MARINE MAMMAL COMMISSION — Annual Report for 1991 



accidentally, the bombing may adversely affect 

 wildlife on those islands as well. In a compatibility 

 determination prepared by the Fish and Wildlife 

 Service's Refiige Division, the Service concluded that 

 under no circumstances could practice bombing of Sea 

 Lion Rock by the Navy be made compatible with 

 refuge objectives to protect and enhance wildlife 

 resources. 



On 8 February 1991, the Marine Mammal Com- 

 mission wrote to the Navy regarding its use of Sea 

 Lion Rock. The Commission noted that the Navy's 

 use of the island for practice bombing purposes was 

 incompatible with other wildlife conservation uses of 

 the island. In particular, the Commission noted that: 

 (1) the island is a part of both a wildlife refuge and a 

 wilderness area; (2) it is used by many marine mam- 

 mal, seabird, and waterfowl species; (3) the designa- 

 tion of the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary, 

 which would incorporate all islands in the Copalis 

 National Wildlife Refuge, was pending; (4) all marine 

 mammal species are protected under the Marine 

 Mammal Protection Act; (5) the Steller sea lion and 

 gray whale {Eschrichtius robustus) also are protected 

 under the Endangered Species Act; and (6) certain 

 seabird and waterfowl species are protected under the 

 Migratory Bird Treaty Act. The Commission further 

 noted that the Navy's practice bombing activities on 

 Sea Lion Rock were inconsistent with provisions of 

 the cited statutes and with the island's wildlife refuge 

 and wilderness status. Therefore, the Commission, in 

 consultation with its Committee of Scientific Advisors, 

 recommended that the Navy stop using Sea Lion Rock 

 for practice bombing and the low level flying that it 

 necessitates. The Commission noted that the Navy 

 cannot continue using Sea Lion Rock unless it takes 

 steps to comply with applicable laws, including the 

 Marine Manmial Protection Act, the Endangered 

 Species Act, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and the 

 Wilderness Act. The Commission further noted that 

 the Department of the Interior should give serious 

 consideration as to whether to continue authorizing the 

 Navy's use of Sea Lion Rock for practice bombing. 



In an effort to further the Navy's understanding of 

 problems associated with the use of Sea Lion Rock, 

 the Commission supported a group comprised of three 

 researchers and one lawyer expert in Steller sea lion 



issues to travel to Whidbey Island Naval Base on 14 

 February 1991 to meet with key Navy personnel. The 

 group, led by a former member of the Commission's 

 Committee of Scientific Advisors, included the 

 National Marine Fisheries Service's Steller sea lion 

 program director and the counsel for the National 

 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Northwest 

 and Alaska Region. The group briefed the command- 

 ing officer and his staff on changes in the status of 

 Steller sea lions and the effect of these changes on the 

 Navy's use of Sea Lion Rock. The group also noted 

 that the meeting could help the Navy avoid a major 

 legal conflict. 



The group came away from the meeting with six 

 specific findings: (1) the Navy states that Sea Lion 

 Rock is used exclusively as a backup for another, 

 primary practice bombing site; (2) the Navy personnel 

 present at the meeting acknowledged that they need to 

 comply with the Marine Mammal Protection and 

 Endangered Species Acts; (3) the Navy indicated 

 improved compliance with their own protocol (result- 

 ing in decreased adverse effects on the islands nearest 

 to Sea Lion Rock); (4) the State will not allow the 

 Navy to place radar reflectors on the islands nearest 

 to Sea Lion Rock, despite the fact that doing so would 

 likely also decrease adverse effects on these islands; 

 (5) no sea lions are hit directly by the inert practice 

 bombs, and therefore the main "take" under the 

 Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Endangered 

 Species Act is harassment of the animals; and (6) as 

 alternative targets, smoke targets were unacceptable to 

 the Navy because of the importance of radar target 

 acquisition to the training activities, and a moored 

 barge was unacceptable due to cost and the inability to 

 use it on short notice. 



Following the meeting, the group concluded that 

 the most expeditious way to stop bombing at Sea lion 

 Rock would be to have the Department of the Interior 

 withdraw the Navy's permission to use the island. 



On 20 March 1991, the Navy responded to the 

 Commission's 8 February 1991 letter. In its letter, 

 the Navy advised the Commission that it would 

 review the issue of the taking of marine mammals 

 incidental to its activities at Sea Lion Rock and would 



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