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2009 Commission letters are provided as PDF files below. Download times of large PDFs will vary based on connection speed. Additional information on PDFs.
Please note that Agency responses can be found in Appendix A of the Commission’s 2009 Annual Report.
Permit requests (9) from Whitlow Au, Ph.D.; Jim Darling, Ph.D.; Joseph Mobley, Jr.; Adam Pack, Ph.D.; Fred A. Sharpe, Ph.D., Janice Straley; Briana Witteveen, Ph.D., Ann Zoidis, and Rachel Cartwright, Ph.D., for authorization to take by harassment North Pacific humpback whales and various other species of cetaceans for scientific research
National Marine Fisheries Service
See notation at top of page.
Request from Point Reyes Bird Observatory, Conservation Science, for authorization to take small numbers of California sea lions, Pacific harbor seals, northern elephant seals, and Steller sea lions by Level B harassment
National Marine Fisheries Service
See notation at top of page.
Proposal to designate critical habitat for the polar bear
Department of the Interior
See notation at top of page.
Permit request from David E. Clapham, M.D., Ph.D., for authorization to import from Germany biological samples from polar bears collected in Canada
Fish and Wildlife Service
See notation at top of page.
Permit request from Robert Pilley for authorization to take by Level B harassment up to 112 Atlantic bottlenose dolphins annually over a two-year period
National Marine Fisheries Service
See notation at top of page.
Proposed rule and 12-month finding regarding a petition to list the spotted seal under the Endangered Species Act
National Marine Fisheries Service
See notation at top of page.
Permit request from Natalija Lace, University of Southern Mississippi to take by harassment up to seven manatees being maintained for rehabilitation at Lowry Park Zoo, Tampa, Florida
Fish and Wildlife Service
See notation at top of page.
Permit request from Southeast Fisheries Science for authorization to take by Level B harassment and skin and blubber biopsy sampling various numbers of all cetacean species that may occur in study areas in the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean Sea, including blue whales, fin whales, sei whales, humpback whales, sperm whales, and North Atlantic right whales, and to import into the United States tissue samples collected in international waters and in other countries
National Marine Fisheries Service
See notation at top of page.
Planned acquisition by the Department of the Navy of two non-releasable, rehabilitated California sea lions from the Marine Mammal Care Center and the Marine Mammal Center
National Marine Fisheries Service
See notation at top of page.
Permit request from Tom S. Smith, Brigham Young University, for authorization to take by Level B harassment up to 18 polar bears annually over a five-year period
Fish and Wildlife Service
See notation at top of page.
Request from the Sonoma County Water Agency for authorization to take small numbers of Pacific harbor seals, California sea lions, and northern elephant seals by harassment
National Marine Fisheries Service
See notation at top of page.
Request from Daniel P. Costa, Ph.D., for amendment of permit authorizing research on Weddell seals in the Ross Sea, Antarctica
National Marine Fisheries Service
See notation at top of page.
Permit request from Paul Ponganis, Ph.D., for authorization to take by harassment 10 adult female California sea lions annually to investigate the role of blood oxygen store depletion in the dive behavior and foraging ecology
National Marine Fisheries Service
See notation at top of page.
Permit request from Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies for authorization to take by harassment North Atlantic right whales during aerial and vessel surveys and suction-cup tagging activities
National Marine Fisheries Service
See notation at top of page.
Permit request from Louis L. Jacobs, Southern Methodist University, for authorization to collect and import the remains of mummified pinnipeds for analysis and archiving at the university’s Shuler Museum of Paleontology
National Science Foundation
See notation at top of page.
Proposed regulations to govern the taking of marine mammals during Navy exercises within the Mariana Islands Range Complex
National Marine Fisheries Service
See notation at top of page.
Request from Eglin Air Force Base for renewal of its incidental harassment authorization for activities within the Eglin Gulf Test and Training Range
National Marine Fisheries Service
See notation at top of page.
Petition to list the Pacific walrus subspecies as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
See notation at top of page.
Request from Oregon Coast Aquarium for authorization to import up to eight harbor seals from Canada
National Marine Fisheries Service
See notation at top of page.
Request from George Watters for modification of an existing permit to expand research activities on pinnipeds
National Science Foundation
See notation at top of page.
Request from Daniel P. Costa, Ph.D., for authorization under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 to conduct research on Weddell seals
National Science Foundation
See notation at top of page.
Request from the National Marine Mammal Laboratory for authorization to conduct research on marine mammals
National Marine Fisheries Service
See notation at top of page.
Request from Alaska Department of Fish and Game for amendment of an existing permit to conduct research on harbor, spotted, ringed, bearded, and ribbon seals
National Marine Fisheries Service
See notation at top of page.
Petition to revise designated critical habitat for the Florida manatee
U.S. Fish and Wildlife
See notation at top of page.
Request from Shane Moore the extension of an existing permit to take killer whales, gray whales, and minke whales during close approach for filming
National Marine Fisheries Service
See notation at top of page.
Request from St. George Reef Lighthouse Preservation Society for authorization to take seals and sea lions incidental to restoration and maintenance of the light station
National Marine Fisheries Service
See notation at top of page.
Permit request from Scott Kraus, Ph.D., for authorization to take by harassment North Atlantic right whales during aerial and vessel surveys, and biopsy sampling
National Marine Fisheries Service
See notation at top of page.
Permit request from Colleen Reichmuth, Ph.D., for authorization to continue perceptual and cognitive evaluations of pinnipeds at Long Marine Laboratory, Santa Cruz, CA
National Marine Fisheries Service
See notation at top of page.
Permit request from NMFS Office of Science and Technology for authorization to take by harassment beaked whales and other odontocetes while studying what characteristics of sound cause behavioral responses in these deep-diving cetaceans
National Marine Fisheries Service
See notation at top of page.
Permit request from Emma Napper, Ph.D., for authorization to take by Level B harassment southern sea otters during filming of mother-pup interactions in Monterey Harbor, CA
Fish and Wildlife Service
See notation at top of page.
Request for permit amendment from the U.S. Geological Survey, Alaska Science Center, to increase from 500 to 1,500 yearly the number of Pacific walruses to be harassed during research.
Fish and Wildlife Service
See notation at top of page.
Interim Report of the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force
Council on Environmental Quality
See notation at top of page.
Permit modification request from Robert Garrott, Ph.D., for authorization to temporarily attach temperature-logging tags on Weddell seal pups
National Science Foundation
See notation at top of page.
Notice of intent to prepare an environmental assessment for lease sale 215 in the Gulf of Mexico
Minerals Management Service
See notation at top of page.
Permit request from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game for authorization to satellite-tag and biopsy-sample walruses off western Alaska
Fish and Wildlife Service
See notation at top of page.
Request from the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for authorization to take Atlantic bottlenose dolphins incidental to blasting and dredging at Blount Island, Duval County, FL
National Marine Fisheries Service
See notation at top of page.
Request for permit amendment from Charles Grossman, Ph.D., for authorization to acquire larynxes from necropsied Florida manatees to investigate mechanics of manatee vocalizations
Fish and Wildlife Service
See notation at top of page.
Permit request from University of Alaska Museum for authorization collect, receive, import, and export unspecified numbers of cetacean and pinniped parts
National Marine Fisheries Service
See notation at top of page.
Draft 2009 stock assessment reports for marine mammals
National Marine Fisheries Service
See notation at top of page.
Proposed resolutions, decisions, and agenda items for the 15th Conference of Parties, Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)
Fish and Wildlife Service
See notation at top of page.
Draft 2009 stock assessment reports for the southern Beaufort Sea and Chukchi/Bering Seas stocks of polar bears
Fish and Wildlife Service
See notation at top of page.
Draft proposed 5-year Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas leasing program and notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement
Minerals Management Service
See notation at top of page.
Draft 2009 stock assessment report for the Pacific walrus
Fish and Wildlife Service
See notation at top of page.
Continuation of reporting requirements relative to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act
Department of Commerce
See notation at top of page.
Safety and Environmental Management Systems for Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Operations
Minerals Management Service
See notation at top of page.
Final environmental impact statement addressing the Port Dolphin LLC liquefied natural gas deepwater port
U.S. Coast Guard
See notation at top of page.
Draft 2009 stock assessment reports for the Florida and Puerto Rico stocks of West Indian manatees
Fish and Wildlife Service
See notation at top of page.
Harbor seals and aquaculture operations in Drake’s Estero, Point Reyes National Seashore
Alliance for Local Sustainable Agriculture
See notation at top of page.
Permit application from the Southwest Fisheries Science Center
National Marine Fisheries Service
See notation at top of page.
Draft Guidance for Monitoring the Recovery of Pacific Northwest Salmon and Steelhead Listed under the Federal Endangered Species Act
National Marine Fisheries Service
See notation at top of page.
Request from Naval Base Ventura County Point Mugu, CA, for authorization to take by harassment Pacific harbor seals incidental to a boom exercise
National Marine Fisheries Service
See notation at top of page.
Proposed rule to modify regulations implementing the Harbor Porpoise Take Reduction Plan
National Marine Fisheries Service
See notation at top of page.
Proposed regulations to authorize the U.S. Navy to take by Level B harassment small numbers of 26 species of marine mammals incidental to military readiness training operations in the Northwest Training Range Complex
National Marine Fisheries Service
See notation at top of page.
Proposed regulations to authorize the U.S. Navy to take by Level A and B harassment small numbers of eight species of marine mammals incidental to military readiness training operations in the Gulf of Mexico Range Complex
National Marine Fisheries Service
See notation at top of page.
Proposed rulemaking regarding the List of Fisheries for 2010
National Marine Fisheries Service
See notation at top of page.
Draft Natural Resources Science Plan
Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument
See notation at top of page.
Request from United Launch Alliance for renewal of an authorization to take small numbers of pinnipeds incidental to activities related to the Delta IV/Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle, South Vandenberg AFB
National Marine Fisheries Service
See notation at top of page.
Request from Robert A. Garrott, Ph.D., for a permit modification
National Science Foundation
See notation at top of page.
Proposed aerial surveys of harbor seals in Lake Iliamna, Alaska
National Marine Fisheries Service
See notation at top of page.
Proposed regulations to authorize the U.S. Navy to take small numbers of five species of marine mammals by Level B harassment incidental to military readiness training operations in the Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Keyport Range Complex
National Marine Fisheries Service
See notation at top of page.
Proposed rule regarding the Hawaii-based shallow-set longline fishery
National Marine Fisheries Service
See notation at top of page.
Request from the Southwest Fisheries Science Center for amendment of an existing permit
National Marine Fisheries Service
See notation at top of page.
Permit request from Russell Fielding to import biological specimens from Risso’s spinner, and spotted dolphins and short-finned pilot whales from St. Vincent and the Grenadines
National Marine Fisheries Service
See notation at top of page.
Developing an interagency ocean policy
Council on Environmental Quality
See notation at top of page.
Planned update of “Charting the Course for Ocean Science in the United States for the Next Decade”
Joint Subcommittee on Ocean Science and Technology
See notation at top of page.
Requests from multiple applicants for permits to conduct research on threatened and endangered Steller sea lions and depleted northern fur seals
National Marine Fisheries Service
See notation at top of page.
Continuation of reporting requirements relative to federally controlled fisheries
Department of Commerce
See notation at top of page.
Request from Shell Offshore, Inc., and Shell Gulf of Mexico, Inc., for authorization to take by harassment marine mammals incidental to seismic surveys in the Chukchi Sea
National Marine Fisheries Service
See notation at top of page.
Intent to conduct a review of the effects of oyster farming in Drake’s Estero on harbor seals
ational Parks Conservation Association/ Sierra Club
See notation at top of page.
Request from University of Illinois, Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, to import biological samples from manatees, dugongs, sea otters, marine otters, walruses, and polar bears
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
See notation at top of page.
Request from Scripps Institution of Oceanography to take marine mammals by harassment incidental to ocean-bottom seismic surveys in the Pacific Ocean
National Marine Fisheries Service
See notation at top of page.
Request from Gregory Bossart, Ph.D., for a permit to conduct scientific research on bottlenose dolphins in the Indian River Lagoon, Florida
National Marine Fisheries Service
See notation at top of page.
Request from the National Marine Mammal Laboratory for a permit to take polar bears and walruses by harassment incidental to conducting aerial surveys in the Chukchi and Bering Seas
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
See notation at top of page.
Continuation of reporting requirements relative to the North Pacific Groundfish Observer Program
Department of Commerce
See notation at top of page.
Request from Neptune LNG, LLC, for authorization to take by harassment seals, toothed whales, and baleen whales incidental to operation of a liquefied natural gas port in Massachusetts Bay
National Marine Fisheries Service
See notation at top of page.
Request from Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory for authorization to take by harassment small numbers of marine mammals incidental to a marine seismic survey in the northeast Pacific Ocean
National Marine Fisheries Service
See notation at top of page.
Request from the U.S. Geological Survey, Alaska Science Center, for amendment of a permit to conduct research on Pacific walruses
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
See notation at top of page.
Request from Stacy Kim under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 to launch a remotely operated vehicle under the Ross Ice Shelf, White Island, Antarctica
National Science Foundation
See notation at top of page.
Proposal to issue regulations to authorize the U.S. Navy to take marine mammals incidental to activities at the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Panama City, Florida
National Marine Fisheries Service
See notation at top of page.
Planned postponement of the 2009 dolphin and ecosystem assessment research cruises in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean
National Marine Fisheries Service
See notation at top of page.
Request from Whitlow W. L. Au, Ph.D., for amendment of a permit to tag cetaceans and conduct acoustic playback studies on the effects of noise in cetacean behavior in waters off Hawaii
National Marine Fisheries Service
See notation at top of page.
Request from Ocean World to import three captive-born female California sea lions from Germany for public display
National Marine Fisheries Service
See notation at top of page.
Request from the U.S. Navy for authorization to take marine mammals incidental to military readiness training operations in the Gulf of Mexico Range Complex
National Marine Fisheries Service
See notation at top of page.
Continuation of reporting requirements relative to the incidental take of marine mammals in commercial fisheries
Department of Commerce
See notation at top of page.
Continuation of reporting requirements relative to issuance of permits to take marine mammals
Department of Commerce
See notation at top of page.
Five-year review of the status of the southern sea otter under the Endangered Species Act
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
See notation at top of page.
Proposed rule to authorize the Port of Anchorage to harass small numbers of marine mammals incidental to a five-year marine terminal redevelopment project
National Marine Fisheries Service
See notation at top of page.
Request from the Mirage Casino-Hotel in Las Vegas, NV, to import two adult male captive-born bottlenose dolphins from Bermuda
National Marine Fisheries Service
See notation at top of page.
Request from the U.S. Geological Survey, Alaska Science Center, for amendment of a permit for research on polar bears
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
See notation at top of page.
Proposed rule regarding illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing activities and bycatch of protected living marine resources
National Marine Fisheries Service
See notation at top of page.
quest from the Northeast Fisheries Science Center for amendment of a permit authorizing harassment of harbor seals and gray seals incidental to collection of scats and harbor seal pup carcasses
National Marine Fisheries Service
See notation at top of page.
Advance notice of proposed rulemaking on designation of critical habitat for the endangered Cook Inlet stock of beluga whales
National Marine Fisheries Service
See notation at top of page.
Request from Peter Tyack, Ph.D., for a scientific research permit to harass various species of beaked whales and large delphinids
National Marine Fisheries Service
See notation at top of page.
Request from the U.S. Air Force, 30th Space Wing, to harass Pacific harbor seals incidental to proposed scientific research at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California
National Marine Fisheries Service
See notation at top of page.
Request from the National Marine Mammal Laboratory for amendment of a permit to take marine mammals by harassment incidental to scientific research
National Marine Fisheries Service
See notation at top of page.
roposed regulations to authorize the Naval Air Weapons Station to take three species of marine mammals by Level B harassment incidental to launch activities near San Nicolas Island, California
National Marine Fisheries Service
See notation at top of page.
Request for reconsideration of the Service’s denial of requests to import polar bear trophies from Canada under an enhancement permit authorization
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
See notation at top of page.
Request from the Navy for promulgation of regulations to authorize the incidental take of marine mammals relative to military readiness training operations in the Marina Islands Range Complex
National Marine Fisheries Service
See notation at top of page.
Request from the Navy for promulgation of regulations to authorize the incidental take of marine mammals relative to military readiness training operations in the Cherry Point Range Complex
National Marine Fisheries Service
See notation at top of page.
Request from the Alaska Museum of Natural History for a public display permit for a sea otter skeleton
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
See notation at top of page.
Request from Cindy Lee Van Dover for modification of a permit to export vertebrae from a North Atlantic right whale to Antarctica
National Science Foundation
See notation at top of page.
Request from the Navy for promulgation of regulations to authorize the incidental take of marine mammals relative to military readiness training operations in the Northwest Training Range Complex
National Marine Fisheries Service
See notation at top of page.
Urging commitment of funds to support efforts to conserve and recover the vaquita in the Gulf of California
Department of State
See notation at top of page.
Request from Karen Terio, D.V.M., Ph.D., for a scientific research permit to import samples from up to 200 cetaceans and pinnipeds from locations outside the United States
National Marine Fisheries Service
See notation at top of page.
Regarding the deaths of three sea otters under a permit issued to the U.S. Geological Survey
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
See notation at top of page.
Request for an incidental harassment authorization from Northeast Gateway Energy Bridge and Algonquin Gas Transmission relative to operating a liquid natural gas port facility and associated pipeline
National Marine Fisheries Service
See notation at top of page.
Request from the Southwest Fisheries Science Center for amendment of permit authorizing harassment of short-beaked and long-beaked common dolphins during vessel and aerial surveys and by bio-sampling
National Marine Fisheries Service
See notation at top of page.
Draft environmental impact statement on the Beaufort Sea and Chukchi Sea Planning Areas Oil and Gas Lease Sales
Minerals Management Service
See notation at top of page.
Draft environmental impact statement on proposed naval activities in the Mariana Islands Range Complex
U.S. Navy
See notation at top of page.
Request from the National Marine Mammal Laboratory for amendment of a permit and a request from LGL Alaska Research Associates for a scientific research permit for work related to Cook Inlet beluga whales
National Marine Fisheries Service
See notation at top of page.
Request from Ann Zoidis for amendment of a scientific research permit to authorize the taking by harassment of up to 100 minke whales annually
National Marine Fisheries Service
See notation at top of page.
Request from University of Florida, College of Veterinary Medicine, for a scientific research permit to obtain or receive samples from up to 250 manatees annually
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
See notation at top of page.
Request from Niladri Basu, Ph.D., for a scientific research permit to obtain and import tissue samples from polar bears taken by indigenous hunters in Canada, Greenland, Norway and Russia
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
See notation at top of page.
Request from Niladri Basu, Ph.D., for a scientific research permit to obtain and import marine mammal tissue samples from Denmark
National Marine Fisheries Service
See notation at top of page.
Proposed critical habitat for the southwest Alaska distinct population segment of northern sea otters
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
See notation at top of page.
Draft environmental impact statement/overseas environmental impact statement regarding training activities at the Northwest Training Range Complex
Naval Facilities Engineering Command
See notation at top of page.
Draft environmental impact statement/overseas environmental impact statement regarding training activities at the Navy’s Gulf of Mexico Range Complex
Naval Facilities Engineering Command
See notation at top of page.
Request from Charles Grossman, Ph.D., for renewal of a scientific research permit for work on manatees
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
See notation at top of page.
Request from Ross D.E. MacPhee, Ph.D., to modify a permit issued under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 to allow collection of marine mammal bones and teeth
National Science Foundation
See notation at top of page.
Request from Robert Pitman, to modify a permit issued under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 to allow collection of unidentified prey items
National Science Foundation
See notation at top of page.
Request from Mark Baumgartner, Ph.D., for amendment of a scientific research permit to authorize tagging of several species of large whales in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Arctic Oceans
National Marine Fisheries Service
See notation at top of page.
Request from SeaWorld, Inc., for extension and amendment of permit authorizing permanent maintenance of a non-releasable, rehabilitated Guadalupe fur seal
National Marine Fisheries Service
See notation at top of page.
Request for scientific research permit, James Hain, Ph.D., for studies involving large whales, including North Atlantic right whales
National Marine Fisheries Service
See notation at top of page.
Petition from Center for Biological Diversity for a ban on importing swordfish and swordfish products from certain countries under section 101(a)(2) of the Marine Mammal Protection Act
National Marine Fisheries Service
See notation at top of page.
Proposed “Policy and Guidance for Implementation of the Steller Sea Lion and Northern Fur Seal Research Permits and Grants Program”
National Marine Fisheries Service
See notation at top of page.
Request for an incidental harassment authorization from Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory relative to marine seismic surveys in the South and East China Seas and the Philippines
National Marine Fisheries Service
See notation at top of page.
Request for an incidental harassment authorization from CGGVeritas relative to a geophysical and seismic survey in the U.S. Beaufort Sea
National Marine Fisheries Service
See notation at top of page.
Request for an incidental harassment authorization from the Port of Anchorage relative to Phase II of a five-year marine terminal redevelopment project
National Marine Fisheries Service
See notation at top of page.
Request for an incidental harassment authorization from the U.S. Navy relative to proposed training activities in the Undersea Warfare Training Range off the U.S. East Coast
National Marine Fisheries Service
See notation at top of page.
Proposed regulations to authorize the U.S. Navy to take six cetacean species incidental to training activities in the Jacksonville (FL) Range Complex
National Marine Fisheries Service
See notation at top of page.
Proposed amendment to Animal Welfare Act regulations to add a new section requiring contingency planning and training at research facilities and by dealers, exhibitors, intermediate handlers, and carriers
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
See notation at top of page.
Proposed regulations to authorize the U.S. Navy to take marine mammals incidental to training activities in the Virginia Cape study area
National Marine Fisheries Service
See notation at top of page.
Request from the U.S. Geological Survey to export frozen tissue samples from northern sea otters found dead or dying along the coasts of Washington and Alaska
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
See notation at top of page.
Proposed regulations pertaining to the activities of the 30th Space Wing, U.S. Air Force, incidental to activities at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California
National Marine Fisheries Service
See notation at top of page.