Marine Resources Assessment for the Marianas Operating ... - SPREP

AUGUST 2005 FINAL REPORT
maintenance of fish and wildlife resources on military reservations throughout the U.S. This is
accomplished through the creation of integrated natural resource management plans (INRMP), which
are long-term planning documents that provide recommendations on managing natural resources. As
required by the Sikes Act Improvement Act of 1997, the INRMP must, to the extent appropriate and
applicable, provide for: 1) fish and wildlife management, land management, forest management, and
fish- and wildlife-oriented recreation; 2) fish and wildlife habitat enhancement or modification; 3)
wetland protection, enhancement, and restoration, where necessary for support of fish, wildlife, or
plants; 4) integration of, and consistency among, the various activities conducted under the plan; 5)
establishment of specific natural resources management goals and objectives and time frames for
proposed actions; 6) sustainable use by the public of natural resources to the extent that the use is
not inconsistent with the needs of fish and wildlife resources; 7) public access to the military
installation that is necessary or appropriate for the sustainable use of natural resources, subject to
requirements necessary to ensure safety and military security; 8) enforcement of applicable natural
resource laws (including regulations); 9) no net loss in the capability of the installation’s lands to
support the military mission of the installation; and 10) such other activities as the military has
determined appropriate.
The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 (42 U.S.C. §§ 4321 et seq.) established
national policies and goals for the protection of the environment. The NEPA aims to encourage
harmony between people and the environment, to promote efforts to prevent or eliminate damage to
the environment and the biosphere, and to enrich the understanding of ecological systems and
natural resources important to the country. Thus, environmental factors must be given appropriate
consideration in all decisions made by federal agencies.
The NEPA is divided into two sections: Title I outlines a basic national charter for protection of the
environment, while Title II establishes the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), which monitors
the progress made towards achieving the goals set forth in Section 101 of the NEPA. Other duties of
the CEQ include advising the President on environmental issues and providing guidance to other
federal agencies on compliance with the NEPA.
Section 102(2) of the NEPA contains "action-forcing" provisions that ensure that federal agencies act
according to the letter and the spirit of the law. These procedural requirements direct all federal
agencies to give appropriate consideration to the environmental effects and cumulative impacts of
their decision-making and to prepare detailed environmental statements on recommendations or
reports on proposals for legislation and other major federal actions significantly affecting the quality of
the environment.
Future studies and/or actions requiring federal compliance which may utilize the data contained in this
MRA should be prepared in accordance with Section 102(2)(c) of the NEPA, the CEQ regulations on
implementing NEPA procedures (40 Code of Federal Regulations [CFR] 1500-1508), and the
Department of the Navy (DoN) regulations on implementing NEPA procedures (32 CFR 775).
The Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) of 1972 (16 U.S.C. §§ 1361 et seq.) established a
moratorium on the “taking” of marine mammals in waters or on lands under U.S. jurisdiction. The
MMPA defines taking as “harassing, hunting, capturing, killing, or attempting to harass, hunt, capture,
or kill any marine mammal” (16 U.S.C. 1312[13]). It also prohibits the importation into the U.S. of any
marine mammal or parts or products thereof, unless it is for the purpose of scientific research or
public display, as permitted by the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Commerce. In the
1994 amendments to the MMPA, two levels of “harassment” were defined. Harassment is defined as
any act of pursuit, torment, or annoyance that has the potential to injure a marine mammal or marine
mammal stock in the wild (Level A), or any act that has the potential to disturb a marine mammal or
marine mammal stock in the wild by disrupting behavioral patterns, including, but not limited to
migration, breathing, nursing, breeding, feeding, or sheltering (Level B). In 2003, the National
Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004 altered the MMPA’s definition of Level A and B
harassment in regards to military readiness and scientific research activities conducted by or on
behalf of the Federal Government. Under these changes, Level A harassment was redefined as any
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