[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 248 (Wednesday, December 28, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 79901-79903]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-28203]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[FWS-R5-NWRS-2022-N062; FF05R00000 FXRS12610500000]


Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument; 
Proposed Joint Monument Management Plan

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior; National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of intent; request for comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Oceanic 
and Atmospheric Administration intend to prepare a draft monument 
management plan for the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National 
Monument, which was established by Presidential Proclamation 9496 and 
updated by Presidential Proclamation 10287. When the draft plan is 
complete, we will advertise its availability and seek public comment. 
We furnish this notice to advise the public and Federal, Tribal, State, 
and local governments and agencies of our intentions, and to obtain 
suggestions and information on the scope of issues to consider during 
the planning process. An environmental assessment to evaluate the 
potential effects of various management alternatives will also be 
prepared. The environmental assessment will provide resource managers 
with the information needed to determine if the potential effects may 
be significant and warrant preparation of an environmental impact 
statement, or if the potential impacts lead to a finding of no 
significant impact.

DATES: To ensure consideration, we must receive your written comments 
by January 27, 2023.

[[Page 79902]]


ADDRESSES: Document availability and comment submission: Additional 
information about the Monument is available at https://www.fws.gov/national-monument/northeast-canyons-and-seamounts-marine and https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/new-england-mid-atlantic/habitat-conservation/northeast-canyons-and-seamounts-marine-national.
    Please send your written comments or requests for more information 
by one of the following methods:
     Email: [email protected].
     U.S. Mail: Brittany Petersen, Marine Monument 
Superintendent, USFWS; 300 Westgate Center Drive; Hadley, MA 01035.
    For more information, please see Public Availability of Comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brittany Petersen, U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service, Marine National Monument Superintendent, by phone at 
413-253-8329, or via email at [email protected]; or Marianne Ferguson, 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, by phone at 978-675-
2188, or via email at [email protected]. Individuals in the 
United States who are deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a 
speech disability may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to access 
telecommunications relay services. Individuals outside the United 
States should use the relay services offered within their country to 
make international calls to the point-of-contact in the United States.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On October 8, 2021, President Joseph Biden issued Proclamation 
10287 (86 FR 57349, October 15, 2021), charging the Secretaries of the 
managing agencies, the Department of the Interior and the Department of 
Commerce (Departments), to prepare a joint management plan for the 
Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument by September 
15, 2023.

Monument Establishment and Management Responsibilities

    On September 15, 2016, President Barack Obama issued Presidential 
Proclamation 9496 (81 FR 65161, September 21, 2016), establishing the 
Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument (Monument) 
under the authority of the Antiquities Act of 1906. The canyon and 
seamount area contains objects of historic and scientific interest that 
are situated upon lands owned or controlled by the Federal Government--
the Monument was established for the purpose of preserving these 
objects for the public interest. More information about the Monument's 
establishment and regulated activities can be found in Presidential 
Proclamation 9496 (81 FR 65161, September 21, 2016).
    The Monument is composed of two units, located in the Atlantic 
Ocean approximately 130 miles (mi) (209 kilometers (km)) southeast of 
Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The Canyons Unit includes three underwater 
canyons--Oceanographer, Gilbert, and Lydonia--and covers approximately 
941 square mi (mi\2\) (2,437 square km (km\2\)). The Seamounts Unit 
includes four seamounts--Bear, Mytilus, Physalia, and Retriever--and 
encompasses 3,972 mi\2\ (10,287 km\2\). The waters and submerged lands 
within the Monument boundaries total approximately 4,913 mi\2\ (12,725 
km\2\).
    The Secretary of the Interior and Secretary of Commerce share 
management responsibilities for the Monument, as directed by 
Presidential Proclamations 9496 and 10287, under their applicable legal 
authorities. The Proclamations require the Secretaries to prepare a 
management plan within their respective authorities for the Monument 
and promulgate and implement regulations that address specific actions 
necessary for the proper care and management of the Monument. With this 
notice, the Departments are commencing development of the Monument 
Management Plan (MMP, plan). The Departments will work cooperatively 
under the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's (Service) lead in this 
process and intend to cooperatively coordinate in the development and 
timing of this planning process and implementation of the plan.

The Monument's Natural Resources

    The Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument 
harbors exceptional geological features, in an area where the Gulf 
Stream and the Deep Western Boundary Current meet, creating the ideal 
conditions that result in a nutrient-rich, biodiverse area in the 
ocean. This area of productivity draws in a diversity of ocean life and 
supplies these creatures with nursery, feeding, and migration habitats.
    The submarine canyons and seamounts create dynamic currents and 
eddies that enhance biological productivity and provide feeding and 
wintering grounds for seabirds; pelagic species, including whales, 
dolphins, and turtles; and highly migratory fish, such as tunas, 
billfish, and sharks. The warm Gulf Stream conditions support at least 
54 species of corals. The corals, together with other structure-forming 
fauna such as sponges and anemones, create a foundation for vibrant 
deep-sea ecosystems, providing food, spawning habitat, and shelter for 
an array of fish and invertebrate species. The abundant waters are a 
beacon for the Atlantic's seabirds, including Atlantic puffins 
(Fratercula arctica), razorbills (Alca torda), shearwaters, gannetts, 
and even Bermuda storm-petrels (Pterodroma cahow), which were once 
thought to be extinct. Endangered species such as the sperm whale 
(Physeter macrocephalus), Kemp's Ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys 
kempii), and a variety of others have been viewed within the Monument's 
boundaries. The ecological conditions found in the Monument sustain a 
diverse food web that is unique to this area along the Atlantic coast.

The Canyons Unit

    Oceanographer, Gilbert, and Lydonia Canyons are among the largest 
of the major submarine canyons that line the U.S. continental shelf. 
They extend approximately 22 to 30 mi in length (35 to 48 km), and 
range in depth from approximately 500 feet (ft) (152 meters (m)) at 
their heads to around 7,700 ft (2,345 m) where they intersect with the 
continental rise, making them deeper than the Grand Canyon. Active 
erosion and powerful ocean currents transport sediments and organic 
carbon through the canyons, resulting in habitats for sponges, corals, 
and other invertebrates that filter food from the water to flourish, 
and for larger species such as squid, octopus, skates, flounders, and 
crabs. Major oceanographic features, such as currents, temperature 
gradients, eddies, and fronts, occur on a large scale and influence the 
distribution patterns of such highly migratory oceanic species. These 
unique conditions support an area with some of the highest diversity of 
marine mammals along the East Coast of the United States.

The Seamounts Unit

    Bear, Physalia, Mytilus, and Retriever Seamounts are extinct 
underwater volcanoes, and the only seamounts in the U.S. Atlantic 
Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). They form the beginning of the New 
England Seamount chain, which stretches halfway across the western 
North Atlantic Ocean. Bear Seamount is approximately 100 million years 
old and the largest of the four; it rises approximately 8,200 ft (2,499 
m) from the seafloor to within 3,280 ft (1,000 m) of the sea surface. 
Its summit is over 12 mi (19 km) in diameter. The three smaller 
seamounts reach to within 6,500 ft (1,981 m) of the sea surface. All

[[Page 79903]]

four seamounts have steep and complex topography that interrupts 
passing currents; this action provides a constant supply of plankton 
and nutrients to the animals that inhabit the unit. It also causes 
upwelling of nutrient-rich waters toward the ocean surface. These 
seamounts support highly diverse ecological communities, with deep-sea 
corals that are hundreds to thousands of years old and a wide array of 
other bottom-dwelling marine organisms not found on the surrounding 
deep-sea floor. They provide shelter from predators, increased food, 
nurseries, and spawning areas. The New England Seamounts have many rare 
and endemic species, several of which are new to science and are not 
known to live anywhere else on Earth.

The Monument Management Plan Development Process

    The MMP's format will include elements similar to a National 
Wildlife Refuge System comprehensive conservation plan (CCP), and the 
planning process for those elements will be conducted in a manner 
similar to the CCP planning and public involvement process. The MMP 
will be updated every 15 years.
    We will conduct environmental reviews of various management 
alternatives and develop an environmental assessment (EA) in accordance 
with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 
4321 et seq.), as amended; NEPA regulations (40 CFR parts 1500-1508); 
other Federal laws and regulations; and our policies and procedures for 
compliance with those laws and regulations.
    The Service, as lead agency for NEPA purposes, will also designate 
and involve as cooperating agencies the Department of Commerce, through 
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the 
Department of Defense, and the Department of State.

Public Involvement

    The Service and NOAA will conduct the planning process in a manner 
that will provide participation opportunities for the public, Tribes, 
Federal and local government agencies, and other interested parties. At 
this time, we are seeking ideas and comments to help guide the 
management of the Monument. Potential topics may include, but are not 
limited to:

 Research
 Outreach and engagement
 Environmental education
 Conservation of the resource

    Because the Proclamations prohibit commercial fishing within the 
Monument (with the exception of red crab and lobster until September 
15, 2023), the MMP will not consider management alternatives that allow 
commercial fishing. Opportunities for additional public input will be 
announced throughout the planning process.

Next Steps

    The Service and NOAA will consider your comments during development 
of the Draft MMP/EA.

Public Availability of Comments

    Before including your address, phone number, or other personal 
identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your 
entire comment--including your personal identifying information--may be 
made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your 
comments to withhold your personal identifying information from public 
review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.

Kyla Hastie,
Acting Regional Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Hadley, 
Massachusetts.
Kelly Denit,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2022-28203 Filed 12-27-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P