22518 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 91 / Wednesday, May 13, 2009 / Notices 

Comments may also be submitted by 

facsimile at (301) 427–2521, provided 

the facsimile is confirmed by hard copy 

submitted by mail and postmarked no 

later than the closing date of the 

comment period. 

Comments may also be submitted by 

e-mail. The mailbox address for 

providing e-mail comments is 

NMFS.Pr1Comments@noaa.gov. Include 

in the subject line of the e-mail 

comment the following document 

identifier: File No. 14381. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Patrick Opay or Kate Swails, (301) 713– 

2289. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

subject permit is requested 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 222–226). 

The research would collect scientific 

data on sea turtles incidentally captured 

in the Hawaii Deep-Set Longline 

Fishery, the Hawaii Shallow-Set 

Longline Fishery, and the American 

Samoa Longline Fishery. This data 

would assist NMFS efforts to 

understand sea turtle interactions with 

the fisheries and to mitigate their threat 

to these species. The applicant proposes 

to flipper tag, measure, photograph, 

tissue sample, and attach satellite tags to 

an anticipated annual take of up to 46 

loggerhead, 16 leatherback, one green, 

and four olive ridley sea turtles 

captured in the Hawaii Deep-Set 

Longline Fishery. The applicant 

proposes to flipper tag, measure, 

photograph, tissue sample, and attach 

satellite tags to an anticipated annual 

take of up to six loggerhead, one 

leatherback, six green, six olive ridley, 

and six hawksbill sea turtles captured in 

the American Samoa Longline Fishery. 

The applicant proposes to flipper tag, 

measure, photograph, tissue sample, 

and attach satellite tags to an 

anticipated annual take of up to six (18 

over three years) loggerhead, 13 (39 over 

three years) leatherback, seven (21 over 

three years) green, and 41 (123 over 

three years) olive ridley sea turtles 

captured in the Hawaii Shallow-Set 

Longline Fishery. The research would 

occur in the Pacific Ocean through April 

1, 2015. No mortalities are expected 

from the research. Researchers would 

also collect sea turtle carcasses of 

animals killed in fishery activities that 

occur in the Pacific Ocean. 

Dated: May 6, 2009. 

P. Michael Payne, 

Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education 

Division, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E9–11190 Filed 5–12–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XP18 

Marine Mammals; File Nos. 14324 

through 14337, except 14333 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; receipt of applications. 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that 

the following institutions, organizations, 

and individuals have applied for 

permits to conduct research on Steller 

sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus) and 

northern fur seals (Callorhinus ursinus): 

Alaska SeaLife Center (ASLC), Seward, 

AK; Alaska Department of Fish and 

Game (ADF&G), Division of Wildlife 

Conservation, Juneau, Alaska; NMFS 

National Marine Mammal Laboratory 

(NMML), Seattle, WA; North Pacific 

Universities Marine Mammal Research 

Consortium (NPUMMRC), University of 

British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C., 

Canada; Aleut Community of St. Paul 

Island (ACSPI), Tribal Government, 

Ecosystem Conservation Office, St. Paul 

Island, AK; Aleut Community of St. 

George Island (ACSGI), St. George 

Traditional Council, St. George Island, 

AK; and Markus Horning, Ph.D., Marine 

Mammal Institute, Oregon State 

University, Newport, OR. 

DATES: Written, telefaxed, or e-mail 

comments must be received on or before 

June 29, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: The applications 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 

selecting the applicable File No. from 

the list of available applications. 

These documents are also available 

upon written request or by appointment 

in the following office(s): 

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; 

Northwest Region, NMFS, 7600 Sand 

Point Way NE, BIN C15700, Bldg. 1, 

Seattle, WA 98115–0700; phone (206) 

526–6150; fax (206) 526–6426; 

Alaska Region, NMFS, P.O. Box 

21668, Juneau, AK 99802–1668; phone 

(907) 586–7221; fax (907) 586–7249; and 

Southwest Region, NMFS, 501 West 

Ocean Blvd., Suite 4200, Long Beach, 

CA 90802–4213; phone (562) 980–4001; 

fax (562) 980–4018. 

Written comments on these 

applications should be mailed to the 

Chief, Permits, Conservation and 

Education Division at the address listed 

above. Comments may also be submitted 

by facsimile to (301) 427–2521, or by 

email to 

NMFS.Pr1Comments@noaa.gov. Please 

include the applicable File No. in the 

subject line of the e-mail comment. 

Those individuals requesting a public 

hearing should submit a written request 

to the Chief, Permits, Conservation and 

Education Division at the address listed 

above. The request should set forth the 

specific reasons why a hearing on a 

particular application would be 

appropriate. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Tammy Adams, Kate Swails, or Amy 

Sloan, (301) 713–2289. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

subject permits are requested under the 

authority of the Marine Mammal 

Protection Act of 1972, as amended 

(MMPA; 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 (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 

et seq.), the regulations governing the 

taking, importing, and exporting of 

endangered and threatened species (50 

CFR 222–226), and the Fur Seal Act of 

1966, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1151 et 

seq.). The following are brief summaries 

of the applications. For details, please 

review the actual permit applications, 

available on-line or by written request 

(see ADDRESSES). 

File No. 14324: The applicant, ASLC, 

(Principal Investigator: John 

Maniscalco), requests a five-year permit 

to investigate causes for the Steller sea 

lion population decline and determine 

what is currently limiting its recovery. 

Research would involve (maximum 

number of animals per year in 

parentheses): disturbance associated 

with capture, observational studies, and 

material/scat/carcass collection (8,500); 

capture, restraint, and sampling (200); 

and remote biopsy (150). Captured sea 

lions would undergo morphometrics 

measurement; blood and tissue 

collection; digital imaging; hotbranding; body condition measurement; 

Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 91 / Wednesday, May 13, 2009 / Notices 22519 

whisker, hair, and milk sampling; 

temporary marking; and ultrasound 

exams. Research would occur in the 

Gulf of Alaska and Aleutian Islands, on 

Steller sea lions of the western Distinct 

Population Segment (DPS). The 

applicant also requests authorization for 

annual unintentional mortality of 1 

Steller sea lion from the western DPS. 

File No. 14325: The applicant, 

ADF&G, (Principal Investigator: Lorrie 

Rea, Ph.D.), requests a five-year permit 

to continue a long-term research 

program investigating the various 

hypotheses for the decline or lack of 

recovery of Steller sea lions in AK. 

Research would involve (maximum 

number of animals per year in 

parentheses): incidental disturbance 

during aerial surveys (20,000 eastern 

DPS); disturbance of animals on 

rookeries and haulouts during brand 

resighting surveys (30,000 eastern DPS, 

8,000 western DPS) and incidental to 

scat collection, capture for instrument 

attachment, capture for branding, 

capture method development, 

physiological research and sample 

collection (83,700 eastern DPS, and 

8,700 western DPS); permanent marking 

of pups for long-term demographic and 

distribution studies (800), capture of 

older animals (20 western DPS, 60 

eastern DPS) for physiological 

assessment and attachment of scientific 

instruments to investigate foraging 

ecology, diving behavior and habitat 

use. An additional 200 animals of any 

age may be instrumented without 

capture (150 eastern DPS, 50 western 

DPS). The applicant also requests 

authorization for annual unintentional 

mortality of 5 Steller sea lions from the 

western DPS and 10 Steller sea lions 

from the eastern DPS. Harbor seals 

(Phoca vitulina richardsi), northern fur 

seals, and California sea lions (Zalophus 

californianus) may be disturbed 

incidentally during the course of this 

research 

File No. 14326: The applicant, 

NMML, (Principal Investigator: Tom 

Gelatt, Ph.D.), requests a five-year 

permit to measure population status, 

vital rates, foraging ecology, habitat 

requirements, and effects of natural and 

anthropogenic factors for Steller sea lion 

in the North Pacific Ocean, including 

rookeries and haulouts in CA, OR, WA, 

and AK. Annually in the western DPS, 

up to 59,500 sea lions may be exposed 

to aerial surveys, 1,000–6,520 to 

rookery-based activities, and 12,700 to 

other incidental activities. Up to 600 

Steller sea lions could be captured, with 

up to 190 having blood, skin, and swab 

samples collected, 250 hot-branded, and 

up to 50 blubber and lesion biopsied, 

vibrissa removed, and subject to 

stomach intubation. Instruments would 

be attached on up to 50, and 50 would 

receive a non-permanent mark if not 

hot-branded. Annually in the eastern 

DPS, up to 27,800 may be exposed to 

aerial surveys, and 13,100 to incidental 

activities. Up to 220 could be captured, 

and have blood, skin, blubber, fecal, and 

culture samples collected, a vibrissa 

removed, hot-brand, tag or nonpermanent mark applied, and have an 

instrument attached. Non-target species 

that may be harassed incidental to 

Steller sea lion research include 

northern fur seals in AK, California sea 

lions and northern elephant seals 

(Mirounga angustrirostris) in WA, OR, 

and CA, and harbor seals (P. vitulina) in 

all states. 

File No. 14327: The applicant, 

NMML, (Principal Investigator: Rolf 

Ream, Ph.D.), requests a five-year permit 

to investigate population status and 

trends, demographic parameters, health 

and condition, and foraging ecology of 

northern fur seals in U.S. waters, 

including rookeries and haulouts in CA 

and AK. Research on the San Miguel 

Island stock would involve (maximum 

number of animals per year in 

parentheses): capture, restraint, and 

sampling (700) and incidental 

disturbance (35,725). Research on the 

Eastern Pacific stock would involve 

(maximum number of animals per year 

in parentheses): capture, restraint and 

sampling (22,820 in 3 of 5 years; 9,320 

in 2 of 5 years) and incidental 

disturbance (355,125 in 3 of 5 years; 

156,000 in 2 of 5 years). The applicant 

requests authorization for researchrelated mortality of 7 animals per year 

from the San Miguel Island Stock and 

11 animals per year from the Eastern 

Pacific stock. The applicant also 

requests authorization for incidental 

harassment of 150 western DPS Steller 

sea lions and 18,700 California sea lions 

annually. 

File No. 14328: The applicant, ASLC, 

(Principal Investigator: Alan Springer, 

Ph.D.), requests a five-year permit to 

characterize the winter habitat, 

movement patterns, diets and general 

health of adult male northern fur seals 

in the Bering Sea and northern North 

Pacific Ocean. Annually, up to 5 

animals in AK would be captured, 

satellite tagged, blubber biopsied, blood 

sampled, and a vibrissa would be pulled 

for stable isotope analysis. Up to 200 

northern fur seals in AK may be 

incidentally harassed during the 

research activities. The applicant 

requests authorization for 1 researchrelated mortality per year. 

File No. 14329: The applicant, 

NPUMMRC, (Principal Investigator: 

Andrew Trites, Ph.D.) requests a fiveyear permit to test hypotheses that 

might explain the decline of northern 

fur seals in AK and offer solutions for 

recovery. The proposed research 

includes studies on foraging ecology, 

demographics, behavior, and changes in 

body size. The applicant also proposes 

to complete a pilot study to determine 

the feasibility of branding as a viable 

marking method. Research activities 

would involve (maximum number of 

animals per year in parentheses): 

disturbance associated with capture, 

observational studies, and scat 

collection (39,130); and capture, 

restraint, tissue sampling, and marking 

(2,335). NPUMMRC requests 

authorization for the annual researchrelated mortality of 14 adult females, 8 

juvenile males, and 24 pups. 

NPUMMRC also requests authorization 

for harassment of 600 western DPS 

Steller sea lions annually incidental to 

the research. 

File No. 14330 and File No. 14331: 

The applicants, ACSPI (File No. 14330), 

(Principal Investigator: Phillip A. 

Zavadil), and ACSGI (File No. 14331), 

(Principal Investigator: Chris Merculief), 

request five-year permits to fulfill their 

Biosampling, Disentanglement, and 

Island Sentinel program responsibilities 

as established under the co-management 

agreement between NMFS and the Aleut 

Communities. Work by ACSPI would 

occur on St. Paul Island, AK and work 

by ACSGI would occur on St. George 

Island, AK. The applicants request 

authorization for incidental disturbance 

of up to 850 northern fur seals on St. 

Paul Island and 450 animals per year on 

St. George Island during the collection 

of biological samples from dead 

stranded and subsistence hunted marine 

mammals. These samples would be 

exported to researchers studying the 

decline of northern fur seals. Annually, 

up to 8,500 northern fur seals on St. 

Paul Island and 6,050 on St. George 

Island may be disturbed during 

disentanglement events. The Island 

Sentinel program may result in the 

disturbance of up to 3,400 northern fur 

seals per year on St. Paul Island and 

9,000 animals on St. George Island 

during haulout and rookery 

observations, monitoring, and remote 

camera maintenance per year. Steller 

sea lions and harbor seals may be 

disturbed during the course of these 

activities. 

File No. 14334: The applicant, ASLC, 

(Principal Investigator: Lori Polasek, 

Ph.D.), requests a five-year permit to 

investigate reproductive physiology of 

captive adult Steller sea lions 

(permanently captive eastern stock) and 

survival, growth, and physiology of 

captive-bred offspring. ASLC also 

22520 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 91 / Wednesday, May 13, 2009 / Notices 

proposes to deploy biotelemetry 

instruments on the captives to develop 

and validate methods for monitoring 

wild Steller sea lions. Research would 

be conducted on one adult male, up to 

four adult females, and up to six 

offspring, and would include the 

following activities: mass and 

morphometric measurements; 

ultrasound; capture, sedation, and 

anesthesia; blood sampling and 

administration of Evan’s blue dye and 

deuterium oxide; feces, urine, semen, 

and milk collection; video/audio 

recordings; genital swabs; radiographs; 

dietary supplements; blubber biopsy; 

and attachment of biotelemetry 

instrumentation. ASLC also requests 

authorization to transfer to and import 

from approved North American 

facilities up to two male and four female 

Steller sea lions, not to exceed 11 

animals held at ASLC for use in 

research. ASLC requests up to two 

research-related mortalities over the 

course of the permit. No research would 

occur on wild populations or affect nontarget species. 

File No. 14335: The applicant, ASLC, 

(Principal Investigator: JoAnn Mellish, 

Ph.D.), requests a five-year permit to 

investigate the decline of the western 

stock of Steller sea lions and its failure 

to recover, and to assist recovery efforts. 

Data would be obtained on juvenile 

survival, epidemiology, endocrinology, 

immunology, virology, physiology, 

ontogenetic and annual body condition 

cycles, foraging behavior and habitat 

selection. Up to 20 pups (8–11 months) 

and 32 juveniles (12–48 months) of both 

sexes may be captured per year, with a 

subset of up to 12 juveniles (12- 48 

months) of both sexes selected for 

temporary quarantine captivity at the 

South Beach facility at the ASLC. 

Research activities would include 

capture/handle/release (floating trap, 

underwater lasso), drug administration 

(IM, IV, oral, subcutaneous, topical), 

anesthesia, temporary captivity, fecal 

and urine collection, instrument 

attachment (external and internal), 

marking, measuring, behavioral 

observations, photogrammetry, restraint, 

sampling (blood, blubber biopsy, clip 

hair, fecal swab, blubber and muscle 

biopsy, nasal swab, oral swab, skin 

biopsy, vibrissae pull, stable isotopes 

and serial blood samples), transport, 

ultrasound, unintentional mortality, 

weigh and x-ray. Up to 3,500 

individuals of all ages, either sex, may 

be incidentally harassed annually. Two 

research-related mortalities per year are 

requested. The location of activities 

would include the Gulf of Alaska and 

the ASLC. 

File No. 14336: The applicant, Dr. 

Horning, requests a five-year permit to 

determine survival rates, emigration, 

causes of mortality, predation, and 

collect long-term forage effort data, in 

juvenile eastern DPS sea lions, using 

surgically implanted scientific 

instruments called Life History 

Transmitters (LHX tags). Up to 50 pups 

and 50 juveniles of both sexes would be 

captured for sampling and LHX tag 

deployment at Hazy Islands and in 

Frederick Sound, AK annually (100 

animals total per age class). LHX tags 

would also be opportunistically 

deployed in carcasses of dead Steller sea 

lions in AK, OR, and CA, and in 

California sea lions in OR and CA to 

assess uplink failure rates. Remote 

monitoring (using still, video, and 

infrared cameras) for censusing, brand 

re-sighting, attendance patterns, and 

estimating body mass, condition and 

health trends would be conducted at 

Long Island, AK and Sea Lion Caves and 

Cascade Head, OR. Up to 900 

individuals of all ages and either sex in 

the western DPS and 8,800 in the 

eastern DPS of all ages may be 

incidentally harassed annually. The 

applicant also requests authorization for 

5 research-related mortalities of eastern 

DPS animals per year. 

File No. 14337: The applicant, 

NPUMMRC, (Principal Investigator: 

Andrew Trites, Ph.D.), requests a fiveyear permit to conduct studies of Steller 

sea lion diets, distributions, life history 

traits, physiology and the timing of 

weaning in AK. NPUMMRC also 

proposes to evaluate pain experienced 

by Steller sea lions during hot-iron 

branding conducted by researchers 

operating under separate permits. 

Research activities would involve 

(maximum number of animals per year 

in parentheses): disturbance associated 

with capture, observational studies, and 

scat collection (10,720 eastern DPS; 

28,220 western DPS); and capture, 

restraint, tissue sampling, and marking 

(126 eastern DPS; 206 western DPS). 

NPUMMRC requests authorization for 

the annual research-related mortality of 

2 eastern DPS pups, 2 western DPS pups 

during marking and 4 eastern DPS sea 

lions of any age, and 4 western DPS sea 

lions of any age during other studies. 

NPUMMRC also requests authorization 

for harassment of 15 northern fur seals, 

5 California sea lions, 10 northern 

elephant seals, 60 harbor seals, and 5 

killer whales (Orcinus orca) in AK 

annually incidental to the research on 

Steller sea lions. 

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 

activities proposed are consistent with 

the Preferred Alternative in the Final 

Programmatic Environmental Impact 

Statement (PEIS) for Steller Sea Lion 

and Northern Fur Seal Research (NMFS 

2007), and that issuance of the permits 

would not have a significant adverse 

impact on the human environment. 

As established under the Preferred 

Alternative, NMFS proposes to 

authorize annual cumulative researchrelated mortality of up to 15 percent of 

the Potential Biological Removal levels 

for each stock. These annual allowances 

would include observed and 

unobserved mortalities, and be 

calculated based on the nature of the 

research. The numbers of researchrelated mortalities permitted may be 

higher or lower than those requested by 

the applicants. 

Concurrent with the publication of 

this notice in the Federal Register, 

NMFS is forwarding copies of the 

applications to the Marine Mammal 

Commission and its Committee of 

Scientific Advisors. 

Dated: May 7, 2009. 

P. Michael Payne, 

Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education 

Division, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E9–11198 Filed 5–12–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Institute of Standards and 

Technology 

Second Smart Grid Interoperability 

Standards Interim Roadmap Public 

Workshop 

AGENCY: National Institute of Standards 

and Technology (NIST), United States 

Department of Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of public workshop. 

SUMMARY: The National Institute of 

Standards and Technology announces 

that a free two-day public workshop on 

Smart Grid standards will be held on 

May 19–20, 2009, in the Washington, 

DC area. 

DATES: The free public workshop will be 

held on May 19 and 20, 2009, from 8 

a.m. to 5 p.m. 

ADDRESSES: The free public workshop 

will be held in the Washington, DC, area 

at the Gaylord National Hotel and 

Convention Center, 201 Waterfront 

Street, National Harbor, MD 20745. The 

location and registration information 

will be posted at: http://www.nist.gov/ 

smartgrid/. Those interested in 

attending also can call Ashley Eldrege of 

the Electric Power Research Institute, on