National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration February 17, 2009 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The New England Fishery Management Council (Council) is scheduling a public meeting of its Research Steering Committee (RSC), in March, 2009, to consider actions affecting New England fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Recommendations from this group will be brought to the full Council for formal consideration and action, if appropriate.

NMFS announces final 2009 and 2010 harvest specifications and prohibited species catch allowances for the groundfish fishery of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI). This action is necessary to establish harvest limits for groundfish during the 2009 and 2010 fishing years and to accomplish the goals and objectives of the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (FMP). The intended effect of this action is to conserve and manage the groundfish resources in the BSAI in accordance with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.

The FWS and NMFS (collectively, the Services) intend to conduct public scoping under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to gather information to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), and to respond to a request from the State of Idaho (State) to enter into a Cooperative Agreement (Agreement) under Section 6 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) with the Services. Under the Agreement, the State would implement the Idaho Forestry Program with measures that would provide conservation benefits for listed fish species in the Salmon River Basin and Clearwater River Basin, and the Services would authorize incidental take of listed species caused by forest management activities to the extent that the effects of these activities on listed species are compliant with the requirements of Section 7 of the ESA.

The Science Advisory Board (SAB) was established by a Decision Memorandum dated September 25, 1997, and is the only Federal Advisory Committee with responsibility to advise the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere on strategies for research, education, and application of science to operations and information services. SAB activities and advice provide necessary input to ensure that National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) science programs are of the highest quality and provide optimal support to resource management. Time and Date: The meeting will be held Monday, March 9, 2009, from 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Tuesday, March 10, 2009, from 8 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. These times and the agenda topics described below are subject to change. Please refer to the Web page https://www.sab.noaa.gov/Meetings/ meetings.html for the most up-to-date meeting agenda. Place: The meeting will be held both days at the Hilton Washington DC/Silver Spring, 8727 Colesville Road, Silver Spring, MD 20910. Please check the SAB Web site https://www.sab.noaa.gov for confirmation of the venue and for directions. Status: The meeting will be open to public participation with a 30- minute public comment period on March 9 at 5:30 p.m. (check Web site to confirm time). The SAB expects that public statements presented at its meetings will not be repetitive of previously submitted verbal or written statements. In general, each individual or group making a verbal presentation will be limited to a total time of five (5) minutes. Written comments should be received in the SAB Executive Director's Office by March 4, 2009 to provide sufficient time for SAB review. Written comments received by the SAB Executive Director after March 4, 2009, will be distributed to the SAB, but may not be reviewed prior to the meeting date. Seats will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. Matters to be Considered: The meeting will include the following topics: (1) Final Report from the Social Science Working Group; (2) SAB Strategic Planning Session: Transition and Beyond; (3) SAB Recommendations on Options for a National Climate Service; (4) NOAA Response to ``Engaging NOAA's Constituents: A Report from the NOAA Science Advisory Board''; (5) NOAA Response to the SAB Report ``Fire Weather Research: A Burning Agenda for NOAA''; (6) NOAA Response to the SAB Recommendations on High Performance Computing; and (7) SAB Census of Marine Life Subcommittee Update.