65506 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 205 / Monday, October 25, 2010 / Notices 

be made publicly available at any time. 

While you can ask us in your comment 

to withhold your personal identifying 

information from public review, we 

cannot guarantee that we will be able to 

do so. 

II. Background 

To help us carry out our conservation 

responsibilities for affected species, the 

Endangered Species Act of 1973, section 

10(a)(1)(A), as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 

et seq.), require that we invite public 

comment before final action on these 

permit applications. 

III. Permit Applications 

A. Endangered Species 

Applicant: International Elephant 

Foundation, Fort Worth, TX; PRT– 

15923A 

The applicant requests a permit to 

import biological specimens of Asian 

elephant (Elephus maximus) and 

African elephant (Loxodonta africana) 

from wild animals in all range countries 

and captive-held animals in countries 

worldwide for the purpose of scientific 

research. This notification covers 

activities to be conducted by the 

applicant over a 5-year period. 

Applicant: Integrated Research Facility, 

Frederick, MD; PRT–25390A 

The applicant requests a permit for 

the one-time acquisition of cell line 

specimens from gorilla (Gorilla gorilla) 

in interstate commerce from Coriell 

Institute for Medical Research, Newark, 

NJ, for the purpose of scientific 

research. 

Multiple Applicants 

The following applicants each request 

a permit to import the sport-hunted 

trophy of one male bontebok 

(Damaliscus pygargus pygargus) culled 

from a captive herd maintained under 

the management program of the 

Republic of South Africa, for the 

purpose of enhancement of the survival 

of the species. 

Applicant: Brian Mortz, Fenton, 

Michigan; PRT–23144A 

Applicant: Jeffrey Coome, Sioux Falls, 

South Dakota; PRT–16640A 

Applicant: Gary Winchester, Mineral 

Springs, AR; PRT–23840A 

Dated: October 15, 2010. 

Brenda Tapia, 

Program Analyst/Data Administrator, Branch 

of Permits, Division of Management 

Authority. 

[FR Doc. 2010–26834 Filed 10–22–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[FWS–R9–IA–2010–N238; 96300–1671– 

0000–P5] 

Endangered Species; Marine 

Mammals; Issuance of Permits 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of issuance of permits. 

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service (Service), have issued 

the following permits to conduct certain 

activities with endangered species, 

marine mammals or both. We issue 

these permits under the Endangered 

Species Act (ESA) and Marine Mammal 

Protection Act (MMPA). 

ADDRESSES: Brenda Tapia, Division of 

Management Authority, U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service, 4401 North Fairfax 

Drive, Room 212, Arlington, VA 22203; 

fax (703) 358–2280; or e-mail 

DMAFR@fws.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Brenda Tapia, (703) 358–2104 

(telephone); (703) 358–2280 (fax); 

DMAFR@fws.gov (e-mail). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On the 

dates below, as authorized by the 

provisions of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1531 

et seq.), as amended, and/or the MMPA, 

as amended (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.), we 

issued requested permits subject to 

certain conditions set forth therein. For 

each permit for an endangered species, 

we found that (1) The application was 

filed in good faith, (2) The granted 

permit would not operate to the 

disadvantage of the endangered species, 

and (3) The granted permit would be 

consistent with the purposes and policy 

set forth in section 2 of the ESA. 

Endangered Species 

Permit No. Applicant Receipt of application Federal Register 

notice Permit issuance date 

03116A .............................. James Selman .............................................. 75 FR 23279; May 3, 2010 ........................... July 27, 2010. 

03158A .............................. Gerhard Meier ............................................... 75 FR 23279; May 3, 2010 ........................... July 27, 2010. 

19931A .............................. Frank DeGennaro ......................................... 75 FR 52971; Aug 30, 2010 ......................... October 7, 2010. 

194674 .............................. Dianne Peden ............................................... 73 FR 61161; Oct 15, 2008 .......................... September 28, 2010. 

Marine Mammals 

Permit No. Applicant Receipt of application Federal Register 

notice Permit issuance date 

10236A .............................. Seattle Aquarium ........................................... 75 FR 47625; August 6, 2010 ...................... October 8, 2010. 

14932A .............................. Vince Bacalan, American University ............. 75 FR 44986; July 30, 2010 ......................... October 5, 2010. 


emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 205 / Monday, October 25, 2010 / Notices 65507 

Availability of Documents 

Documents and other information 

submitted with these applications are 

available for review, subject to the 

requirements of the Privacy Act and 

Freedom of Information Act, by any 

party who submits a written request for 

a copy of such documents to: 

Dated: October 15, 2010. 

Brenda Tapia, 

Program Analyst/Data Administrator, Branch 

of Permits, Division of Management 

Authority. 

[FR Doc. 2010–26833 Filed 10–22–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[FWS–R7–FHC–2010–N159; 71490–1351– 

0000–L5–FY10] 

U.S.-Russia Polar Bear Commission 

Adopts an Annual Taking Limit for the 

Alaska-Chukotka Polar Bear 

Population 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: On June 9, 2010, by 

unanimous vote, the U.S.-Russia Polar 

Bear Commission established by the 

‘‘Agreement Between the Government of 

the United States of America and the 

Government of the Russian Federation 

on the Conservation and Management of 

the Alaska-Chukotka Polar Bear 

Population,’’ signed at Washington, DC, 

on October 16, 2000, adopted a limit to 

the take of the Alaska-Chukotka polar 

bear population. The decision of the 

Commission is that the total take should 

be limited to 58 bears per year to be 

shared between the United States of 

America and the Russian Federation. 

Both the United States and the Russian 

Federation are proceeding to implement 

the decision of the Commission. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Terry D. DeBruyn, Polar Bear Project 

Leader, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Marine Mammals Management Office, 

1011 East Tudor Road, Anchorage, AK 

99503; by telephone (907–786–3800); or 

by facsimile (907–786–3816). Persons 

who use a telecommunications device 

for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal 

Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 

800–877–8339. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The ‘‘Agreement Between the 

Government of the United States of 

America and the Government of the 

Russian Federation on the Conservation 

and Management of the AlaskaChukotka Polar Bear Population,’’ signed 

at Washington, DC, on October 16, 2000 

(the 2000 Agreement), provides legal 

protections for the population of polar 

bears found in the Chukchi-Northern 

Bering Sea. The 2000 Agreement is 

implemented in the United States 

through title V of the Marine Mammal 

Protection Act (MMPA) (16 U.S.C. 1361 

et seq.) and builds upon those 

protections already provided to this 

population of polar bears through the 

‘‘Agreement on the Conservation of 

Polar Bears,’’ done at Oslo, November 

13, 1973 (the 1973 Agreement), which 

was a significant early step in the 

international conservation of polar 

bears. 

The 1973 Agreement is a multilateral 

treaty to which the United States and 

Russia are parties with other polar bear 

range states: Norway, Canada, and 

Denmark. While the 1973 Agreement 

provides authority for the maintenance 

of a subsistence harvest of polar bears 

and provides for habitat conservation, 

the 2000 Agreement specifically 

establishes a common legal, scientific, 

and administrative framework for the 

conservation and management of the 

Alaska-Chukotka polar bear population 

between the United States and Russia. 

Because of the shared interest in this 

population of polar bears, which readily 

moves between U.S. and Russian 

Federation jurisdictions, a cooperative 

management regime for the subsistence 

harvest of bears is key to both providing 

for the long-term viability of the 

population as well as addressing the 

social, cultural, and subsistence 

interests of Alaska Natives and the 

native people of Chukotka. The 2000 

Agreement requires the United States 

and the Russian Federation to manage 

and conserve polar bears based on 

reliable science and to provide for 

subsistence harvest opportunity by 

native peoples. For example, the 2000 

Agreement provides a definition of 

‘‘sustainable harvest’’ [which] ‘‘means a 

harvest level which does not exceed net 

annual recruitment to the population 

and maintains the population at or near 

its current level, taking into account all 

forms of removal, and considers the 

status and trend of the population, 

based on reliable scientific information’’. 

In addition, the 2000 Agreement 

establishes the U.S.-Russia Polar Bear 

Commission (Commission), which 

functions as the bilateral managing 

authority to make scientific 

determinations, establish taking limits, 

and carry out other responsibilities 

important to the conservation and 

management of the polar bear. At its 

first meeting, held in Moscow, Russia, 

September 23–25, 2009, the 

Commission identified members of a 

Scientific Working Group (SWG) and 

tasked the SWG with reviewing the 

current level of subsistence take of polar 

bears. Recommendations from the SWG 

will help guide the research necessary 

to address present and future polar bear 

conservation issues in the shared 

Alaska-Chukotka polar bear population. 

The Commission also: (1) Identified 

habitat conservation as an important 

issue for the long-term conservation and 

management of the Alaska-Chukotka 

polar bear; (2) identified ways to ensure 

full participation of native peoples in 

the conservation of the shared polar 

bear population; and (3) adopted rules 

of procedure for the Commission. 

The first meeting of the SWG was 

held March 1–5, 2010, in Anchorage, 

Alaska. The SWG, tasked by the 

Commission with identifying a 

sustainable level of human-caused 

removals for the Alaska-Chukotka polar 

bear population, recognized that reliable 

scientific information was critical to the 

identification and implementation of a 

sustainable level of removals. At the 

same time, the SWG acknowledged that 

the information necessary to derive 

accurate estimates of sustainable 

removals that meet subsistence interests 

in the two countries for the AlaskaChukotka polar bear population is 

currently limited. However, the SWG 

recognized that the current unlimited 

subsistence harvest in the United States 

and illegal killing of polar bears in 

Russia represented an immediate threat 

to the Alaska-Chukotka polar bear 

population. 

The SWG evaluated the plausible 

range of sustainable removals for 

subsistence purposes based on 

population models and assumed values 

of population size and growth rate. 

These parameters and resulting estimate 

of sustainable subsistence removals 

were based on expert opinion of the 

group. The SWG identified two 

management options for consideration 

by the Commission. Both management 

options are short term (1 to 3 years) and 

require reevaluation when new 

information becomes available. 

Management option 1 was a moratorium 

on the subsistence harvest of polar bears 

in the United States in conjunction with 

a continued moratorium on subsistence 

harvest in Russia. Such a regime would 

be contingent upon effective 

enforcement capabilities in both 

countries. Management option 2 was to 

establish a regulated subsistence harvest 

in both the United States and Russia. 

Such a regime would be contingent 

upon the enforcement of a regulated 


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