Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 199 / Tuesday, October 14, 2008 / Notices 60711 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[FWS–R4–ES–2008–N0131; 41545–1261– 

0000–D2] 

Interagency Florida Panther Response 

Plan 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of availability: 

environmental assessment and finding 

of no significant impact for the 

Interagency Florida Panther Response 

Plan. 

SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife 

Service, announce our decision and the 

availability of the Final Environmental 

Assessment (EA) and Finding of No 

Significant Impact (FONSI) for our 

Interagency Florida Panther Response 

Plan. Our EA considers alternatives for 

managing conflicts between humans 

and the endangered Florida panther 

(Puma concolor coryi), in accordance 

with the National Environmental Policy 

Act of 1969, as amended. 

ADDRESSES: A copy of the EA and 

FONSI may be obtained by writing to: 

Layne Hamilton, Refuge Manager, 

Florida Panther and Ten Thousand 

Islands National Wildlife Refuges, 3860 

Tollgate Boulevard, Suite 300, Naples, 

FL 34114, or Elizabeth Souheaver, Area 

II Supervisor, Southeast Regional Office, 

Fish and Wildlife Service, 1875 Century 

Boulevard, Suite 420, Atlanta, GA 

30345. The EA and/or FONSI may also 

be accessed and downloaded from the 

Service’s Internet Web site: http:// 

www.fws.gov/verobeach/. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Layne Hamilton, at address in 

ADDRESSES, or at 239–353–8442, 

extension 227 (telephone), or Ms. 

Elizabeth Souheaver, Area II Supervisor, 

at address in ADDRESSES, or at 404–679– 

7163 (telephone). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: With this 

notice, we announce our decision and 

availability of the final EA and FONSI 

for the Interagency Florida Panther 

Response Plan in accordance with the 

National Environmental Policy Act’s 

(NEPA’s) implementing regulations at 

40 CFR 1506.6 (b). We released a draft 

of the plan to the public as a Draft EA 

for ‘‘Guidelines for Living with Florida 

Panther and the Interagency Florida 

Panther Response Plan,’’ and requested 

comments in a notice in the Federal 

Register on May 25, 2006 (71 FR 30156). 

To improve the quality and credibility 

of the scientific information, we also 

conducted a formal peer review process 

for the draft plan. Responses to public, 

tribal, and peer review comments were 

included in the Revised EA appendices. 

On November 2, 2007, we released the 

Revised EA and the Interagency Florida 

Panther Response Plan to the public, 

requesting comments via a Federal 

Register notice (72 FR 62256). We have 

included responses to specific 

comments in the Final EA appendices. 

We have coordinated this proposal with 

the National Park Service, the Florida 

Fish and Wildlife Conservation 

Commission, and local Indian tribes. 

The Draft, Revised, and Final EAs 

identified and evaluated three 

alternatives for managing the conflicts 

between humans and the endangered 

Florida panther (Puma concolor coryi). 

Alternative A (Preferred Action) 

manages human-panther interactions 

with an interagency response team and 

an established plan that prioritizes 

public safety and evaluates each 

situation by analyzing panther behavior 

and human activity. Alternative B (No 

Action) does not utilize an interagency 

team or a response plan, but responds 

to human-panther interactions on a 

case-by-case basis without established 

protocols or guidelines. Alternative C 

includes a response team and a plan 

that differs from Alternative A by 

providing rigid protocols based on 

frequency of panther sightings and 

proximity to human-occupied 

structures, without considering panther 

behavior or influences of human activity 

on panther behavior. The EA consists of 

a thorough analysis of the 

environmental, social, economic, and 

cultural resource considerations for 

each alternative. 

The FONSI documents the selection 

of Alternative A. This alternative was 

selected over the other alternatives 

because it utilizes the best available 

science in a consistent manner to 

manage human-panther interactions. 

Under this alternative, the Response 

Team’s responsibility is to review 

information related to human-panther 

interactions, classify these situations 

based on the documented behavior of 

the panther, provide an action plan to 

the responsible agencies, and take 

approved and appropriate actions. The 

plan provides the responding officials 

with the flexibility to address 

emergency situations swiftly. Also, 

public outreach and education are an 

important element of this proposal, 

recognizing the importance of teaching 

people how to safely live and recreate 

in panther habitat. There are no 

conflicts with local, State, regional, or 

Federal plans or policies. 

Authority: We provide this notice under 

NEPA regulations at 40 CFR 1506.6. 

Dated: October 6, 2008. 

Cynthia K. Dohner, 

Deputy Regional Director, Southeast Region. 

[FR Doc. E8–24256 Filed 10–10–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[FWS–R9–FHC–2008–N0219;13410–1124– 

0000 L5] 

Marine Mammal Protection Act; Stock 

Assessment Report 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of availability of final 

revised marine mammal stock 

assessment report for the northern sea 

otter stock in Washington State; 

response to comments. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Marine Mammal Protection Act 

(MMPA), the Fish and Wildlife Service 

(Service) has incorporated public 

comments into a revision of the marine 

mammal stock assessment report for the 

northern sea otter (Enhydra lutris 

kenyoni) stock in Washington State. The 

2008 final stock assessment report is 

now complete and available to the 

public. 

ADDRESSES: Send requests for printed 

copies of the final stock assessment 

report to: Manager, U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service, Western Washington 

Fish and Wildlife Office, 510 Desmond 

Drive SE, Suite 102, Lacey, WA 98503; 

(360) 753–9440. Copies of the final 

revised stock assessment report are also 

available on the Internet in Adobe 

Acrobat format at http://www.fws.gov/ 

westwafwo. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: One of the 

goals of the MMPA (16 U.S.C. 1361– 

1407) is to ensure that stocks of marine 

mammals occurring in waters under the 

jurisdiction of the United States do not 

experience a level of human-caused 

mortality and serious injury that is 

likely to cause the stock to be reduced 

below its optimum sustainable 

population level (OSP). OSP is defined 

as ‘‘* * * the number of animals which 

will result in the maximum productivity 

of the population or the species, keeping 

in mind the carrying capacity of the 

habitat and the health of the ecosystem 

of which they form a constituent 

element.’’ 

To help accomplish the goal of 

maintaining marine mammal stocks at 

their OSPs, section 117 of the MMPA 

requires the Service and the National 

Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to 


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60712 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 199 / Tuesday, October 14, 2008 / Notices 

prepare stock assessment reports for 

each marine mammal stock that occurs 

in waters under the jurisdiction of the 

United States. These stock assessments 

are to be based on the best scientific 

information available and are, therefore, 

prepared in consultation with 

established regional scientific review 

groups. Each stock assessment must 

include: (1) A description of the stock 

and its geographic range; (2) minimum 

population estimate, maximum net 

productivity rate, and current 

population trend; (3) estimate of humancaused mortality and serious injury; (4) 

commercial fishery interactions; (5) 

status of the stock; and (6) potential 

biological removal level (PBR). The PBR 

is defined as ‘‘* * * the maximum 

number of animals, not including 

natural mortalities, that may be removed 

from a marine mammal stock while 

allowing that stock to reach or maintain 

its OSP.’’ The PBR is the product of the 

minimum population estimate of the 

stock (Nmin); one-half the maximum 

theoretical or estimated net productivity 

rate of the stock at a small population 

size (Rmax); and a recovery factor (Fr) of 

between 0.1 and 1.0, which is intended 

to compensate for uncertainty and 

unknown estimation errors. 

Section 117 of the MMPA also 

requires the Service and the NMFS to 

review and revise the stock assessment 

reports: (A) At least annually for stocks 

that are specified as strategic stocks; (B) 

at least annually for stocks for which 

significant new information is available; 

and (C) at least once every 3 years for 

all other stocks. 

A strategic stock is defined in the 

MMPA as a marine mammal stock: (A) 

For which the level of direct humancaused mortality exceeds the PBR; (B) 

which, based on the best available 

scientific information, is declining and 

is likely to be listed as a threatened 

species under the Endangered Species 

Act of 1973 (ESA) within the foreseeable 

future; or (C) which is listed as a 

threatened or endangered species under 

the ESA, or is designated as depleted 

under the MMPA. 

A draft revised stock assessment 

report for the northern sea otter stock in 

Washington State was made available 

for a 90-day public review and comment 

period on April 17, 2008 (73 FR 20931). 

Prior to releasing it for public review 

and comment, the Service subjected the 

draft report to internal technical review 

and to scientific review by the Pacific 

Regional Scientific Review Group 

established under the MMPA. Following 

the close of the comment period, the 

Service revised the stock assessment 

and prepared the final 2008 stock 

assessment report. 

We revised the final stock assessment 

report based on public comments 

received (see below). The status of the 

stock remains unchanged from the draft 

revised SAR that was provided for 

public comment; however, the PBR 

level was amended to reflect the results 

of the 2007 survey conducted by the 

Washington Department of Fish and 

Wildlife. We also provided further 

clarification in the discussion of 

fisheries information as it relates to 

reports of incidental take. Most of the 

public comments received were 

addressed by adding new text for 

clarity. 

A summary of the final revised stock 

assessment report is presented in Table 

1. The table lists the stock’s Nmin, Rmax, 

Fr, PBR, annual estimated humancaused mortality and serious injury, and 

status. 

TABLE 1—SUMMARY OF FINAL REVISED STOCK ASSESSMENT REPORT FOR THE NORTHERN SEA OTTER STOCK IN

WASHINGTON STATE

Stock Nmin Rmax Fr PBR Annual estimated average humancaused mortality Stock status 

Northern sea otters (Washington State) 1,125 0.20 0.1 11 Unknown ............................................... Non-Strategic 

Comments and Responses 

The Service received comments from 

2 entities on the draft stock assessment 

report. The issues raised in those 

comments and our responses are 

provided below. 

Comment 1: The Service should 

clarify that the next revision on this 

assessment will be prepared within 3 

years or sooner, if the Washington stock 

expands its range into Oregon or British 

Columbia, or undergoes any significant 

change in the status of the stock. 

Response: The Service will continue 

to review available information on an 

annual basis and revise the stock 

assessment report at least once every 3 

years for the northern sea otter in 

Washington State, as specified under 

section 117 of the MMPA. Section 

117(c) directs the Service to review a 

stock assessment if significant new 

information indicates that the status of 

the stock has changed, which could 

occur prior to the end of the next 3 

years. If the Service obtains new 

information that indicates this stock has 

established a range significantly beyond 

the current range, or has undergone 

some other significant change, the 

Service will review the stock assessment 

report and revise as appropriate at that 

time. 

Comment 2: The Nmin, PBR, and 

Figure 2 should be amended to reflect 

the results of the 2007 survey conducted 

by the Washington Department of Fish 

and Wildlife and appropriate references 

to the unpublished reports, both 2006 

and 2007, should be provided. 

Response: The Service agrees with 

this comment and has updated the stock 

assessment report to reflect the 2007 

survey data. The 2007 survey data 

identifies an Nmin of 1,125 and, 

therefore, the re-calculated PBR is 11 

animals. The citations have also been 

updated to indicate that information on 

the 2006 and 2007 unpublished survey 

data may be obtained by contacting the 

Washington Department of Fish and 

Wildlife. 

Comment 3: In the discussion under 

Fisheries Information, clarify the 

location of Fishery Areas 4 and 4A and 

when this fishery was last active. In 

reference to Observer Coverage in these 

fisheries, listed in Table 1, provide 

further clarification as to what is meant 

by ‘‘1–11 net days observed.’’ 

Response: The location of Fishery 

Areas 4 and 4A has been clarified. The 

information supplied to us by the 

Makah Tribe and the NMFS regarding 

the Makah Northern Washington Marine 

Set-gillnet Fishery was not broken out 

by Fishery Area; therefore, we can not 

provide further fishing effort beyond the 

activity level already included in Table 

1 in the stock assessment report. The 

observer coverage information provided 

in Table 1 in the stock assessment report 

is in the format provided by the sources. 

Further clarification is not available to 

us for inclusion in the stock assessment 

report. 

Comment 4: Clarify whether the 

NMFS, who collects data through a selfreporting system on the incidental take 

of marine mammals in fisheries, has 

received reports of sea otters taken in 

treaty and non-treaty fisheries in 

Washington State or has simply not 


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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 199 / Tuesday, October 14, 2008 / Notices 60713 

provided the reports to the Service. 

Specify the corresponding time frame. 

Response: The Service has updated 

the stock assessment report to reflect the 

requested changes. However, the 

information provided by the NMFS did 

not include a time frame; therefore, a 

time frame has not been included in the 

updated stock assessment report. 

Comment 5: Given the apparent lack 

of voluntary reports of sea otter takes 

and the unreliability of voluntary 

reporting schemes in general, remove 

the word ‘‘more’’ from the sentence on 

page 5 that states ‘‘* * * the 

information provided by the NMFS is 

not sufficient to provide a more accurate 

estimate of annual mortality * * *.’’ 

Further, a statement should be made 

that a useful estimate of fishing 

mortality will require instituting 

observer coverage to obtain data on 

fishery efforts. 

Response: We have revised the final 

stock assessment report to reflect this 

comment. The fishery observer 

programs are conducted by the NMFS of 

the Department of Commerce, and, 

therefore, institution of observer 

coverage in fisheries must be directed to 

them. We have forwarded this 

suggestion to them (see response to 

comment 6). 

Comment 6: The stock assessment 

report concludes that available 

information is not adequate to make a 

reliable assessment of incidental take 

levels. Therefore, the Service should 

consult with NMFS, Tribal authorities, 

and other relevant groups to arrange for 

the placement of observers aboard trap 

and gillnet fishing vessels that may 

incidentally take sea otters. 

Response: The fishery observer 

programs are under the administration 

of the NMFS in accordance with section 

118 of the MMPA. With the exception 

of the Puget Sound Region salmon drift 

gillnet, all commercial fisheries in the 

State of Washington that have the 

potential to take sea otters are classified 

as Category III in NMFS’ List of 

Fisheries. Category III fisheries are not 

required to accommodate observers. 

Further, under this program, fishery 

interactions are self-reporting or, in 

some cases, identified as excluded, e.g., 

treaty Tribal fishing. It is the position of 

the Service that the incidental take of 

sea otters by treaty Tribal fishing 

activities must be authorized under the 

MMPA. Nonetheless, obtaining 

incidental take information is a 

challenge. However, the Service will 

continue to work with the NMFS, Tribal 

authorities, and others to the extent 

practicable under these conditions to 

obtain better data. 

Comment 7: Illegal taking of sea otters 

is being perpetrated by ‘‘fish profiteers’’ 

and the Service is not taking appropriate 

action. 

Response: The stock assessment 

report presents all of the human-caused 

mortality of sea otters that has been 

made known to the Service. 

Reference Not Cited in the Notice of 

Availability of Draft Revised SAR: 

Jameson, R.J. and S. Jeffries. 2008. 

Results of the 2007 Survey of the 

Reintroduced Sea Otter Population in 

Washington State. Unpublished Report. 

7pp. Copies may be obtained from the 

Washington Department of Fish and 

Wildlife. 

Authority: The authority for this action is 

the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, 

as amended (16 U.S.C. 1361–1407). 

Dated: October 2, 2008. 

Kenneth Stansell, 

Acting Director, Fish and Wildlife Service. 

[FR Doc. E8–24195 Filed 10–10–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[FWS–R9–FHC–2008–N0265; 94240–1341– 

0000–N3–N5] 

Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force 

Meeting 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of meeting. 

SUMMARY: This notice announces a 

meeting of the Aquatic Nuisance 

Species (ANS) Task Force. The meeting 

is open to the public. The meeting 

topics are identified in the 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section. 

DATES: The ANS Task Force will meet 

from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesday, 

October 28, and Wednesday, October 

29, 2008. 

ADDRESSES: The ANS Task Force 

meeting will take place at the U.S. Fish 

and Wildlife Service, Room 200, 4401 

North Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 

22203; (703) 358–1843. You may inspect 

minutes of the meeting at the office of 

the Chief, Division of Fish and Wildlife 

Management and Habitat Restoration, 

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 4401 

North Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 

22203, during regular business hours, 

Monday through Friday. You may also 

view the minutes on the ANS Task 

Force Web site at: http:// 

anstaskforce.gov/meetings.php. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joe 

Starinchak, Branch of Invasive Species, 

at (703) 358–2018, or by e-mail at 

Joe_Starinchak@fws.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant 

to section 10(a)(2) of the Federal 

Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. 

App.), this notice announces meetings 

of the ANS Task Force. The ANS Task 

Force was established by the 

Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance 

Prevention and Control Act of 1990. 

Topics the ANS Task Force plans to 

cover during the meeting include: 

Regional Panel issues and 

recommendations, Committee 

recommendations, and consideration for 

approval of state ANS management 

plans. The agenda and other related 

meeting information are on the ANS 

Task Force Web site at: http:// 

anstaskforce.gov/meetings.php. 

Dated: September 22, 2008. 

Gary Frazer, 

Co-Chair, Aquatic Nuisance Species Task 

Force, Assistant Director—Fisheries & Habitat 

Conservation. 

[FR Doc. E8–24228 Filed 10–10–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[F–14876–M, F–14876–N; AK–964–1410– 

KC–P] 

Alaska Native Claims Selection 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of decision approving 

lands for conveyance. 

SUMMARY: As required by 43 CFR 

2650.7(d), notice is hereby given that an 

appealable decision approving lands for 

conveyance pursuant to the Alaska 

Native Claims Settlement Act will be 

issued to NANA Regional Corporation, 

Inc., Successor in Interest to Kivalina 

Sinuakmeut Corporation. The lands are 

in the vicinity of Kivalina, Alaska, and 

are located in: 

Kateel River Meridian, Alaska 

T. 29 N., R. 24 W., 

Secs. 3 to 10, inclusive; 

Secs. 13 to 23, inclusive; 

Secs. 28 to 33, inclusive. 

Containing approximately 14,663 acres. 

The subsurface estate in these lands 

will be conveyed to NANA Regional 

Corporation, Inc. when the surface 

estate is conveyed to NANA Regional 

Corporation, Inc., Successor in Interest 

to Kivalina Sinuakmeut Corporation. 

Notice of the decision will also be 

published four times in the Arctic 

Sounder. 


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