[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 201 (Wednesday, October 18, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61460-61461]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-17370]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 100506D]


Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for 
the Establishment of Annual Quotas for the Subsistence Harvest of 
Bowhead Whales by Alaska Natives

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

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement 
(EIS); announcement of public scoping period; request for written 
comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces its intent to prepare an EIS pursuant to the 
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), in order to assess 
the impacts of issuing annual quotas for the subsistence harvest of 
bowhead whales by Alaska Natives from 2008 through 2017. Publication of 
this notice begins the official scoping period that will help identify 
issues and alternatives to be considered in the EIS. The scoping 
process will end December 15, 2006.

ADDRESSES: To request inclusion on a mailing list of persons interested 
in the EIS, please contact Steve Davis, NMFS, 222W 7th Avenue, Box 43, 
Anchorage, AK 99513. Comments on this notice and the scoping process 
for this action may be submitted by:
     Mail: P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802-1668.
     Hand Delivery to the Federal Building: 709 West 9th 
Street, Room 420A, Juneau, AK
     FAX: 907-586-7557
     Email: [email protected]. Include in the subject line 
the following document identifier: Bowhead Whale Quota EIS (Email 
comments, with or without attachments, are limited to five (5) 
megabytes).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steve Davis or Brad Smith, NMFS Alaska 
Region, Anchorage Field Office, (907) 271-5006.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS is initiating this EIS process in order 
to comprehensively assess impacts of the subsistence harvest of Western 
Arctic bowhead whales by Alaska Natives from 2008 through 2017.

Background

    Eskimos have hunted bowhead whales for over 2,000 years as the 
whales migrate in the spring and fall along the coast line of Alaska. 
Their traditional subsistence hunts for these whales have been 
regulated by a quota system under the authority of the International 
Whaling Commission (IWC) since 1977. Alaska Native subsistence hunters, 
from 10 northern Alaskan communities, take less than one percent of the 
stock of bowhead whales per year. Since 1977, the number of strikes has 
ranged between 14 and 72 animals per year, depending in part on changes 
in IWC management strategy due to higher estimates of bowhead whale 
abundance in recent years, as well as hunter efficiency. The IWC sets 
an overall aboriginal subsistence harvest for this relevant stock, 
based on the request of Contracting Governments on behalf of the 
aboriginal hunters. In the case of Alaska Eskimo and Russian Native 
subsistence hunts, the United States and the Russian Federation make a 
joint request for a subsistence quota for bowhead whales to the IWC.
    NMFS must annually publish aboriginal subsistence whale hunting 
quotas and any other limitations on such hunting in the Federal 
Register (50 CFR 230.6). The subsistence hunt is directly managed by 
the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission (AEWC). In order to 
comprehensively assess the effects of these annual quotas, NMFS is 
proposing to set the term of this analysis to extend over a 10-year 
period, beginning in 2008.

Alternatives

    NMFS preliminarily anticipates four alternatives:
    Alternative 1: Grant the AEWC annual quotas amounting to 510 landed 
whales over 10 years (2008 through 2017), with an annual strike quota 
of 67 bowhead whales per year, where no unused strikes are added to the 
quota for any one year.
    Alternative 2: Grant the AEWC annual quotas amounting to 510 landed 
whales over 10 years (2008 through 2017), with an annual strike quota 
of 67 bowhead whales per year, where no more than 15 unused strikes are 
added to the strike quota for any one year.
    Alternative 3: Grant the AEWC annual quotas amounting to 510 landed 
whales over 10 years (2008 through 2017), with an annual strike quota 
of 67 bowhead whales per year, where, for unused strikes, up to 50 
percent of the annual strike limit is added to the strike quota for any 
one year.
    Alternative 4 (no action): Do not grant the AEWC any annual quotas.
    Major issues to be addressed in this EIS include: the impact of 
subsistence removals on the Western Arctic stock of bowhead whales; the 
impacts of these harvest levels on the traditional and cultural values 
of Alaska Natives, and the cumulative effects of the action when 
considered along with past, present, and future actions potentially 
affecting bowhead whales.

Public Involvement

    We begin this NEPA process by soliciting input from the public and 
interested parties on the type of impacts to be considered in the EIS, 
the range of alternatives to be assessed, and any other pertinent 
information. Specifically, this scoping process is intended to 
accomplish the following objectives:

[[Page 61461]]

    1. Invite affected Federal, state, and local agencies, Alaska 
Natives, and other interested persons to participate in the EIS 
process.
    2. Determine the potential significant environmental issues to be 
analyzed in the EIS.
    3. Identify and eliminate issues determined to be insignificant or 
addressed in other documents.
    4. Allocate assignments among the lead agency and cooperating 
agencies regarding preparation of the EIS, including impact analysis 
and identification of mitigation measures.
    5. Identify related environmental documents being prepared.
    6. Identify other environmental review and consultation 
requirements.
    The official scoping period is from the date of this notice until 
December 15, 2006.
    Please visit NMFS Alaska Region web page at http://www.fakr.noaa.gov for more information on this EIS. NMFS estimates the 
draft EIS will be available in April 2007.

Authority

    The preparation of the EIS for the subsistence harvest of Western 
Arctic bowhead whales by Alaska Natives will be conducted under the 
authority and in accordance with the requirements of NEPA, Council on 
Environmental Quality Regulations (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), other 
applicable Federal laws and regulations, and policies and procedures of 
NMFS for compliance with those regulations.

    Dated: October 12, 2006.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E6-17370 Filed 10-17-06; 8:45 am]
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