[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 151 (Tuesday, August 8, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53473-53475]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-16551]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Notice of Availability of Final Management Plan and Final 
Environmental Assessment for Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary

AGENCY: Office of National Marine Sanctuaries (ONMS), National Ocean 
Service (NOS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 
Department of Commerce (DOC).

ACTION: Notice; notice of availability of a final management plan and 
final environmental assessment.

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SUMMARY: On February 13, 2020, NOAA initiated a review of the 
Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary (SBNMS or the sanctuary) 
management plan to evaluate substantive progress toward implementing 
the goals of the sanctuary and to make revisions to the management plan 
as necessary to fulfill the purposes and policies of the NMSA. NOAA 
anticipated that management plan changes would require preparation of 
environmental analysis under the National Environmental Policy Act 
(NEPA), and initiated public scoping meetings to gather information and 
other comments from individuals, organizations, tribes, and government 
agencies on the scope, types, and significance of issues related to the 
SBNMS management plan and the proper scope of environmental analysis 
for the management plan review. NOAA is providing notice of 
availability of a final management plan and a final environmental 
assessment (EA) for SBNMS.

DATES: The final management plan and final environmental assessment are 
now available.

ADDRESSES: To obtain a copy of the final management plan, final 
environmental assessment, and finding of no significant impact (FONSI), 
contact the Management Plan Review Coordinator at Stellwagen Bank 
National Marine Sanctuary, Alice Stratton, 175 Edward Foster Road, 
Scituate, MA 02066, 203-882-6515, [email protected]. Copies 
can also be downloaded from the Stellwagen Bank National Marine 
Sanctuary website at https://stellwagen.noaa.gov/management/.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alice Stratton, 203-882-6515, 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

[[Page 53474]]

I. Background

    SBNMS was designated in October 1992. It spans 842-square-miles 
(638-square-nautical-mile) at the mouth of Massachusetts Bay. The 
sanctuary boundary is somewhat rectangular, stretching from three miles 
southeast of Cape Ann to three miles north of Cape Cod. The sanctuary 
is about 25 miles east of Boston, and lies totally within Federal 
waters. It encompasses all of Stellwagen and Tillies Banks, and the 
southern portion of Jeffreys Ledge. SBNMS is administered by NOAA, 
within the U.S. Department of Commerce, and was designated to conserve, 
protect, and enhance the biodiversity, ecological integrity, and 
cultural legacy of marine resources for current and future generations. 
Sanctuary programs in education, conservation, science, and stewardship 
help protect SBNMS and its nationally-significant resources, while 
promoting public use and enjoyment through compatible human activities.
    In 2016, NOAA completed an internal assessment of progress toward 
implementation of the 2010 management plan. The assessment found that 
66% (69 of 104 activities) of the management plan's activities had been 
fully or partially completed or were still being implemented as ongoing 
functions, while 35% (36 of 104 activities) were not yet started or had 
been placed on hold. Results of the 2016 internal assessment were 
discussed at a public meeting of the sanctuary advisory council in 
October, 2016.

II. Management Plan Revisions

    On February 13, 2020, NOAA published a notice in the Federal 
Register, initiating a review of SBNMS management plan and providing a 
notice of intent to conduct scoping to prepare an environmental 
analysis under NEPA (85 FR 8213). Pursuant to the National Marine 
Sanctuaries Act (NMSA), the management plan review process provides an 
opportunity to evaluate substantive progress toward implementing the 
goals of the sanctuary, and to make revisions to the management plan as 
necessary to fulfill the purposes and policies of the NMSA. The scoping 
process yielded feedback that was largely aligned with the 2020 
condition report findings. Comments focused on NOAA's need to monitor 
and address potential emerging issues such as climate change and 
changes to water quality, to continue and expand protections for 
sanctuary resources, and to maintain core sanctuary research. Scoping 
comments also called for enhanced education and outreach efforts and 
increased capacity to administer sanctuary programs. NOAA incorporated 
the issues identified during the public scoping process into the draft 
management plan.
    On November 30, 2021, NOAA published a notice in the Federal 
Register, announcing the availability of a public comment period for 
the SBNMS Draft Management Plan and Environmental Assessment SBNMS 
management plan. NOAA held two virtual public comment meetings (January 
11, 2022 and January 12, 2022) to receive public input. During public 
comment, NOAA heard concerns from the environmental NGO community that 
the proposed changes in the sanctuary management plan would not 
adequately address declining sanctuary conditions. NOAA also heard 
concerns that the management plan should include more direct management 
actions, including regulations for fisheries management and reducing 
sound. In preparing the final Management Plan, NOAA evaluated and 
considered all public and agency comments and made several changes to 
the management plan in response to those comments.
    The revised management plan contains 15 Action Plans addressing 
priority issues under four primary goals: ensure a thriving sanctuary, 
increase support for the sanctuary, deepen our understanding of 
sanctuary resources, and ensure coordinated support for sanctuary 
infrastructure, staff, and field operations. The revised management 
plan supports continued protection of sanctuary resources through 
enforcement of existing sanctuary regulations, education and outreach 
strategies that promote ocean stewardship, and community engagement.
    The revised SBNMS management plan will result in changes to 
existing programs and policies to address contemporary issues and 
challenges, and to better protect and manage the sanctuary's resources 
and qualities. The management plan review process was composed of four 
major stages: (1) information collection and characterization; (2) 
preparation and release of a draft management plan and environmental 
document under NEPA; (3) public review and comment; and (4) preparation 
and release of a final management plan and environmental document. NOAA 
has also addressed other statutory and regulatory requirements, 
including those contained in the Endangered Species Act (ESA), Marine 
Mammal Protection Act, Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) provisions of the 
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-
Stevens Act), Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA), National Historic 
Preservation Act (NHPA), and tribal consultation responsibilities under 
Executive Order 13175.

A. Action Plans

    This draft management plan contains 15 action plans which address 
priority issues for SBNMS. These action plans fall under four primary 
goals: ensure a thriving sanctuary, increase support for SBNMS, deepen 
our understanding of sanctuary resources, and ensure coordinated 
support for sanctuary infrastructure, staff, and field operations. Each 
action plan is summarized below (refer to the draft for complete text).
    1. Marine Mammal Protection: The sanctuary serves as the primary 
habitat for 22 species of marine mammals. The goal of this plan is to 
expand our understanding of the vulnerability of marine mammals to 
anthropogenic activity and develop and implement mitigation activities.
    2. Seabird Research: Coastal development, predation by humans and 
other animals, removal of prey through fisheries activity, and marine 
environment pollution threaten the many seabirds in the sanctuary. The 
goal of this plan is to understand the abundance, distribution, habitat 
use, bycatch, contaminant load, and foraging ecology of seabirds, and 
how SBNMS relates to the wider Gulf of Maine and Atlantic ecosystems.
    3. Vessel Traffic: SBNMS sits at the mouth of Massachusetts Bay, 
which experiences commercial vessel traffic traveling to and from the 
growing Port of Boston. Sanctuary staff work to mitigate the impacts of 
the large volume of vessel traffic through technology, reporting, and 
warnings. The goal of this plan is to monitor vessel traffic and 
mitigate negative effects on sanctuary resources.
    4. Maritime Heritage and Cultural Landscapes: The sanctuary serves 
as an underwater museum to maritime history with numerous shipwrecks on 
the seafloor. The sanctuary's efforts in maritime cultural landscapes 
help us understand the relationships between the people and the sea in 
the past and present through research and management. The goal of this 
plan is to understand the broader context of past and present uses of 
the sanctuary while assessing and protecting maritime heritage 
resources in the sanctuary.
    5. Compatible Uses: Evolving commercial and recreational uses of 
the sanctuary impact key elements of the sanctuary's landscape. The 
goal of this plan is to enhance transparency

[[Page 53475]]

regarding how current and emerging activities are assessed for 
compatibility while managing sanctuary resources.
    6. Climate Change: The goal of this plan is to evaluate climate 
change impacts on sanctuary resources and incorporate changing 
conditions in management decisions. Various strategies and efforts for 
enhanced understanding of climate impacts and synergies will inform 
decisions on a wide range of sanctuary management, including resource 
protection, education, and operations.
    7. Education and Outreach: A variety of education and outreach 
programs, tools, and techniques are employed to bring sanctuary 
information and research to the widest audiences. The goal of this plan 
is to increase public awareness and understanding of the sanctuary and 
encourage responsible use and stewardship of its resources.
    8. Interagency/Intergovernmental Coordination: NOAA relies on 
partnerships with other Federal and State agencies as well as 
collaborations with non-profit, community, research/academic, and many 
others, for effective management. The goal of this plan is to promote 
improved management through coordinated partnering with local, State, 
regional, Tribal, and Federal partners.
    9. Sanctuary Advisory Council: The Sanctuary Advisory Council 
addresses specific management issues and public involvement by 
developing sound advice for the sanctuary. The goal of this plan is to 
facilitate an active and engaged community of Sanctuary Advisory 
Council members to advise the superintendent in carrying out the 
sanctuary's mission.
    10. Research and Monitoring: The sanctuary conducts a robust 
science program to provide vital information to support management 
needs. The goal of this plan is to support, promote, and coordinate 
scientific research, characterization, and long-term monitoring to 
enhance the understanding of the sanctuary environment and processes, 
and improve management decision-making for optimal resource management 
and protection.
    11. Soundscape: The sanctuary has an extensive acoustics research 
program that provides opportunities for partnership and leadership in 
the development of regional, national, and international policies for 
managing noise impacts on marine life. The goal of this plan is to 
maintain the role of SBNMS as a sentinel site for passive acoustic 
monitoring in the Gulf of Maine, and as a testbed for applying these 
data to both long-term monitoring of ecosystems and the design of 
methods to reduce impacts from human activities.
    12. Water Quality Monitoring: The exceptional diversity of marine 
life in the sanctuary depends on good water quality. This action plan 
addresses the need to collaborate on water quality monitoring and 
research in the sanctuary to determine whether it can continue to 
maintain healthy resources.
    13. Habitat: Habitat quality in the sanctuary over the last decade 
has shown changes from both direct interactions, like bottom-contact 
fishing, and indirect interactions, such as trophic and competitive 
shifts in population. The goal of this plan is to develop an improved 
understanding of the condition of major habitat types within the 
sanctuary to understand their productivity and biodiversity.
    14. Ecosystem Services: Sanctuary resources support nearby coastal 
communities in a variety of ways, and it is important to better 
understand and quantify the economic and intrinsic values of the 
sanctuary to natural and human systems. The goal of this plan is to 
explore the dynamic connections between sanctuary resources and 
ecosystem services to better inform management decisions.
    15. Administration and Infrastructure Capacity: This action plan 
addresses the necessary operational and administrative activities 
required for implementing an effective program, including staffing, 
infrastructure needs, and operational improvements.

B. Regulatory and Boundary Changes

    The management plan review process did not identify the need for 
any regulatory or boundary changes at this time.

C. National Environmental Policy Act Compliance

    In accordance with NEPA, on February 13, 2020, NOAA published a 
notice of intent to prepare an environmental analysis in order to 
identify and analyze potential impacts associated with adopting and 
implementing a revised management plan and field activities for SBNMS 
(85 FR 8213). NOAA's analysis of the draft management plan indicated no 
significant impacts are expected. Accordingly, NOAA determined the 
preparation of an EIS would not be necessary, and instead prepared a 
draft EA, which was made available for public review on November 30, 
2021 (86 FR 67923).
    For this EA, NOAA evaluated the potential impacts on the human 
environment of the proposed action and alternatives in compliance with 
NEPA, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), and its implementing 
regulations (40 CFR parts 1500 through 1508). NOAA analyzed two 
alternatives: the no action alternative and the preferred alternative. 
The no action alternative would be to continue operating under the 
existing management plan, without updating it to reflect current 
resource status or protection priorities. The preferred alternative is 
adopting and implementing a revised management plan and field 
activities, which would update strategies to better address resource 
protection and management needs. NOAA prepared the final EA and finding 
of no significant impact (FONSI) for this action using the 1978 Council 
on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations because this environmental 
review began before September 14, 2020, which was the effective date of 
the amendments to the CEQ regulations implementing NEPA (85 FR 43304, 
July 16, 2020).
    In preparing the final EA, NOAA evaluated and considered all public 
and agency comments received on the draft management plan and draft EA, 
and made changes to the management plan and EA as appropriate. NOAA 
determined that these changes to the management plan did not result in 
any changes to the determinations of the draft EA with regard to the 
significance of the impacts. NOAA prepared a FONSI that concluded that 
implementing the preferred alternative (i.e., adopt and implement a new 
management plan and field activities) would not have a significant 
impact on the quality of the human environment. Copies of the final EA 
and FONSI are available at the website listed in the ADDRESSES section 
of this notice of availability.

III. Public Comments

    NOAA received 56 comments on the Draft Management Plan/
Environmental Assessment during the public comment period. These are 
summarized into 61 topics. NOAA's summary of these comments and 
relevant responses are provided in Appendix E of the Final Management 
Plan.
    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.

John Armor,
Director, Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, National Ocean 
Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
[FR Doc. 2023-16551 Filed 8-7-23; 8:45 am]
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