Chapter XI — Permits for Marine Mammals 



by harassment only. In addition, the Commission 

 recommended that the authorization specify that the 

 seismic surveys be completed before the beginning of 

 the annual southward migration of gray whales 

 through the Santa Barbara Channel and adjacent areas. 



On 24 September 1995 the Environmental Defense 

 Center, Inc., a public-interest environmental law firm, 

 wrote to the Director of the National Marine Fisheries 

 Service's Office of Protected Resources and the 

 Director of the Minerals Management Service, ques- 

 tioning whether there had been adequate opportunity 

 for public participation in the review of the Exxon 

 application. The letter, written on behalf of the 

 Environmental Coalition of Santa Barbara (composed 

 of the Environmental Defense Center, the Sierra Club 

 Los Padres Chapter, League of Women Voters of 

 Santa Barbara, Get Oil Out, and Citizens Planning 

 Association), expressed the view that approval of 

 Exxon's application would violate the National Envi- 

 ronmental Policy Act, the Marine Mammal Protection 

 Act, and the Coastal Zone Management Act. 



After sending the letter, representatives of several 

 public- interest groups met with representatives of the 

 Minerals Management Service and Exxon Company 

 USA to discuss possible means for resolving the 

 concerns raised in the letter. By letter of 28 Septem- 

 ber 1995, the League for Coastal Protection, on behalf 

 of the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Sierra 

 Club Legal Defense Fund, the Environmental Defense 

 Center, the American Oceans Campaign, and others, 

 transmitted a proposed monitoring and mitigation 

 program to the Minerals Management Service and 

 Exxon for consideration. Among other things, the 

 proposal called for terminating the seismic surveys 

 when 100 gray whales had been sighted at Granite 

 Canyon or on 31 December, whichever occurs first; 

 conducting on-site acoustic measurements to verify 

 predictions concerning sound transmission loss at 

 different distances from the seismic array; and modi- 

 fying the marine mammal observer program to better 

 document the species and number of animals taken 

 incidental to the planned seismic surveys. 



The requested incidental harassment authorization 

 was issued on 11 October 1995 and expired on 31 

 December 1995. It incorporated most of the Commis- 

 sion's recommendations and the monitoring/mitigation 



measures proposed by the public-interest groups. The 

 rationale for recommended measures not included in 

 the authorization was explained by the Service in a 17 

 October 1995 Federal Register notice. 



Oil and Gas Exploration in the 

 Beaufort and Chukchi Seas 



As discussed in previous annual reports, a rule 

 governing the take of walruses and polar bears inci- 

 dental to oil and gas exploration activities in the 

 Chukchi Sea was published by the Fish and Wildlife 

 Service on 14 June 1991. Similar regulations govern- 

 ing the take of these two species incidental to oil and 

 gas operations in and adjacent to the Beaufort Sea 

 were issued by the Service on 16 November 1993. 

 Areas within the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge were 

 specifically excluded from coverage under the small- 

 take authorization. During 1995 the Fish and Wildlife 

 Service issued nine letters of authorization to compa- 

 nies engaged in oil and gas exploration under these 

 regulations. 



Rather than the five-year period of validity general- 

 ly given such regulations, the regulations for activities 

 in the Beaufort Sea area were effective for only 18 

 months (until 16 June 1995). During this period, the 

 Service, in order to "comport with, and to meet more 

 fully the intent of" the Agreement on the Conserva- 

 tion of Polar Bears, committed itself to developing 

 and beginning to implement a strategy for the identifi- 

 cation and protection of important polar bear habitats. 

 Extension of the rule beyond the initial 18-month 

 period was made contingent on the development and 

 implementation of the strategy. 



The Fish and Wildlife Service made available for 

 public review and comment its draft Habitat Conser- 

 vation Strategy for Polar Bears in Alaska on 28 

 February 1995. The draft strategy identified impor- 

 tant polar bear feeding and denning areas, identified 

 threats to the bears and their habitat, and proposed 

 conservation measures to be taken. The draft strategy 

 also identified research needs concerning polar bear 

 habitat use and the effects of contaminants and indus- 

 trial activities on polar bears. Believing that a final 

 habitat conservation strategy would be in place by 

 June, the Service on 17 March published a proposed 



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