Notes
to Readers
Endangered
Species Act (ESA)
Pursuant
to Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act, the Fish and Wildlife
Service of the U.S. Department of the Interior, and the National
Marine Fisheries Service of the U.S. Department of Commerce,
were consulted in the performance of the biological assessments
of possible impacts on threatened or endangered species that
might result from the designation of a National Marine Sanctuary
at Stellwagen Bank. These consultations confirmed that some
11 endangered (E), 3 threatened (T), and 1 proposed threatened
(PT) species are either known to or may occasionally occur in
the area. Informal consultation with FWS concluded that designation
and promulgation of regulations for the Stellwagen Bank National
Marine Sanctuary are not likely to adversely affect threatened
or endangered species under FWS jurisdiction. Formal consultation
with NMFS concluded that Sanctuary designation and management
are not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of any
threatened or endangered species under NMFS jurisdiction. The
species identified are:
1.
Peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus anatum) E
2.
Bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) E
3.
Roseate tern (Sterna dougallii) E
4.
Piping plover (Charadrius melodus) T
5.
Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) E
6.
Fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) E
7.
Northern right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) E
8.
Sei whale (Balaenoptera borealis) E
9.
Blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) E
10.
Leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) E
11.
Loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta) T
12.
Kemp's (Atlantic) ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys kempi)
E
13.
Green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) T
14.
Shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum) E
15.
Harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) PT
Resource
Assessment
The
Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act, as amended,
requires a resource assessment report documenting present and
potential uses of the proposed Sanctuary area, including uses
subject to the primary jurisdiction of the U.S. Department of
the Interior. This requirement has been met in consultation
with the Department of the Interior, and the resource assessment
report is contained in Part Two, Section II.
Federal
Consistency Determination
Section
307 of the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, as amended,
requires that each Federal agency conducting or supporting activities
directly affecting the coastal zone shall conduct or support
those activities in a manner which is, to the maximum extent
practicable, consistent with approved state coastal management
programs. A Federal Consistency Determination must be provided
to the Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs
(EOEA), which has been a cooperating agency with NOAA in the
development of this designation. To meet this requirement, NOAA
has formally provided its Consistency Determination to the EOEA
at the release of the Final Environmental Impact Statement/Management
Plan, which finds that the designation of Stellwagen Bank as
a National Marine Sanctuary is consistent, to the maximum extent
practicable, with the Massachusetts Coastal Zone Management
Plan.
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