[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 247 (Wednesday, December 27, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Page 89385]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-28505]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XD605]


Notice of Availability of Draft Environmental Assessment on the 
Effects of Permitting Translocation of Sturgeon for Scientific Research 
and Enhancement Under the of the Endangered Species Act

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

ACTION: Notice of availability of a draft environmental assessment; 
request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NOAA has prepared a draft programmatic environmental 
assessment (PEA) under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 
(NEPA) analyzing the environmental impacts of the NMFS, Office of 
Protected Resources' proposal to authorize directed take under the 
sturgeon Endangered Species Act (ESA) permitting program for the 
translocation of shortnose (Acipenser brevirostrum) and Atlantic (A. 
oxyrinchus oxyrinchus) sturgeon needed to achieve recovery objectives. 
We are making the draft PEA available to the public for review and 
comment.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before January 26, 
2024.

ADDRESSES: The draft PEA may be downloaded or viewed at: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/draft-environmental-assessment-permitting-translocation-sturgeon-scientific-research-and. Please 
submit public comments via email to [email protected] with the 
subject line ``Public Comment on Draft PEA for Permitting Sturgeon 
Translocation''. No business proprietary information, copyrighted 
information, or personally identifiable information should be submitted 
in response to this request. Please be aware that comments submitted 
may be posted on a Federal website or otherwise released publicly. 
Clearly indicate which section, page number, and line number, if 
applicable, submitted comments pertain to. All comments must be 
provided in English. Please note that the U.S. Government will not pay 
for response preparation, or for the use of any information contained 
in the response.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Erin Markin, Ph.D., 
[email protected], (301) 427-8416; Malcolm Mohead, 
[email protected], (301) 427-8427.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This draft PEA serves as a framework to 
analyze the potential impacts on the natural and human environments for 
the authorization of directed take of sturgeon by translocation, in 
scientific research or enhancement permits under section 10(a)(1)(A) of 
the ESA, to achieve recovery objectives. For the purposes of the 
sturgeon permitting program, translocation is the intentional capture, 
holding, handling, transport, and release of individuals within a river 
system (e.g., translocation of fish across a dam or fish passage) or 
between river systems within the U.S. historical range of Atlantic and 
shortnose sturgeon (i.e., Maine to Florida). NMFS proposes to authorize 
directed take for the translocation of ESA-listed Atlantic and 
shortnose sturgeon as a research or enhancement activity to support 
sturgeon conservation management and recovery objectives. NMFS proposes 
to authorize translocation concurrent with additional research or 
enhancement activities, if the research or enhancement activity's 
objectives are (1) stated as a term and condition to implement 
reasonable and prudent measures of an active biological opinion, (2) an 
identified objective in a NMFS recovery outline or recovery plan for 
the species, or (3) determined necessary by NMFS Regional Offices and 
the NMFS Office of Protected Resources (OPR) to recover the species. 
Programmatic NEPA reviews add value and efficiency to the decision 
making process when they inform the scope of decisions and subsequent 
tiered NEPA reviews. Therefore, NMFS decided that completing a PEA for 
the proposed action was appropriate.
    This document has been prepared in compliance with NEPA (42 U.S.C. 
4321, et seq.), the 2020 Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) 
Regulations (40 CFR 1500-1508) as modified by the Phase 1 2022 
revisions, and NOAA policy and procedures (NOAA Administrative Order 
216-6A (NAO 216-6A and its Companion Manual).

    Dated: December 21, 2023.
Amy Sloan,
Acting Chief, Permits and Conservation Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-28505 Filed 12-26-23; 8:45 am]
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