[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 129 (Friday, July 5, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55658-55659]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-14705]


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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 August 5, 2024. 
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 or [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Andrew Titmus, ACA Permit Officer, at 
the above address, 703-292-4479.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The National Science Foundation, as directed 
by the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541, 45 CFR 671), 
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 as requiring special protection. 
The regulations establish such a permit system to designate Antarctic 
Specially Protected Areas.

Application Details

Permit Application: 2025-004

    1. Applicant: Heather Liwanag, California Polytechnic State 
University, Department of Biological Sciences, 1 Grand Avenue, San Luis 
Obispo, CA 93407-0401.

    Activity for Which Permit is Requested: Import into USA. The 
applicant seeks an Antarctic Conservation Act permit to import samples 
comprising oral swabs, rectal swabs, and serum from 36 adult Weddell 
seals (Leptonychotes weddellii). The samples were collected in 2019 and 
2020 by the New Zealand Antarctic program as part of a collaborative 
disease investigation study. The samples complement additional samples 
collected by the applicant in 2017 and 2019 under ACA permit 2018-
013M#1. The previously collected samples have been stored at McMurdo 
Station, Antarctica since collection. The samples will assist in 
investigating the cause of lesions observed in seals during prior 
fieldwork.
    Location: None.
    Dates of Permitted Activities: September 01, 2024-August 31, 2025.

Permit Application: 2025-005

    2. Applicant: Zheng Wang, Center for Biomolecular Science and 
Engineering, US Naval Research Laboratory, 4555 Overlook Ave. SW, 
Washington, DC 20375.

    Activity for Which Permit is Requested: Introduce Non-Indigenous 
Species into Antarctica, Import into USA, Export from USA. The 
applicant seeks an Antarctic Conservation Act permit to introduce 
desiccated spores of four Aspergillus niger strains in Antarctica in 
order to study the biological effects of cosmic ionizing radiation. The 
desiccated spores are incapable of growing or dispersing and will be 
plated onto quartz coupons and glued into a box, which would be 
assembled in the USA and shipped to McMurdo Station, Antarctica. The 
samples will be loaded onto a payload of a NASA Long Duration Balloon 
to be flown over the Antarctic continent at an altitude of 115,000-
160,000 ft for approximately 8-15 days. Anticipated flight window would 
be in December, 2024. Upon termination of the flight, the payload would 
be recovered from the field and transported back to McMurdo Station. 
The box containing the desiccated spores would then be shipped back to 
the USA for analysis.
    Location: McMurdo Station, Antarctica.

[[Page 55659]]

    Dates of Permitted Activities: October 15, 2024-April 1, 2025.

Permit Application: 2025-006

    3. Applicant: Paul Ponganis, CMBB, Scripps Institution of 
Oceanography, UCSD, La Jolla, CA 92093-0204.

    Activity for Which Permit is Requested: Take, Harmful Interference, 
Enter Antarctic Specially Protected Area, Import into USA. The 
applicant requests an Antarctic Conservation Act permit authorizing 
take and harmful interference associated with ongoing research 
examining the oxygen transport systems of emperor penguins (Aptenodytes 
forsteri) in Antarctica. The applicant proposes capturing up to 35 non-
breeding or sub-adult penguins from the McMurdo Sound region or, if 
necessary, in Cape Washington (ASPA 173). The applicant will access 
ASPA 173 by fixed-wing aircraft in accordance with the ASPA management 
plan. Throughout the course of the physiology study, penguins will be 
kept captive on the sea ice, but will be allowed to dive and forage at 
will. Research activities involve the administration of general 
anesthesia and the attachment of instrumentation to measure oxygen 
levels, heart rate/stroke rate, and dive depth/activity. In some 
penguins, blood samples may be collected during dives. RNA will be 
isolated from up to 20 samples and imported into the USA. At the end of 
each dive study, equipment will be removed, and the penguins will be 
released at the McMurdo Sea ice edge, where they will be able to rejoin 
nearby colonies.
    Location: McMurdo Sound, ASPA 173-Cape Washington and Silverfish 
Bay.
    Dates of Permitted Activities: October 1, 2024-December 20, 2024.

Kimiko S. Bowens-Knox,
Program Analyst, Office of Polar Programs.
[FR Doc. 2024-14705 Filed 7-3-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7555-01-P