[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 232 (Tuesday, December 3, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66223-66224]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-26084]


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NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION


Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic 
Conservation Act of 1978

AGENCY: National Science Foundation.

ACTION: Notice of permit applications received.

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SUMMARY: The National Science Foundation (NSF) is required to publish a 
notice of permit applications received to conduct activities regulated 
under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978. NSF has published 
regulations under the Antarctic Conservation Act in the Code of Federal 
Regulations. This is the required notice of permit applications 
received.

DATES: Interested parties are invited to submit written data, comments, 
or views with respect to this permit application by January 2, 2020. 
This application may be inspected by interested parties at the Permit 
Office, address below.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be addressed to Permit Office, Office of 
Polar Programs, National Science Foundation, 2415 Eisenhower Avenue, 
Alexandria, Virginia 22314.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nature McGinn, ACA Permit Officer, at 
the above address, 703-292-8030, or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The National Science Foundation, as directed 
by the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541, 45 CFR 670), 
as amended by the Antarctic Science, Tourism and Conservation Act of 
1996, has developed regulations for the establishment of a permit 
system for various activities in Antarctica and designation of certain 
animals and certain geographic areas a requiring special protection. 
The regulations establish such a permit system to designate Antarctic 
Specially Protected Areas.

Application Details

Permit Application: 2020-013

1. Applicant: Nicholas Teets, Department of Entomology, University of 
Kentucky, S-225 Agricultural Science Center, North, Lexington, KY 
40546.

    Activity for Which Permit is Requested: Enter Antarctic Specially 
Protected Area (ASPA). The applicant proposes to collect midges 
(Belgica antarctica) from sites along the Antarctic Peninsula for 
physiology and genetic studies. Sample collections would require access 
to several ASPAs (108, 126, & 134) and sites within ASMA 7, Southwest 
Anvers Island and Palmer Basin. Collection of the midges would have 
minimal to no ecological impacts. Any rocks disturbed would be returned 
to their original location and position. Very little, if any, plant 
material would be removed and it would typically be dead or decaying. 
The local abundances of midges are very high, so the sample collections 
are expected to have very minimal impact on local populations. The 
applicant would also collect a small amount of algae (Prasiola crispa) 
to serve as a food source for midges in the laboratory.
    Location: Antarctic Peninsula region; ASMA 7, Southwest Anvers 
Island and Palmer Basin; ASPA 108, Green Island, Berthelot Islands; 
ASPA 126, Byers Peninsula, Livingston Island, South Shetland Islands; 
ASPA 134 Cierva Point and offshore islands, Danco Coast, Antarctic 
Peninsula.
    Dates of Permitted Activities: January 1, 2020-July 1, 2022.

Permit Application: 2020-021

2. Applicant: Daniel P. Zitterbart, Woods Hole Oceanographic 
Institution, 266 Woods Hole Road, Woods Hole, MA 02543-1050.

    Activity for Which Permit is Requested: Take. The permit applicant 
proposes to place short-term deployment tags on humpback whales 
(Megaptera novaeangliae) for the purposes of studying their foraging 
ecology. The applicant would deploy digital acoustic recording tags 
(DTAGs) onto humpback whales to record the three-dimensional movement 
of the animals, and the presence of feeding lunges. DTAGs contain a 3-
axis accelerometer and magnetometer that

[[Page 66224]]

record the pitch, yaw, and heading of the whale at a high sampling rate 
(>50 Hz), as well as a pressure sensor that records the depth of the 
animal. A FastLoc[supreg] (Wildtrack Telemetry Systems Ltd) GPS tag 
will also be attached to the DTAG, allowing the position of the whale 
to be recorded throughout the deployment. To deploy the tag, a zodiac 
will be used to approach the whale, with the tag lowered onto the back 
of the whale using a carbon-fiber pole. Effort will be made to tag 
animals that are determined to be in transit or resting, and not 
currently feeding. The tags would be released from the whales after 
several hours and would be retrieved by the researchers. The applicant 
proposes to tag up to five adult or sub-adult humpack whales during the 
permit period (no calves would be tagged). Up to 70 additional whales, 
all ages, would potentially be approached and disturbed during the 
tagging efforts. The applicant and agents would also conduct water and 
oceanographic sampling, as well as deploy an echosounder and 
hydrophone, in order to study the availability of prey and 
oceanographic conditions during whale foraging. The study would be 
conducted during an expedition aboard a tour vessel operated by Polar 
Latitudes, Inc.
    Location: West Antarctic Peninsula region.
    Dates of Permitted Activities: February 27-March 31, 2020.

Erika N. Davis,
Program Specialist, Office of Polar Programs.
[FR Doc. 2019-26084 Filed 12-2-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7555-01-P