Notice of Permit Modification Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978

Published date27 April 2021
Citation86 FR 22282
Record Number2021-08665
SectionNotices
CourtNational Science Foundation
Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 79 (Tuesday, April 27, 2021)
[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 79 (Tuesday, April 27, 2021)]
                [Notices]
                [Pages 22282-22283]
                From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
                [FR Doc No: 2021-08665]
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                NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
                Notice of Permit Modification Received Under the Antarctic
                Conservation Act of 1978
                AGENCY: National Science Foundation.
                ACTION: Notice of permit modification request received and permit
                issued.
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                SUMMARY: The National Science Foundation (NSF) is required to publish a
                notice of requests to modify permits issued to conduct activities
                regulated and permits issued under the Antarctic Conservation Act of
                1978. NSF has published regulations under the Antarctic Conservation
                Act in the Code of Federal Regulations. This is the required notice of
                a requested permit modification and permit issued.
                FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nature McGinn, ACA Permit Officer,
                Office of Polar Programs, National Science Foundation, 2415 Eisenhower
                Avenue, Alexandria, VA 22314; 703-292-8224; email: [email protected].
                SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The National Science Foundation (NSF), as
                directed by the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541, 45
                CFR part 670), as amended by the Antarctic Science, Tourism and
                Conservation Act of 1996, has developed regulations for the
                establishment of a permit system for various activities in Antarctica
                and designation of certain animals and certain geographic areas a
                requiring special protection.
                 NSF issued a permit (ACA 2021-002) to Megan Cimino on August 12,
                2020. The issued permit allows the permit holder and agents to enter
                Antarctic Specially Protected Areas (ASPAs), as well as engage in
                research activities that would result in Take, Harmful
                [[Page 22283]]
                Interference, and Import into the USA. The permit holder and agents may
                conduct activities associated with long-term studies of seabird ecology
                including diets, breeding success, growth rates, survival, recruitment,
                behavior, population trends, foraging success, and seasonal dispersal
                as detailed in the attached permit application. Study species include
                Adelie, Chinstrap, and Gentoo Penguins; Brown and South Polar Skua;
                Southern Giant Petrel; Blue-eyed Shag; Kelp Gull; and Snowy Sheathbill.
                Specimens from these and other species may be salvaged from birds that
                have died of natural causes.
                 Now the permit holder proposes a permit modification to deploy
                three time-lapse cameras, two on Torgersen Island and one on Humble
                Island (Restricted Zones within ASMA 7, Southwest Anvers Island and
                Palmer Basin), to monitor Adelie penguin occupation patterns in
                relation to the Palmer Station pier construction. The two islands of
                interest are where Ad[eacute]lie penguin foraging behavior, diet, and
                phenology have been routinely studied and are the largest Ad[eacute]lie
                colonies near Palmer Station. The equipment would consist of a small
                camera attached to a steel pole with a square base that is anchored
                under rocks. The cameras would be deployed at the end of May 2021 by
                permit agents (if there are any delays, the cameras would be installed
                during October 2021). The equipment would be hand carried in pieces to
                the sites of interest and assembled in the field. The cameras would
                remain in place for at least two years to obtain information during the
                pier construction and the year after construction. The Environmental
                Officer has reviewed the modification request and has determined that
                the amendment is not a material change to the permit, and it will have
                a less than a minor or transitory impact.
                 Dates of permitted activities: April 21, 2021 to September 30,
                2023.
                 The permit modification was issued on April 21, 2021.
                Erika N. Davis,
                Program Specialist, Office of Polar Programs.
                [FR Doc. 2021-08665 Filed 4-26-21; 8:45 am]
                BILLING CODE 7555-01-P
                

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