[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 229 (Tuesday, November 30, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66901-66902]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-31069]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D. 111699B]


Environmental Impact Statement for Federal Activities to Recover 
the Cook Inlet, Alaska, Stock of Beluga Whale, Including the Management 
of a Subsistence Harvest

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of intent; scoping meetings; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces its intent to prepare a programmatic 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on Federal activities necessary to 
halt the observed decline and promote recovery of the Cook Inlet, 
Alaska, stock of beluga whale. This will include, but is not limited 
to, the management of the subsistence harvest by Alaska Natives.
    NMFS will hold a scoping meeting to receive public input on 
structuring the

[[Page 66902]]

alternatives and the range of issues to be assessed in the programmatic 
EIS. In addition to holding the scoping meeting, NMFS is accepting 
written comments on the same topics.

DATES: Written comments must be received by December 30, 1999. A 
scoping meeting will be held in Anchorage, Alaska at the following time 
and location: December 16, 1999, 1-5 p.m., Anchorage Federal Office 
Building, Room 154, 222 West 7th Avenue, Anchorage, AK.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and requests to be included on a mailing 
list of persons interested in the programmatic EIS should be sent to 
Mr. Brad Smith, 222 West 7th Avenue, Box 43, Anchorage, 
Alaska, 99513, or sent via facsimile to (907) 271-3030. Comments may 
also be hand-delivered to NMFS at Room 517 in the Anchorage Federal 
Office Building, 222 West 7th Avenue, Anchorage, Alaska. 
Comments will not be accepted if submitted via electronic mail or via 
the Internet.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brad Smith, (907) 271-5006.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A relatively small, isolated stock of beluga 
whales exists in south-central Alaska. This stock is found primarily in 
upper Cook Inlet during ice-free periods (April though October), often 
concentrating near the mouths of rivers. This stock is called the Cook 
Inlet Beluga (CIB) stock because the entire stock is believed to occur 
in Cook Inlet during the ice-free period, although its winter range is 
presently poorly understood. Genetic and distributional analyses by 
NMFS indicate that the CIB stock is genetically isolated from the four 
other beluga whale stocks in Alaska and constitutes a distinct 
population.
    Early estimates of stock size, including estimates by Alaska Native 
hunters, ranged from 1,000 to 2,000 beluga whales. The most recent 
estimate by NMFS is 347 whales from 1998, indicating a decline of 
nearly 50 percent below the estimate by NMFS of 653 for 1994. NMFS has 
proposed that the CIB be designated as a depleted stock (64 FR 56298, 
19 October 1999) under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA).
    The MMPA provides an exemption for Alaska Natives from prohibitions 
on the taking of marine mammals. The CIB stock is hunted by Alaska 
Natives for subsistence uses, including food and traditional 
handicrafts. Data collected by Alaska Native Organizations (ANOs) and 
NMFS indicate subsistence harvest has recently been at unsustainable 
levels. Subsistence harvests averaged 37 whales per year between 1994 
and 1998. This estimate does not include animals that were struck and 
lost which may occur at a ratio of 1-2 whales for each whale landed.
    The MMPA allows ANOs to enter into agreements with NMFS to conserve 
marine mammals and provide for co-management of subsistence uses. 
Several such groups have expressed interest in entering into a co-
management agreement with NMFS for the CIB stock. It is possible that 
such an agreement would include annual harvest levels determined under 
a harvest management plan, as well as means to allocate the harvest 
among Native hunters.
    The National Marine Fisheries Service may regulate the subsistence 
hunting of a marine mammal when (1) that marine mammal is designated as 
depleted under the MMPA, and (2) specific regulations have been 
promulgated for this management. NMFS has taken separate action to 
designate the CIB stock as depleted and may, therefore, proceed with 
regulations to manage the Native harvest.
    The National Environmental Policy Act requires preparation of an 
EIS for any major Federal action that may significantly impact the 
quality of the human environment. NMFS finds that an EIS is appropriate 
in this matter.
    NMFS will assess the potential impacts of Federal activities 
necessary to halt the observed decline and promote recovery of the CIB 
stock of whales, including the management of a subsistence harvest by 
Alaska Natives. In a review of existing information, NMFS does not find 
that non-harvest factors, such as degradation of habitat, appear to 
have caused the rapid decline of the stock; however, NMFS has not 
conducted research designed specifically to determine the effects of 
habitat degradation on the stock. NMFS reviewed existing information on 
fish runs, oil and gas activities, sewage problems, and other sources 
of contaminants. The existing information suggests that beluga are not 
stressed by anthropogenic factors in Cook Inlet. The size of fish runs, 
especially salmon, may have some effect on the population; however, 
food limitations do not appear capable of causing the declines of 
beluga noted in recent years. Consequently, the level of harvest 
between 1994 and 1998 appear to be a significant factor in the observed 
declines in the population. Therefore, initial recovery actions would 
likely be directed at developing a subsistence harvest that would be 
consistent with recovery goals for the stock.
    An assessment of the harvest would use a model based on three 
alternatives: (1) Maximizing short-term opportunity for subsistence 
harvests and prolonging the recovery of the stock; (2) maximizing the 
recovery of the stock by prohibiting harvest until the stock had 
recovered to optimum sustainable population levels; or (3) allowing an 
intermediate level of harvest that would provide some subsistence use 
and promote recovery of the stock faster than alternative (1) but 
slower than alternative (2).
    The cumulative impacts section of the EIS would review the combined 
impacts of Federal and non-Federal activities on the CIB stock of 
beluga whale and their habitat. This would include, but not be limited 
to, the effects of fishing, vessel activities, industrial development, 
and oil exploration and development. The environmental consequences 
section of the EIS will also assess the impacts of the various CIB 
harvest management strategies (as described above) on the human 
environment. Major issues include the impact of subsistence removals on 
this stock; the impacts of regulated harvests on the traditional and 
cultural values of Alaska Natives; methods to allocate a limited 
harvest among Native groups and individuals; and the social and 
economic impacts of various population levels of the CIB stock of 
whales. Scoping for the programmatic EIS begins with publication of 
this document. To identify the scope of issues that will be addressed 
in the EIS and to identify potential impacts on the quality of the 
human environment, public participation is invited by providing written 
comments to NMFS and attending the scoping meeting. A scoping meeting 
will be held in Anchorage, Alaska at the following time and location: 
December 16, 1999, 1-5 p.m., Anchorage Federal Office Building, Room 
154, 222 West 7th Avenue, Anchorage, AK.

Special Accommodations

    The meeting will be physically accessible to people with 
disabilities. Special accommodations requests, such as requests for 
sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aids, should be 
directed to Brad Smith (907) 271-5006 at least 5 days before the 
meeting date.

    Dated: November 22, 1999.
Art Jeffers,
Deputy Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 99-31069 Filed 11-29-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F