[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 172 (Wednesday, September 6, 1995)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 46234-46235]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-21978]



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NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION

45 CFR Part 670


Conservation of Antarctic Animals and Plants

AGENCY: National Science Foundation.

ACTION: Final rule with request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The National Science Foundation is amending its regulations to 
designate additional Antarctic Specially Protected Areas, to 
redesignate one site as a Specially Protected Area which was formerly 
designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest, and to revise the 
designations of Specially Protected Areas consistent with Antarctic 
Treaty Consultative meeting recommendations. These regulations, issued 
pursuant to section 6(b)(3) of the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 
(16 U.S.C. 2405(b)(3)), are being revised to reflect recommendations 
adopted by the Antarctic Treaty parties at the 16th Antarctic 
Consultative Meeting.

EFFECTIVE DATE: September 6, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to Joyce A. Jatko, Office of Polar 
Programs, Room 755, National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, 
Arlington, VA 22230.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joyce A. Jatko at the address above or 
by telephone at (703) 306-1030.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Since these regulations were originally 
issued 

[[Page 46235]]
in 1979, several Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings have been held 
in accordance with Article IX of the Antarctic Treaty. The regulations 
have been amended from time to time based on recommendations adopted at 
these meetings. The amendments that are the subject of this rule 
implement recommendations XVI-4, XVI-8 and XVI-9 of the 16th Antarctic 
Treaty Consultative Meeting (16th ATCM). Because the amendments merely 
implement recommendations adopted at the 16th ATCM, public comments 
were not obtained before making the amendment effective.
    The recommendations which are the subject of this amendment are as 
follows:
    Recommendation XVI-4 re-designates Site of Special Scientific 
Interest No. 30, Avian Island, Marguerite Bay, Antarctic Peninsula as 
Specially Protected Area No. 21 and provides that it be subject to the 
management plan accompanying the description of the protected area.
    Recommendation XVI-8 provides that Cryptogram Ridge, Mount 
Melbourne, Victoria Land, be designated as Specially Protected Area No. 
22 and be subject to the management plan annexed thereto.
    Recommendation XVI-9 provides that Forlidas Pond and Davis Valley 
Ponds be designated as Specially Protected Area No. 23 and be subject 
to the management plan annex thereto.
    Specially Protected Area No. 21: Avian Island (67 deg.46' S, 
68 deg.54' W) lies 0.25 km south of the south-west tip of Adelaide 
Island in north-west Marguerite Bay, south-west Antarctic Peninsula. 
The Area consists of Avian Island together with its littoral zone. It 
is 1.45 km long by 0.8 km at its widest (total area about 49 ha), and 
rises to just over 40 m altitude in the south. It is almost entirely 
ice-free in summer. There are several shallow melt pools, the largest 
being on the eastern raised beach terrace. There are two small 
dilapidated refuge huts, one near the north-west and the other near the 
mid-east shores of the island. The Area is unique in the Antarctic 
Peninsula region for its abundance and diversity of breeding seabirds. 
The Blue-eyed shag colony is one of the largest known in the Antarctic, 
and the Adelie penguin colony is the largest on the Antarctic 
Peninsula.
    Specially Protected Area No. 22: Mount Melbourne (74 deg.21' S, 
164 deg.42' W lies between Wood Bay and Campbell Glacier, northern 
Victoria Land, on the western side of the Ross Sea. The Area includes 
most of Cryptogram Ridge on the southern rim of the main summit crater 
(2,733 m altitude), and extends to about 1,200 m by 500 m. Geothermal 
activity occurs along about 300-400 m of the ridge and is marked by 
discontinuous areas of ice-free ground, surrounded by numerous ice 
hummocks up to 1 m high and scattered hollow ice towers up to several 
meters in diameter and 4 m high. The warm ice-free areas are mostly 
gently sloping with narrow terraces up to 1.5 m wide. The geothermal 
ground within the Area supports a unique community of bryophytes, algae 
and microbiota, including the only known occurrence in the Antarctic of 
the moss Campylopus pyriformis.
    Specially Protected Area No. 23: Forlidas Pond, about 100 m in 
diameter, is situated near the east end of the Dufek Massif in a small 
unnamed dry valley about 1 km to the east of the northern edge of the 
Forlidas Ridge and about 1 km northwest of Davis Valley. The unnamed 
dry valley is separated from Davis Valley by a northeast trending ridge 
several kilometers long. The position of Forlidas Pond is 
82 deg.27'15'' S, 15 deg.21' W. The Area includes smaller ponds that 
occur along the ice margin at the northern edge of Davis Valley, a 
short distance east of Forlidas Pond. The Area consists of two parts 
about 500 meters apart and includes all that area within 500 m of the 
center of Forlidas Pond and all that area within a 500 m radius of 
several meltwater ponds at the ice margin along the northern edge of 
Davis Valley. The Area contains some of the most southerly freshwater 
ponds known in Antarctica containing plant life.

Determinations

    I have determined, under the criteria set forth in Executive Order 
12866, that this rule is not a significant regulatory action requiring 
review by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. I have also 
determined that this rule involves a foreign affairs function of the 
United States and is, therefore, exempt from the notice requirements of 
section 553 of the Administrative Procedure Act and from regulatory 
flexibility analysis requirements of the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 
U.S.C. 601-612. Finally, I have reviewed this rule in light of section 
2 of Executive Order 12778 and certify for the National Science 
Foundation that this rule meets the applicable standards provided in 
sections 2(a) and 2(b) of that order.

List of Subjects in 45 CFR Part 670

    Antarctica, Conservation.

    Pursuant to the authority granted by 16 U.S.C. 2405(b)(3), NSF 
hereby amends 45 CFR Part 670 as set forth below.

PART 670--[AMENDED]
    1. The authority citation for Part 670 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 2405, as amended.

    2. Section 670.30 is revised to read as follows:


Sec. 670.30  Designation of specially protected areas.

    The Act states that the Director shall designate as a specially 
protected area, each area identified under the Agreed Measures as 
needing special protection. The following areas have been so identified 
and designated as Specially Protected Areas:

(a) SPA 1, Taylor Rookery, MacRobertson Land
(b) SPA 2, Rookery Islands, Holme Bay
(c) SPA 3, Ardrey Island and Odbert Island, Budd Coast
(d) SPA 4, Sabrina Island, Balleny Islands
(e) SPA 5, Beaufort Island, Ross Sea
(f) SPA 7, Cape Hallett, Victoria Land
(g) SPA 8, Dion Islands, Marguerite Bay, Antarctic Peninsula
(h) SPA 9, Green Island, Berthelot Islands, Antarctic Peninsula
(i) SPA 13, Moe Island, South Orkney Islands
(j) SPA 14, Lynch Island, South Orkney Islands
(k) SPA 15, Southern Powell Island and adjacent islands, South Orkney 
Islands
(l) SPA 16, Coppermine Peninsula, Robert Island
(m) SPA 17, Litchfield Island, Arthur Harbor, Palmer Archipelago
(n) SPA 18, North Coronation Island, South Orkney Islands
(o) SPA 19, Lagotellerie Island, Marguerite Bay
(p) SPA 20, `New College Valley', Caughley Beach, Cape Bird, Ross 
Island
(q) SPA 21, Avian Island, North-west Marguerite Bay
(r) SPA 22, Cryptogram Ridge, Mount Melbourne, Victoria Land
(s) SPA 23, Forlidas Pond and Davis Valley Ponds

    Note: Maps specifying these areas in greater detail may be 
obtained from the Director.


Sec. 670.34  [Amended]

    3. Section 670.34 is amended by removing paragraph (b)(30) and 
redesignating paragraphs (b)(31)-(b)(36) as paragraphs (b)(30)-(b)(35).

    Dated: August 18, 1995.
Lawrence Rudolph,
General Counsel, National Science Foundation.
[FR Doc. 95-21978 Filed 9-5-95; 8:45 am]
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