National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration April 30, 2019 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

NMFS has received a request from the Eastern Massachusetts (MA) National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) Complex, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), for authorization to take marine mammals incidental to conducting biological research, monitoring, and maintenance at the Eastern MA NWR Complex (Complex). The USFWS's activities are similar to activities previously analyzed and for which take was authorized by NMFS. Pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is requesting comments on its proposal to issue an incidental harassment authorization (IHA) to incidentally take marine mammals during the specified activities. NMFS is also requesting comments on a possible one-year renewal that could be issued under certain circumstances and if all requirements are met, as described in Request for Public Comments at the end of this notice. NMFS will consider public comments prior to making any final decision on the issuance of the requested MMPA authorizations and agency responses will be summarized in the final notice of our decision.

NMFS has received a request from Vineyard Wind, LLC to take marine mammals incidental to construction of a commercial wind energy project offshore Massachusetts. Pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is requesting comments on its proposal to issue an incidental harassment authorization (IHA) to incidentally take marine mammals during the specified activities. NMFS is also requesting comments on a possible one-year renewal that could be issued under certain circumstances and if all requirements are met, as described in Request for Public Comments at the end of this notice. NMFS will consider public comments prior to making any final decision on the issuance of the requested MMPA authorizations and agency responses will be summarized in the final notice of our decision.

The Pacific Fishery Management Council's (Pacific Council) ad hoc Sablefish Management and Trawl Allocation Attainment Committee (SaMTAAC) will hold a meeting.

The Hydrographic Services Review Panel (HSRP) will hold a meeting that will be open to the public and public comments are requested in advance and/or during the meeting. Information about the HSRP meeting, agenda, presentations, webinar registration, and other background documents will be posted online at: https:// www.nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/hsrp/hsrp.htm and https:// www.nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/hsrp/meetings.htm Date and Location: The meeting is planned for two and a half days during August 27-29, 2019, in New Orleans, LA. The agenda, speakers and times are subject to change. The agenda and location will be posted online at the end of June 2019. For updates, please check online at: https://www.nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/hsrp/hsrp.htm. To receive notice of the venue and meeting announcements by email, and to inform the participant list, please email your name, organization and email address to: Virginia.Dentler@noaa.gov and Lynne.Mersfelder@noaa.gov.

We, NMFS, announce final revisions to the Recovery Plan Preparation and Implementation Priorities and the Recovery Plans sections of the 1990 Listing and Recovery Priority Guidelines. The revised guidelines prioritize limited agency resources to advance the recovery of threatened and endangered species by focusing on the immediacy of the species' overall extinction risk; the extent of information regarding major threats; the extent to which major threats are primarily under U.S. authority, jurisdiction, or influence; and the certainty that management or protective actions can be implemented successfully. We did not revise the Listing, Reclassification, and Delisting Priorities section of the 1990 Listing and Recovery Priority Guidelines. We determined those guidelines, which are repeated herein (with minor editorial and format changes for consistency), are sufficient to prioritize listing actions.