[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 57 (Friday, March 24, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14853-14855]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-4321]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 022706B]


Taking and Importing Marine Mammals; Taking Marine Mammals 
Incidental to Rocket Launches at Vandenberg Air Force Base, CA

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice; issuance of a Letter of Authorization.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) and 
implementing regulations, notification is hereby given that a 1-year 
letter of authorization (LOA) has been issued to the 30th Space Wing, 
U.S. Air Force, to harass seals and sea lions incidental to rocket and 
missile launches on Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB), California.

DATES: Effective March 17, 2006, through March 16, 2007.

ADDRESSES: The LOA and supporting documentation are available by 
writing to Steve Leathery, Chief, Permits, Conservation, and Education 
Division, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries 
Service, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910-3225, by 
telephoning one of the contacts listed here (see FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT), or online at: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/permits/incidental.htm. Documents cited in this notice may be viewed, 
by appointment, during regular business hours, at the aforementioned 
address and at the Southwest Region, NMFS, 501 West Ocean Boulevard, 
Suite 4200, Long Beach, CA 90802.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jolie Harrison, Office of Protected 
Resources, NMFS, (301) 713-2289, or Monica DeAngelis, NMFS, (562) 980-
4023.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Section 101(a)(5)(A) of the MMPA (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) directs 
the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to

[[Page 14854]]

allow, on request, the incidental, but not intentional, taking of small 
numbers of marine mammals by U.S. citizens who engage in a specified 
activity (other than commercial fishing) within a specified 
geographical region if certain findings are made and regulations are 
issued. Under the MMPA, the term ``taking'' means to harass, hunt, 
capture, or kill or to attempt to harass, hunt, capture or kill marine 
mammals.
    Authorization may be granted for periods up to 5 years if NMFS 
finds, after notification and opportunity for public comment, that the 
taking will have a negligible impact on the species or stock(s) of 
marine mammals and will not have an unmitigable adverse impact on the 
availability of the species or stock(s) for subsistence uses. In 
addition, NMFS must prescribe regulations that include permissible 
methods of taking and other means effecting the least practicable 
adverse impact on the species and its habitat and on the availability 
of the species for subsistence uses, paying particular attention to 
rookeries, mating grounds, and areas of similar significance. The 
regulations must include requirements for monitoring and reporting of 
such taking.
    Regulations governing the taking of harbor seals, northern elephant 
seals, California sea lions, and northern fur seals, by harassment, 
incidental to missile and rocket launches, aircraft flight test 
operations, and helicopter operations at VAFB, were issued on February 
06, 2004 (69 FR 5720), and remain in effect until February 06, 2009. 
For detailed information on this action, please refer to that document. 
These regulations include mitigation, monitoring, and reporting 
requirements for the incidental taking of marine mammals during rocket 
launches at VAFB.

Summary of Request

    NMFS received a request for an LOA pursuant to the aforementioned 
regulations that would authorize, for a period not to exceed one year, 
take of marine mammals, by harassment, incidental to rocket launches at 
VAFB.

Summary of Activity and Monitoring Under the Current LOA

    In compliance with the 2005 LOA, VAFB submitted an annual report on 
the rocket launches at VAFB. A summary of that report (SRS 
Technologies, 2006) follows.
    A total of eight launches were conducted at VAFB between January 1, 
2005, and December 31, 2006. The dates, locations, and monitoring 
required for the launches are summarized in Table 1.

                           Table 1. Summary of launches that occurred at VAFB in 2005
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                                                                               Launch
                         Vehicle                             Date     Time      Site      Monitoring Conducted
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                  Minotaur XSS-11                           11-Apr     6:35      SLC-8               South VAFB
                  Delta II NOAA-N                           20-May     3:22      SLC-2       North VAFB and San
                                                                                                  Miguel Island
                  Minuteman III                             21-Jul     1:01      NVAFB                       No
                  Minuteman III                             25-Aug     1:01      NVAFB                       No
                  Minuteman III                              7-Sep     1:01      NVAFB                       No
                  Minuteman III                             14-Sep     1:01      NVAFB                       No
                  Minotaur STP-R1                           22-Sep    19:24      SLC-8                       No
                  Titan IV B-26                             19-Oct    11:05     SLC-4E        San Miguel Island
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    For all four Minuteman III and the one Minotaur STP, launches 
occurred outside of the harbor seal pupping season and a sonic boom of 
greater than 1 lbs/ft2 (psf) was not predicted to occur at San Miguel 
Island (SMI) as a result of the launch, so biological monitoring was 
not required or conducted. With the exception of the Delta II, acoustic 
measurements of all of the vehicles launched in 2005 had previously 
been taken, and were not required or conducted again.
    Though no sonic boom greater than 1 psf was predicted at SMI, the 
Minotaur XSS-11 was launched during the harbor seal pupping season, and 
therefore monitoring was required at VAFB. Monitoring was conducted 
between the Harbor Seal Beach and Flat Iron Rock haul-out sites on 
South VAFB. Though it was too foggy to see the behavior of the seals 
present at the moment the rocket was launched, the same number of adult 
seals and pups were present at the site 3.5 hours after the launch as 
were present the day prior to the launch, and numbers increased the 
next day, and were higher again 2 weeks later. In the days immediately 
surrounding the launch, a maximum of 25 adult seals and 16 pups were 
observed.
    The Delta II NOAA-N was launched during harbor seal pupping season 
and a sonic boom greater than 1 psf was predicted to reach SMI, so 
monitoring was required at SMI and VAFB. On North VAFB, at the Spur 
Road haul-out site, harbor seal numbers increased the day after the 
launch and were higher again two weeks later. In the days immediately 
surrounding the launch, a maximum of 52 adult seals were observed. In 
the Adam's Cove area of Point Bennett on the western end of SMI, two 
smaller focal groups of California sea lions composed primarily of 
adult females were observed. The observer did not hear a sonic boom and 
saw no visible reaction to the launch by the sea lions (with night 
vision goggles). In the days immediately surrounding the launch, a 
maximum of 625 adult sea lions were observed. Similarly, no reaction by 
elephant seals to the launch was observed at Point Bennett, and the 
maximum number seen was 256.
    A sonic boom greater than 1 psf was predicted to occur at SMI 
during the Titan IV B-26 launch, however, it occurred outside of the 
harbor seal pupping season, so no monitoring was required at VAFB. A 
smaller focal group of California sea lions was monitored at the North-
West Cove area of Point Bennett on SMI. The observer did not hear a 
sonic boom (and acoustic measurements indicated no sonic boom impacted 
SMI) and saw no visible reaction to the launch by the sea lions. A 
maximum of 3,157 sea lions (mostly juveniles) were seen in the days 
surrounding the launch.
    In summary, no impacts to any marine mammals on SMI were detected 
during the launches. On VAFB, there was no evidence of injury or 
mortality as a result of the launches and numbers of hauled out animals 
were back to pre-launch levels within one day of both launches 
monitored.

Authorization

    Accordingly, NMFS has issued an LOA to the 30th Space Wing, U.S. 
Air Force authorizing the harassment of

[[Page 14855]]

marine mammals incidental to rocket launches at VAFB. Issuance of this 
LOA is based on findings, described in the preamble to the final rule 
(67 FR 5720, February 6, 2004) and supported by information contained 
in VAFB's required 2005 annual report, that the activities described 
under this LOA will have no more than a negligible impact on marine 
mammal stocks and will not have an unmitigable adverse impact on the 
availability of the affected marine mammal stocks for subsistence uses.

    Dated: March 20, 2006.
James H. Lecky,
Director, Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E6-4321 Filed 3-23-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S