NMFS Biological Opinion on U.S. Navy training ... - Govsupport.us

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FINAL PROGRAMMATIC BIOLOGICAL OPINION ON U.S. NAVY ACTIVITIES IN THE HAWAII RANGE COMPLEX 2008-2013 On 13 November 2008, <strong>NMFS</strong> provided the U.S. Navy and <strong>NMFS</strong>’ Permits, Education, and Conservation Divisions with copies of its draft biological opinion on the suite of activities that would be authorized by the regulations the Permits Division proposed to issue pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act. On 21 November 2008, the U.S. Navy submitted their comments on the draft <strong>Opinion</strong>. <strong>NMFS</strong> has reviewed those comments and, where appropriate, incorporated them into this document. BIOLOGICAL OPINION 1.0 Description of the Proposed Action The proposed action consists of two separate but related activities: (1) the U.S. Navy proposal to conduct a suite of training activities in the Hawai'i Range Complex from December 2008 to December 2013 and (2) the National Marine Fisheries Service’s Permits, Conservation, and Education Division (Permits Division) proposal to amend its regulations governing the take and importation of marine mammals (50 CFR Part 216) to make it possible for <strong>NMFS</strong> to issue annual letters of authorization that would allow the U.S. Navy to take marine mammals for a five-year period beginning in December 2008 and ending in December 2013 incidental to the U.S. Navy’s training activities in the Hawai'i Range Complex. The U.S. Navy proposes to conduct a suite of activities in the Hawai'i Range Complex from December 2008 through December 2013. These activities include 1. Five major exercises each year in the Hawai'i Operating Area (Rim of the Pacific, Undersea Warfare Exercises, and Multi-Strike Group Exercises). In most years, these would consist of one exercise involving 2 carriers, a second exercise involving 3 carriers, and five Undersea Warfare Exercises (USWEX). In alternative years, the Navy would engage in one Rim of the Pacific exercise. 2. Other training exercises. 3. Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation Activities, which may be conducted by the U.S. Navy, U.S. Department of Defense’s Missile Defense Agency, U.S. Army and U.S. Army’s Space and Missile Command, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Coast Guard, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The remainder of this section of the <strong>Opinion</strong> discusses these categories of activities in greater detail. Anyone interested in more information on specific activities or all of the activities should refer to the U.S. Navy’s Final Environmental Impact Statement on the Hawai'i Range Complex (U.S. Navy 2008). 1.1 Major Training Exercises The U.S. Navy conducts two categories of major training exercises in the Hawai'i Range Complex: Rim of the Pacific exercises, which occur on alternate, even-numbered years, and Undersea Warfare Exercises. 4
FINAL PROGRAMMATIC BIOLOGICAL OPINION ON U.S. NAVY ACTIVITIES IN THE HAWAII RANGE COMPLEX 2008-2013 1.1.1 Rim of the Pacific Exercises Since 1971, the U.S. Navy has conducted biennial, sea control and power projection fleet exercises in the Hawai’i Islands Operating Area called Rim of the Pacific exercises. These exercises, which historically have lasted for about a month, have involved forces from various nations on the Pacific Rim including Australia, Canada, Chile, Japan, and the Republic of Korea. These exercises have historically included a series of anti-submarine warfare training events that employ mid-frequency sonar RIMPAC exercises typically encompass in-port operations, command and control, aircraft operations, ship maneuvers, amphibious landings, troop movements, gunfire and missile exercises, submarine and antisubmarine exercises, mining and demolition activities, sinking exercise, salvage, special warfare, and humanitarian operations. The following narratives discuss only those aspects of the proposed RIMPAC exercise that are necessary to understand its potential effects on threatened and endangered species under the jurisdiction of <strong>NMFS</strong> and critical habitat that has been designated for them. For a complete description of recent and proposed Rim of the Pacific Exercises, readers should refer to the U.S. Navy’s 2002 Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) Programmatic Environmental Assessment, the 2006 Supplement to that environmental assessment, and the U.S. Navy’s Hawai’i Range Complex Final Environmental Impact Statement. The exercise is likely to consist of a scenario in which one country, “Green,” is attacked by another country, “Orange.” The scenario assumes that “Green” has requested and received support from allied countries among the Pacific Rim nations. The countries then use military force “to eliminate military hostilities and restore peace to the region.” The tactical phase of RIMPAC exercises typically last for about 5 days. Specific individual events (non-scenario) military training events occurring during the exercise vary from year-toyear and are based on the participants’ training needs and desires and may be based in part on anticipated operations that may be required under real world conditions. The “Green” forces opposing “Orange” forces are usually split into multinational and bilateral forces, depending on which Pacific Rim allies participate. Countries participating in previous RIMPAC exercises have been composed of units from various Rim of the Pacific nations. In the past, these nations have included Australia, Canada, Chile, the Republic of Korea, and the United States. Countries participating in RIMPAC exercises typically engage in three phases of activity (Harbor phase, Operational Phase in which events are scheduled, and a Tactical phase). The timing, phases, and scope of the different exercises might be modified or rearranged depending on the final objectives of a RIMPAC exercise.. Antisubmarine Warfare The types of anti-submarine warfare training conducted during the proposed RIMPAC include the use of ships, submarines, aircraft, explosive and non-explosive exercise weapons, and other training related devices. Antisubmarine warfare events could occur anywhere within the Hawai’ian Islands Operating Area; however, the U.S. Navy identified and used six areas for their analyses because they are representative of the marine mammal habitats and the bathymetric, seabed, wind speed, and sound velocity profile conditions within the entire Hawai’ian Islands Operating Area. For purposes of the analyses the U.S. Navy presented in its Final EIS on the Hawai'i Range Complex, all RIMPAC anti-submarine warfare events were modeled as occurring in these areas. 5
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