[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 39 (Tuesday, February 28, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10868-10869]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-4903]



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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service


Marine Mammals; Polar Bear Habitat Conservation

agency: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

action: Availability of a draft Habitat Conservation Strategy for Polar 
Bears in Alaska; request for comments.

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summary: Final Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) regulations 
published in the Federal Register on November 16, 1993, authorized and 
governed the incidental, unintentional take of small numbers of polar 
bear and walrus during oil and gas industry operations year-round in 
the Beaufort Sea and adjacent northern coast of Alaska. Those 
regulations contained provisions requiring the Service by June 15, 
1995, to develop and being implementing a strategy for the 
identification and protection of important polar bear habitats. The 
Service has developed a draft Habitat Conservation Strategy for Polar 
Bears in Alaska (Strategy), announces its availability, and solicits 
public comments.

dates: Comments on the draft Strategy must be received by May 1, 1995.

addresses: Copies of the draft Strategy are available by contacting the 
Office of Marine Mammals Management, Fish and Wildlife Service, 1011 E. 
Tudor Road, Anchorage, AK 99503; Telephone: 907/786-3800; FAX: 907/786-
3816.
    Written comments should be submitted either by mail or FAX to David 
McGillivary, Supervisor, Office of Marine Mammals Management at the 
above identified address, telephone, or FAX numbers.

for further information contact: David McGillivary in Anchorage, 
Alaska, at 907/786-3800.

supplementary information: The Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 
(Act) vested authority for management and conservation of polar bears 
in the United States (i.e., Alaska) with the Service. Provisions in 
section 101(a)(5) of the Act authorize the incidental, unintentional 
take by U.S. citizens of small numbers of marine mammals (e.g., polar 
bear) in specified activities other than commercial fishing. As defined 
in section 3 of the Act, the term ``take'' means to harass, hunt, 
capture, or kill, or attempt to harass, hunt, capture, or kill any 
marine mammal.
    While the Act authorizes these incidental takes, section 2(6) of 
the Act states that:

    Marine mammals *** should be protected and encouraged to develop 
to the greatest extent feasible commensurate with sound policies of 
resource management and that the primary objective of their 
management should be to maintain the health and stability of the 
marine ecosystem.

In this regard, section 112(a) of the Act authorizes the Secretary of 
the Interior to prescribe regulations that are necessary and 
appropriate to carry out the purposes of the Act.
    In addition to its responsibilities under the Act, the Service has 
further responsibilities under the 1973 International Agreement on the 
Conservation of Polar Bears (International Agreement). Article II of 
this International Agreement states that:

    Each Contracting Party [i.e., Canada, Denmark, Norway, Russia, 
and the U.S.] shall take appropriate action to protect the 
ecosystems of which polar bears are a part, with special attention 
to habitat components such as denning and feeding sites and 
migration patterns ***

    On December 17, 1991, BP Exploration (Alaska), Inc., for itself and 
on behalf of 14 other oil and gas related companies operating in 
Alaska, petitioned the Service to promulgate regulations pursuant to 
section 101(a)(5) of the Act to allow for the incidental, unintentional 
take of small numbers of polar bears and walrus during year-round oil 
and gas activities (i.e., exploration, development, and production) in 
the Beaufort Sea and adjacent northern coast of Alaska. Culminating a 
two-year process, the Service ultimately published a final rule in the 
Federal Register on November 16, 1993 (58 FR 60402), with final 
regulations initially effective beginning on December 16, 1993, for an 
18-month period through June 16, 1995.
    Consistent with the intent of the International Agreement, the 
final rule contains provisions that require the Service to develop and 
begin implementing a strategy, as part of our management plan process 
pursuant to section 115 of the Act, for the identification and 
protection of important polar bear habitats. Development of a strategy, 
as well as the initiation of steps to implement it, is necessary for 
the Beaufort Sea final regulations to be extended beyond their initial 
18 month effective period (now set to expire on June 16, 1995) for a 
total 5-year period (through December 15, 1998) as authorized by the 
Act.
    Initiating efforts to develop this draft Strategy, the Service on 
December 28, 1993, published a ``Notice of intent to prepare a polar 
bear habitat protection strategy, conduct public meetings, and request 
[for] information,'' in the Federal Register (58 FR 68659). Public 
meetings were held in Anchorage and Barrow, Alaska, on January 20 and 
25, 1994, respectively, in order to provide background information and 
our proposed plan for development of a Strategy, and to solicit input 
from those in attendance. The formal public comment period associated 
with the Notice closed on February 11, 1994. Additional meetings 
subsequently were held in coastal Alaska communities and discussions 
have been conducted with Alaskan Native hunters to collect knowledge on 
polar bear habitat use. The Service has also consulted with the Marine 
Mammal Commission, signatories to the International Agreement, the 
Department of State, the State of Alaska, the oil and gas industry, 
conservation organizations, and academia. Information obtained during 
these various efforts has been incorporated into the draft Strategy.
    The objective of this Strategy is to identify and enhance 
protection of important polar bear habitats in Alaska. This will enable 
the United States to address the ecosystem protection provisions of the 
Act and the Agreement, and to ensure oil and gas activities are 
conducted in a manner that minimizes adverse impacts on polar bears, 
their habitat, and on their availability for subsistence uses. Its goal 
is to maintain the integrity of the ecosystem upon which polar bears 
depend and to maintain polar bear populations at optimum sustainable 
population levels. The Service hereby announces the availability of its 
draft Strategy. Public review and comment is solicited. [[Page 10869]] 
    The Service has prepared a draft Environmental Assessment (EA) in 
conjunction with the draft Strategy. A copy of the draft EA may be 
obtained from the Service's Office of Marine Mammal Management 
identified above in the addresses section.

    Dated: February 17, 1995.
Bruce Blanchard,
Acting Director, Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 95-4903 Filed 2-27-95; 8:45 am]
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