gov Web site http:// 

www.grants.gov. Paper submissions are 

acceptable only if internet access is not 

available. Grants.gov requires applicants 

to register with the system prior to 

submitting an application. This 

registration process can take several 

weeks, involving multiple steps. In 

order to allow sufficient time for this 

process, you should register as soon as 

you decide that you intend to apply, 

even if you are not yet ready to submit 

your proposal. If an applicant has 

problems downloading the application 

package from Grants.gov, contact 

Grants.gov Customer Support at 

(800)518–4726 or support@grants.gov. 

For non-Windows computer systems, 

please see http://www.grants.gov/ 

MacSupport for information on how to 

download and submit an application 

through Grants.gov. If a hard copy 

application is submitted, the original 

and two unbound copies of the proposal 

should be included. Paper submissions 

should be sent to: Mr. Philip L. 

Hoffman, 1315 East West Highway, 

Room 11308, Silver Spring, Maryland 

20910; telephone (301) 734–1096. No email or facsimile proposal submissions 

will be accepted. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

a copy of the Federal Funding 

Opportunity announcement and/or an 

application package, please access 

Grants.gov, the NOAA Cooperative 

Institute Web site (www.nrc.noaa.gov/ci) 

or contact Mr. Philip L. Hoffman, 1315 

East West Highway, Room 11308, Silver 

Spring, Maryland 20910; telephone 

(301) 734–1096; e-mail: 

Philip.Hoffman@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

purpose of this announcement is to 

invite the submission of proposals to 

establish a CI which will collaborate 

with NOAA scientists to improve 

weather forecast and warning accuracy; 

contribute to improvements in water 

resource forecasting capabilities; 

provide integrated weather information 

to meet future aviation and surface 

transportation needs; advance satellite 

sensor technology; develop highperformance computing, visualization, 

and scientific workstation technologies; 

and enhance environmental literacy to 

improve understanding. This CI will 

give NOAA the benefit of working with 

complementary capabilities at one or 

more research institutions that 

contribute to meteorological research 

and forecasting missions. 

CI Concept/Program Background: A 

CI is a NOAA-supported, non-Federal 

organization that has established an 

outstanding research program in one or 

more areas that are relevant to the 

NOAA mission ‘‘to understand and 

predict changes in the Earth’s 

environment and conserve and manage 

coastal and marine resources to meet 

our Nation’s economic, social, and 

environmental needs.’’ CIs are 

established at research institutions that 

also have a strong education program 

with established graduate degree 

programs in NOAA-related sciences. 

The CI provides significant coordination 

of resources among all non-government 

partners and promotes the involvement 

of students and post-doctoral scientists 

in NOAA-funded research. The CI 

provides mutual benefits with value 

provided by all parties. NOAA 

establishes a new CI competitively 

when it identifies a need to sponsor a 

long-term (5–10 years) collaborative 

partnership with one or more 

outstanding non-Federal, non-profit 

research institutions. For NOAA, the 

purpose of this long-term collaborative 

partnership is to promote research, 

education, training, and outreach 

aligned with NOAA’s mission; to obtain 

research capabilities that do not exist 

internally; and/or to expand research 

capacity in NOAA-related sciences to: 

• Conduct collaborative, long-term 

research that involves NOAA scientists 

and those at the research institution(s) 

from one or more scientific disciplines 

of interest to NOAA; 

• Utilize the scientific, education, 

and outreach expertise at the research 

institution(s) that, depending on 

NOAA’s research needs, may or may not 

be located near a NOAA facility; 

• Support student participation in 

NOAA-related research studies; and 

• Strengthen or expand NOAArelated research capabilities and 

capacity at the research institution(s) 

that complements and contributes to 

NOAA’s ability to reach its mission 

goals. 

A CI will consist of one or more 

research institutions that demonstrate 

outstanding performance within one or 

more established research programs in 

NOAA-related sciences. These 

institutions may include Minority 

Serving Institutions and universities 

with strong departments that can 

contribute to the proposed activities of 

the CI. CIs conduct research under 

approved scientific research themes (see 

Section I.B of the full funding 

opportunity announcement) and Tasks 

(additional tasks can be proposed by the 

CI): 

i. Task I. Task I activities are related 

to the management of the CI, as well as 

general education and outreach 

activities. This task also includes 

support of postdoctoral and visiting 

scientists conducting activities within 

the research themes of the CI that are 

approved by the CI Director, in 

consultation with NOAA, and are 

relevant to NOAA and the CI’s mission 

goals. 

ii. Task II. Task II activities usually 

involve on-going direct collaboration 

with NOAA scientists. This 

collaboration typically is fostered by the 

collocation of Federal and CI 

employees. 

iii. Task III. Task III activities require 

minimal collaboration with NOAA 

scientists and may include research 

funded by other NOAA competitive 

grant programs. 

Electronic Access: The full text of the 

full funding opportunity announcement 

for this program can be accessed via the 

Grants.gov Web site at http:// 

www.grants.gov. The announcement 

will also be available by contacting the 

program officials identified under FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. 

Applicants must comply with all 

requirements contained in the full 

funding opportunity announcement. 

Statutory Authority: 

• 15 U.S.C. 1540 

• 33 U.S.C. 883 (d) 

• 15 U.S.C. 313 

• 49 U.S.C. 44720 (b) 

• 15 U.S.C. 5501 et seq. 

• 15 U.S.C. 2901 et seq. 

• 118 Stat. 71 (Jan. 23, 2004) 

CFDA: 11.432, OAR Joint and 

Cooperative Institutes 

Funding Availability: The award 

period will be 5 years, and may be 

renewed for an additional 5 years based 

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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 195 / Tuesday, October 7, 2008 / Notices 58565 

on the outcome of a CI review in the 

fourth year. All funding is contingent 

upon the availability of Federal 

appropriations. NOAA expects that 

approximately $9M will be available for 

the CI in the first year of the award. The 

Task I budget should not exceed 

$230,000. The final amount of funding 

available for Task I will be determined 

during the negotiation phase of the 

award based on availability of funding. 

Funding for subsequent years is 

expected to increase by 6% per year 

throughout the period and will depend 

on the quality of the research, the 

satisfactory progress in achieving the 

stated goals described in the proposal, 

continued relevance to program 

objectives, and the availability of 

funding. 

Eligibility: Eligibility is limited to 

non-Federal public and private nonprofit universities, colleges and research 

institutions that offer accredited 

graduate level degree-granting programs 

in NOAA-related sciences. 

Cost Sharing Requirements: To stress 

the collaborative nature and investment 

of a CI by both NOAA and the research 

institution, cost sharing is required. 

There is no minimum cost sharing 

requirement; however, the amount of 

cost sharing will be considered when 

determining the level of the CI’s 

commitment under NOAA’s standard 

evaluation criteria for overall 

qualifications of applicants. Acceptable 

cost-sharing proposals include, but are 

not limited to, offering a reduced 

indirect cost rate against activities in 

one or more Tasks, waiver of indirect 

costs assessed against base funds and/or 

Task I activities, waiver or reduction of 

any costs associated with the use of 

facilities at the CI, and full or partial 

salary funding for the CI director, 

administrative staff, graduate students, 

visiting scientists, or postdoctoral 

scientists. 

Evaluation and Selection Procedures: 

The general evaluation criteria and 

selection factors that apply to full 

applications to this funding opportunity 

are summarized below. The evaluation 

criteria for full applications will have 

different weights and details. Further 

information about the evaluation criteria 

and selection factors can be found in the 

full funding opportunity announcement. 

Evaluation Criteria for Projects: 

Proposals will be evaluated using the 

standard NOAA evaluation criteria. 

Various questions under each criterion 

are provided to ensure that the 

applicant includes information that 

NOAA will consider important during 

the evaluation, in addition to any other 

information provided by the applicant. 

i. Importance and/or relevance and 

applicability of proposed project to the 

program goals (25 percent): This 

criterion ascertains whether there is 

intrinsic value in the proposed work 

and/or relevance to NOAA, Federal, 

regional, state, or local activities. 

• Does the proposal include research 

goals and projects that address the 

critical issues identified in NOAA’s 5- 

year Research Plan, NOAA’s Strategic 

Plan, and the priorities described in the 

program priorities (see Section I.B. of 

the full funding opportunity 

announcement)? 

• Is there a demonstrated 

commitment (in terms of resources and 

facilities) to enhance existing NOAA 

and CI resources to foster a long-term 

collaborative research environment/ 

culture? 

• Does the proposal meet the 

geographical constraints described in 

the announcement? 

ii. Technical/scientific merit (30 

percent): This criterion assesses whether 

the approach is technically sound and/ 

or innovative, if the methods are 

appropriate, and whether there are clear 

project goals and objectives. 

• Does the project description include 

a summary of clearly stated goals to be 

achieved during the five year period 

that reflect NOAA’s strategic plan and 

goals? 

• Does the project description include 

innovative approaches to meeting the 

undersea technology development, 

exploration and research goals of the 

proposal? 

• Does the CI involve partnerships 

with other universities or research 

institutions, including Minority Serving 

Institutions and universities with strong 

departments that can contribute to the 

proposed activities of the CI? 

iii. Overall qualifications of 

applicants (30 percent): This criterion 

ascertains whether the applicant 

possesses the necessary education, 

experience, training, facilities, and 

administrative resources to accomplish 

the project. 

• If the institution(s) and/or Principal 

Investigators have received current or 

recent NOAA funding, is there a 

demonstrated record of outstanding 

performance working with NOAA and/ 

or NOAA scientists on research 

projects? 

• Is there nationally and/or 

internationally recognized expertise 

within the appropriate disciplines 

needed to conduct the collaborative/ 

interdisciplinary research described in 

the proposal? 

• Is there a well-developed business 

plan that includes fiscal and human 

resource management, as well as 

strategic planning and accountability? 

• Are there any unique capabilities in 

a mission-critical area of research for 

NOAA? 

• Does the CI possess the necessary 

undersea technical expertise and 

resources, and/or provide access to the 

technical resources outlined in the 

proposal? 

• Has the applicant shown a 

substantial investment to the NOAA 

partnership, as demonstrated by the 

amount of the cost sharing contribution? 

iv. Project costs (5 percent): The 

budget is evaluated to determine if it is 

realistic and commensurate with the 

project needs and time-frame. 

v. Outreach and education (10 

percent): NOAA assesses whether this 

project provides a focused and effective 

education and outreach strategy 

regarding NOAA’s mission to protect 

the Nation’s natural resources. 

• Is there a strong education program 

with established graduate degree 

programs in NOAA-related sciences that 

also encourages student participation in 

NOAA-related research studies? 

Review and Selection Process: An 

initial administrative review/screening 

is conducted to determine compliance 

with requirements/completeness. All 

proposals will be evaluated and 

individually ranked in accordance with 

the assigned weights of the above-listed 

evaluation criteria by an independent 

peer review panel. At least three 

experts, who may be Federal or nonFederal, will be used in this process. If 

non-Federal experts participate in the 

review process, each expert will submit 

an individual review and there will be 

no consensus opinion. The merit 

reviewers’ ratings are used to produce a 

rank order of the proposals. The 

Selecting Official selects proposals after 

considering the peer reviews and 

selection factors listed below. In making 

the final selections, the Selecting 

Official will award in rank order unless 

the proposal is justified to be selected 

out of rank order based upon one or 

more of the selection factors. 

Selection Factors for Projects: The 

merit review ratings shall provide a rank 

order to the Selecting Official for final 

funding recommendations. The 

Selecting Official shall award in the 

rank order unless the proposal is 

justified to be selected out of rank order 

based upon one or more of the following 

factors: 

i. Availability of funding. 

ii. Balance/distribution of funds: 

a. Geographically. 

b. By type of institutions. 

c. By type of partners. 

d. By research areas. 

mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with NOTICES

58566 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 195 / Tuesday, October 7, 2008 / Notices 

e. By project types. 

iii. Whether this project duplicates 

other projects funded or considered for 

funding by NOAA or other Federal 

agencies. 

iv. Program priorities and policy 

factors. 

v. Applicant’s prior award 

performance. 

vi. Partnerships and/or participation 

of targeted groups. 

vii. Adequacy of information 

necessary for NOAA staff to make a 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA) determination and draft 

necessary documentation before 

recommendations for funding are made 

to the Grants Officer. 

Intergovernmental Review: 

Applications under this program are not 

subject to Executive Order 12372, 

‘‘Intergovernmental Review of Federal 

Programs.’’ 

Limitation of Liability: In no event 

will NOAA or the Department of 

Commerce be responsible for proposal 

preparation costs if these programs fail 

to receive funding or are cancelled 

because of other agency priorities. 

Publication of this announcement does 

not oblige NOAA to award any specific 

project or to obligate any available 

funds. 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA): NOAA must analyze the 

potential environmental impacts, as 

required by the National Environmental 

Policy Act (NEPA), for applicant 

projects or proposals which are seeking 

NOAA federal funding opportunities. 

Detailed information on NOAA 

compliance with NEPA can be found at 

the following NOAA NEPA Web site: 

http://www.nepa.noaa.gov/, including 

our NOAA Administrative Order 216–6 

for NEPA, http://www.nepa.noaa.gov/ 

NAO216_6_TOC.pdf, and the Council 

on Environmental Quality 

implementation regulations, http:// 

ceq.eh.doe.gov/nepa/regs/ceq/ 

toc_ceq.htm. Consequently, as part of an 

applicant’s package, and under their 

description of their program activities, 

applicants are required to provide 

detailed information on the activities to 

be conducted, locations, sites, species 

and habitat to be affected, possible 

construction activities, and any 

environmental concerns that may exist 

(e.g., the use and disposal of hazardous 

or toxic chemicals, introduction of nonindigenous species, impacts to 

endangered and threatened species, 

aquaculture projects, and impacts to 

coral reef systems). In addition to 

providing specific information that will 

serve as the basis for any required 

impact analyses, applicants may also be 

requested to assist NOAA in drafting of 

an environmental assessment, if NOAA 

determines an assessment is required. 

Applicants will also be required to 

cooperate with NOAA in identifying 

feasible measures to reduce or avoid any 

identified adverse environmental 

impacts of their proposal. The failure to 

do so shall be grounds for not selecting 

an application. In some cases if 

additional information is required after 

an application is selected, funds can be 

withheld by the Grants Officer under a 

special award condition requiring the 

recipient to submit additional 

environmental compliance information 

sufficient to enable NOAA to make an 

assessment on any impacts that a project 

may have on the environment. 

The Department of Commerce PreAward Notification Requirements for 

Grants and Cooperative Agreements: 

The Department of Commerce PreAward Notification Requirements for 

Grants and Cooperative Agreements 

contained in the Federal Register notice 

of February 11, 2008 (73 FR 7696), are 

applicable to this solicitation. 

Paperwork Reduction Act: This 

document contains collection-ofinformation requirements subject to the 

Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). The 

use of Standard Forms 424, 424A, 424B, 

and SF–LLL and CD–346 has been 

approved by the Office of Management 

and Budget (OMB) under the respective 

control numbers 0348–0043, 0348–0044, 

0348–0040, 0348–0046, and 0605–0001. 

Notwithstanding any other provision of 

law, no person is required to, nor shall 

a person be subject to a penalty for 

failure to comply with, a collection of 

information subject to the requirements 

of the PRA unless that collection of 

information displays a currently valid 

OMB control number. 

Executive Order 12866: This notice 

has been determined to be not 

significant for purposes of Executive 

Order 12866. 

Executive Order 13132 (Federalism): 

It has been determined that this notice 

does not contain policies with 

Federalism implications as that term is 

defined in Executive Order 13132. 

Administrative Procedure Act/ 

Regulatory Flexibility Act: Prior notice 

and an opportunity for public comment 

are not required by the Administrative 

Procedure Act or any other law for rules 

concerning public property, loans, 

grants, benefits, and contracts (5 U.S.C. 

553(a)(2)). Because notice and 

opportunity for comment are not 

required pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553 or any 

other law, the analytical requirements 

for the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 

U.S.C. 601 et seq.) are inapplicable. 

Therefore, a regulatory flexibility 

analysis has not been prepared. 

Dated: October 1, 2008. 

Mark E. Brown, 

Chief Financial Officer/Chief Administrative 

Officer, Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration. 

[FR Doc. E8–23661 Filed 10–6–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN: 0648–XJ28 

Endangered Species; File No. 13330 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Issuance of permit. 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that 

the Southeast Fisheries Science Center 

(SEFSC), National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), 75 Virginia Beach 

Drive Miami, Florida 33149, has been 

issued a permit to take smalltooth 

sawfish (Pristis pectinata) for purposes 

of scientific research. 

ADDRESSES: The permits and related 

documents are available for review 

upon written request or by appointment 

in the following offices: 

Permits, Conservation and Education 

Division, Office of Protected Resources, 

NMFS, 1315 East–West Highway, Room 

13705, Silver Spring, MD 20910; phone 

(301)713–2289; fax (301)427–2521; and 

Southeast Region, NMFS, 263 13th 

Ave South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701; 

phone (727)824–5312; fax (727)824– 

5309. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Patrick Opay or Jennifer Skidmore, 

(301)713–2289. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On April 

2, 2008, notice was published in the 

Federal Register (73 FR 17955) that a 

request for scientific research permit to 

take smalltooth sawfish had been 

submitted by the above–named 

institution. The requested permit has 

been issued under the authority of the 

Endangered Species Act of 1973, as 

amended (ESA; 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). 

The research will be conducted each 

year over the course of a five-year 

permit in coastal waters of Florida. Up 

to 45 smalltooth sawfish will be taken 

annually using nets and hook and line 

gear. Researchers will conduct a variety 

mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with NOTICES