Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541)

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION

Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic

Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541)

AGENCY: National Science Foundation.

ACTION: Notice of permit applications received under the Antarctic

Conservation Act of 1978, Pubic Law 95-541.

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SUMMARY: The National Science Foundation (NSF) is required to publish

notice of permit applications received to conduct activities regulated

under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978. NSF has published

regulations under the Antarctic Conservation Act at Title 45 Part 670

of the Code of Federal Regulations. This is the required notice of

permit applications received.

DATES: Interested parties are invited to submit written data, comments,

or views with respect to these permit applications by November 5, 1999.

Permit applications may be inspected by interested parties at the

Permit Office, address below.

[[Page 54648]]

ADDRESSES: Comments should be addressed to Permit Office, Room 755,

Office of Polar Programs, National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson

Boulevard, Arlington, Virginia 22230.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Nadene G. Kennedy at the above address or (703) 306-1030.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The National Science Foundation, as directed

by the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541), has

developed regulations that implement the ``Agreed Measures for the

Conservation of Antarctic Fauna and Flora'' for all United States

citizens. The Agreed Measures, developed by the Antarctic Treaty

Consultative Parties, recommended establishment of a permit system for

various activities in Antarctica and designation of certain animals and

certain geographic areas as requiring special protection. The

regulations establish such a permit system to designate Antarctic

Specially Protected Areas (formerly called Specially Protected Areas

and Sites of Special Scientific Interest).

The applications received are as follows:

1. Applicant: Bruce R. Mate, Hatfield Marine Science Center, Oregon

State University, Newport, OR 97365-5269.

Permit Application No.: 2000-015.

Activity for Which Permit Is Requested: Take, and Import into the

U.S.A.

The applicant proposes to conduct tagging studies of humpback

whales, blue whales, and fin whales along the Antarctic Peninsula. The

applicant proposes to apply Argos satellite-monitored radio tags to

approximately 24 humpback whales annually, and if the opportunity

arises, 5 each of blue and fin whales. The objectives of the proposed

research are to: (1) Track whale movements within their feeding habitat

during the austral summer; (2) examine the relationship between these

movements and prey distribution, as well as physical and biological

oceanographic conditions; and, (3) identify migration routes from their

summer feeding grounds in the Antarctic Peninsula region to their

winter breeding and calving areas.

The applicant also proposes to conduct biopsy sampling of all

tagged whales for sex determination and genetic analysis. The samples

will be collected and returned to the U.S. for final analysis.

Location: Antarctic Peninsula Region.

Date: January 01, 2000 to January 01, 2004.

2. Applicant: Philip R. Kyle, E&ES Department, New Mexico Tech,

Socorro, NM 87801.

Permit Application No.: 2000-016.

Activity for Which Permit Is Requested: Enter Antarctic Specially

Protected Area.

The applicant proposes to enter Antarctic Specially Protected Area

No. 130, Tramway Ridge, Mt. Erebus, Ross Island, to measure the

temperature of the soil as a means of monitoring the volcanic activity

of Mount Erebus. In addition, the applicant wishes to measure the

quantity of CO2 in the soil and its rate of flux into the

atmosphere. This will provide information on the degassing behavior of

the magmata system underlying Mount Erebus.

Location: Tramway Ridge, Mt. Erebus, Ross Island (ASPA #130).

Dates: December 01-30, 1999.

3. Applicant: Bess B. Ward, Geosciences Department, M-51 Guyot

Hall, Washington Road, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544.

Permit Application No.: 2000-017.

Activity for Which Permit Is Requested: Introduction of a non-

indigenous species.

The applicant proposes to measure denitrification raters at Lake

Bonney, by performing positive control experiments using cultures of

bacteria originally isolated from the lake during the 1992-93 season.

The original samples were purified and characterized in the laboratory.

During the intervening time since collection, the cultures were stored

at -70 deg.C, except when grown for experiments. The applicant plans to

initiate new transfers from the frozen stock to produce inoculate to be

used in the Crary Lab at McMurdo Station. There is a slight chance that

the original organism may have changed during the prolonged culture/

storage period, such that returning them to Antarctica may constitute

introduction of a non-indigenous species. The isolates will be used in

experiments carried out in solely in Crary Lab. After use, the cultures

and any contaminated containers will be autoclaved and discarded as

appropriate.

Location: Crary Science and Engineering Center, McMurdo Station,

Antarctica.

Dates: November 01, 1999-December 15, 1999.

4. Applicant: Brenda Hall, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469-

5790.

Permit Application No.: 2000-018.

Activity for Which Permit Is Requested: Enter Antarctic Specially

Protected Area.

The applicant is currently studying the lake-level changes in the

Dry Valley region of Antarctica.

As a result, they have discovered that over the past 30,000 years,

the Dry Valleys have been repeatedly filled with large lakes that were

up to 400m deeper than the present lakes. The applicant plans to

document evidence of past lake-level fluctuations and developing an

accurate chronology. There has been very little work done in the

Barwick Valley, which was last mapped in the 1960's and then only at a

reconnaissance level. The applicants mapping reconnaissance over the

past few years led to the identification of widespread lacustrine

deposits, including small deltas with datable organic material. The

applicant proposes to enter the Barwick Valley Special Site of

Scientific Interest No. 123 to continuing the mapping program and to

collect a few samples of evaporates and, if present, algae, from key

lacurstirne deposits for radiocarbon and uranium-thorium dating. The

applicant will sample an area of about 10 cm x 10 cm and replace all

surface material (gravel, artifacts) that might be disturbed.

Location: Barwick Valley, Victoria Land.

Dates: November 01 to December 31, 1999.

5. Applicant: Donal T. Manahan, Biological Sciences, University of

Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0371.

Permit Applicant No.: 2000-019.

Activity for Which Permit Is Requested: Introduce Non-indigenous

Species into Antarctica.

The applicant proposes to bring bacterial cultures of E. coli to

Antarctica as a component of several molecular biology DNA cloning kits

that will be used by the Integrative Biology course at McMurdo Station.

E. coli will be used to replicate DNA during gene cloning. The

bacterial stocks will be transported on dry ice, along with other kit

reagents. All experiments will be conducted in the Crary Science and

Engineering Center at McMurdo Station, Antarctica. Immediately after

conducting experiments using E. coli cultures, all media and materials

will be sterilized by autoclaving. Standard P-2 containment guidelines

will be strictly followed for the subsequent disposal of all materials

and supplies. All E. coli cultures will be sterilized and killed at the

end of the season.

Location: McMurdo Station, Antarctica.

Dates: December 20, 1999 to February 20, 2000.

6. Applicant: Gerald L. Kooyman, Scholander Hall, Rm. 0204,

University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093.

Permit Application No.: 2000-020.

[[Page 54649]]

Activity for Which Permit Is Requested: Taking.

The applicant proposes to continue seabird research during the

Antarctic Pack Ice Seals cruise in the eastern Ross and Amundsen Seas.

The objectives are to: (1) Survey bird molt habitat and determine bird

density; (2) conduct bird counts for general distribution and density

from line transects along the route of the ship, and from helicopter

survey tracks; (3) determine prey type from stomach samples collected

from approximately 20 birds; (4) determine foraging behavior by

attaching TDR's to Emperor penguins, then recovering the TDR's using

VHF locating transmitters; and (5) attach Platform Transmitter

Terminals (PTT) to approximately 10 birds to obtain tracks of post-molt

birds. In order to achieve objectives 3, 4 and 5, up to 20 Emperor

penguins will be captured, then released.

Diet studies of large penguins that range widely are usually

accomplished after a long journey back to the colony. This will be one

of the few, if not the only, study to conduct a diet analysis at the

foraging site concurrent with a study of prey distribution and

abundance. Also, Emperor penguins have never been tracked from the molt

area back to the colony to determine the favored foraging areas. As one

of the most important top predators in the Ross Sea, this information

will be valuable for an ecosystem analysis of the Ross Sea.

Location: Ross and Amundsen Seas pack ice.

Dates: December 15, 1999 to April 01, 2000.

7. Applicant: John L. Bengtson, National Marine Mammal Laboratory,

National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, 7600 Sand Point Way, N.E.,

Seattle, WA 98115.

Permit Application No.: 2000-021.

Activity for Which Permit Is Requested: Taking; Import into the

U.S. and Export from the U.S.

The applicant is a participant in the Antarctic Pack Ice Seals

project that consists of penniped studies in the circumpolar pack ice

zone and land-based studies at selected sites around the continent. A

primary objective is to study the feeding ecology, seasonal movements,

diving patterns, reproduction, and population dynamics of Antarctic

seals and to examine their role in the marine ecosystem.

The applicant plans to capture and release up to 500 Crabeater

seals, 300 Leopard and Weddell seals, and 100 Ross, Antarctic fur and

Southern elephant seals for purposes of attaching time-depth recorders

and radio transmitters to monitor their feeding and diving behavior. In

addition, selected individuals may be tagged to assist in

identification and to monitor migrations. Seals will also be marked,

weighed, measured, and tissue samples collected. Tissue specimens may

also be collected form dead seals. Aerial surveys will be conducted to

assess the abundance and distribution of pinnipeds in various habitats.

To optimize the use of specimen materials collected, the applicant

proposes to exchange specimens with researchers in various countries.

The collected materials will be imported into the U.S., then exported

to collaborating investigators in other countries.

Location: Circumpolar pack ice areas.

Dates: January 01, 2000 to December 31, 2003.

Nadene G. Kennedy,

Permit Officer, Office of Polar Programs.

[FR Doc. 99-26164 Filed 10-6-99; 8:45 am]

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