Service, and other Federal, state, and private agencies and 

 organizations . 



Alaska Region 



At the request of the Minerals Management Service's Alaska 

 OCS office, the Commission wrote to the office on 7 September 

 1989 to provide comments on the draft Alaska Regional Studies 

 Plan for Fiscal Years 1991-1992. In its letter, the Commission 

 reiterated a number of comments made in its 29 September 1988 

 letter to the Service on the draft Alaska Regional Studies Plan 

 for Fiscal Year 1990. Specifically, the Commission again noted 

 that the Service's proposal to use satellite tags to identify at- 

 sea habitat important to northern fur seals and Steller sea lions 

 may duplicate or overlap work being done by the National Marine 

 Fisheries Service and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. 

 Therefore, the Commission suggested that, if the Service had not 

 already done so, it consult both agencies to determine what was 

 being done with regard to the two species and how the resources 

 of those agencies might be used to complement or help implement 

 the Minerals Management Service's proposed studies. 



As in its comments on the Fiscal Year 1990 Plan, the 

 Commission again suggested in its September 1989 letter that the 

 draft Studies Plan be expanded to include studies to: 



(a) determine the number of female polar bears that den on land 

 and on ice near existing and proposed lease sale areas, and 



(b) assess the likely effectiveness of measures that possibly 

 could be taken to avoid or minimize interactions between bears 

 and people as a result of OCS activities. The Commission 

 suggested that, if the Minerals Management Service had not 

 already done so, it consult with the Fish and Wildlife Service 

 and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game to determine the 

 critical uncertainties in this area and the studies needed to 

 resolve them. 



Workshop on Sea Turtles and Marine Mammals of the Gulf of Mexico 



As noted above, the Marine Mammal Commission works with the 

 various regional offices of the Minerals Management Service to 

 help identify priority marine mammal studies for the regional 

 Environmental Studies Programs. During 1989, the Commission 

 devoted particular attention to study needs in the Gulf of Mexico 

 Region. 



As has been discussed in previous Annual Reports, the Marine 

 Mammal Commission, along with the National Marine Fisheries 

 Service, has advised the Minerals Management Service that 

 available data are inadequate to reliably assess impacts of oil 

 and gas exploration and development on marine mammals and sea 

 turtles in the Gulf of Mexico. To respond to these concerns, and 

 similar concerns regarding sea turtles, the Minerals Management 



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