Mr. GEHRINGER. Well, if I may, to designate critical habitat, it must be listed under the endangered species provision. And if for the reason that it is no longer endangered this would remove that option of designating a critical habitat for protection.

Mr. LEGGETT. What good does it do to designate critical habitat for a whale? That is what I am really asking.

Mr. GEHRINGER. You can manage the activities of man, whether they are viewing whales; whatever kind of Federal activity is proposed must be consistent with the protection of that habitat for that particular animal.

Mr. LEGGETT. That is very interesting, but you have said exactly nothing. Now, did you want to add to that?

Mr. GEHRINGER. For example, you could regulate oil and gas development in a critical habitat area.

Mr. LEGGETT. Are there any areas that are whale paths that are oil and gas areas?

Mr. GEHRINGER. Yes, along the west coast and off Alaska. We have consulted with the Bureau of Land Management with respect to this particular question.

Mr. LEGGETT. All right.

Mr THORNTON. No further questions.

Mr. LEGGETT. Very good. Barbara, no further questions?

Ms. WYMAN. No questions. LEGGETT. We will adjourn now until 10 tomorrow morning.

Jack, thank you very much.

The meeting will stand adjourned.

[Whereupon, at 2:45 p.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.]

ENDANGERED SPECIES OVERSIGHT

FRIDAY, JUNE 16, 1978

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,

SUBCOMMITTEE ON FISHERIES AND WILDLIFE

CONSERVATION AND THE ENVIRONMENT,

COMMITTEE ON MERCHANT MARINE AND FISHERIES,

Washington, D.C.

The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:30 a.m. in room 1334, Longworth House Office Building, Hon. Robert L. Leggett (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding.

Present: Representatives Leggett, de la Garza, Hughes, Forsythe and Oberstar.

Mr. LEGGETT. The meeting of the Fisheries and Wildlife Conservation and the Environment Subcommittee will please to come to order.

This is the fourth day of oversight on the endangered species legislation, enacted back in 1973. The appropriations authorization for this legislation expires this year and is up for renewal.

The committee has reported an extension of the authorization to the House. That legislation is waiting for action in the Rules Committee.

We heard from the Department of Defense yesterday. Previously we heard from the Department of the Interior and the various interests from the east coast to the west coast affected by this legislation.

Our first witness this morning will be Connie Taylor, representing the Oklahoma chapter of the Sierra Club and the Oklahoma Ornithological Society.

Then we have Dr. Retan from the Alabama Conservancy and the Audubon Society; Dean Hanson from the Tennessee School of Architecture; and Dan Poole from the Wildlife Management Institute. We also have a panel comprised of representatives of the EDF, Fund for Animals, and Monitor Inc. We plan to finish all of that by close to noontime because we cannot meet this afternoon. After that the subcommittee will cogitate the policy we are going to pursue.

Dr. Taylor, it is very nice to have you before the subcommittee. STATEMENT OF CONNIE TAYLOR, SIERRA CLUB, OKLAHOMA CHAPTER, OKLAHOMA ORNITHOLOGICAL SOCIETY

Dr. TAYLOR. I am Dr. Taylor, from Oklahoma. I am a botanist and teacher at Southeastern Oklahoma State University.

I have come up here today to represent the Sierra Club and the Oklahoma Ornithological Society.

section 6. Among other actions, we finalized regulations, jointly with the FWS, formalizing procedures for interagency consultation under section 7 of the Act. Under our permit regulations, we have processed 38 permit applications for scientific purposes involving the endangered shortnose sturgeon, endangered sea turtles, and one or more of the eight endangered species of large whales; 33 permits have been issued by NMFS.

Our research has included stock assessments, population dynamics, habitat requirements, and other factors necessary to monitor the biological status of species, support listings, and encourage foreign governments to adopt complementary conservation measures.

Recent NMFS reports on the endangered bowhead whale concern population biology of the whale in the Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort Seas; the 1977 catch of bowhead whales by Alaskan Eskimos, with a review of the fishery, 1973-1977; and biological summary of the species. As indicated earlier, we are expanding research on bowheads.

On sea turtles, we are conducting population, research, and habitat surveys in the southeastern United States. In addition, we are developing a sea turtle conservation trawl to reduce the incidental catch of sea turtles during shrimp fishing.

We reported on development of Hawaiian monk seal habitat requirements last year and we are presently preparing a proposed designation of critical habitat for this species.

We established a recovery team for shortnose sturgeon which hosted a national meeting of sturgeon experts and interested individuals last August to discuss current research and information needs. The team members (non-government sturgeon researchers) exchange data, review technical reports, identify research and management needs to restore shortnose sturgeon, and contract sturgeon research.

We have expended an estimated 16 man-years of effort in reviewing information on Atlantic bluefin tuna, Hawaiian monk seal, Caribbean monk seal, totoaba, green, loggerhead, and Pacific ridley sea turtles for possible listing under the Act. The Atlantic bluefin tuna was not listed due to adequate regulation under the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act. The Hawaiian monk seal was listed as endangered in November 1976. Final regulations listing the Caribbean monk seal and totoaba as endangered are expected to be published in the near future.

After signing a new Memorandum of Understanding with FWS to clarify responsibility for sea turtles, we drafted final regulations to list green, loggerhead, and Pacific ridley sea turtles as threatened species. Our agency also has drafted a final environmental impact statement on the listing. Under threat of lawsuit, NMFS and FWS recently reopened the public comment period on the sea turtle proposal for 21 days to receive new scientific and commercial data. The comment period closed on April 17, 1978. Final regulations are expected to be published by the Department of Commerce and the Department of the Interior this summer after analysis of the new information and decision-making process are complete.

In the area of endangered species enforcement, we have made significant accomplishments. Even though our enforcement effort is largely restricted to specific complaints, through December 1977, NMFS Special agents have investigated 1,474 cases involving alleged violations of the Act. The majority of these cases involves unlawful importation of and interstate commerce in parts and products of endangered species, particularly whale teeth, bone, and oil, and turtle meat and shells. A total of 4,336 items (which does not include 1,200 metric tons of sperm whale oil) valued at approximately $319,575 has been seized and subsequently forfeited to the government, and $84,015 in civil penalties have been paid for violations of the Act. Of the 1,474 investigations conducted under the Act, 31 were initated in calendar year 1974, 294 in 1975, 633 in 1976, and 513 in 1977. The number of investigations initiated in 1977 was slightly below the 1976 total. This may have been due, at least in part, to an increased public awareness of the Act created by dissemination of pamphlets, posters, fact sheets, and copies of the Act and regulations, and by personal contacts between NMFS special agents with individuals involved in commercial activities dealing with endangered species parts and products. This increased public awareness may have reduced the number of violations by persons who would otherwise be unaware of the Act.

Amendments to the Act (Public Law 94-359) authorized the NMFS on July 12, 1976, to grant exemptions from certain interstate and foreign commerce prohibitions to individuals legally holding inventories of certain pre-Act endangered species parts and products. Through January 1978, we issued 57 Certificates of Exemption to persons holding inventories of whale teeth, bone, and oil. One application is pending resolution of a prior enforcement action concerning the applicant. After August 17, 1977, applications for Certificates of Exemption under P.L. 94-359, were

no longer accepted by NMFS. The NMFS registered inventories of pre-Act Endangered Species parts as follows:

WhaleOil/Spermaceti:

27,554,946 lbs.

1,298,069 product units

Scrimshaw

78,400 lbs. 390,254 pcs.

In terms of funding, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration received its first endangered species appropriation in fiscal year 1976. We used the $400,000 which was appropriated as follows:

$100,000 to develop policy and regulations, review permit applications, and administration of the program generally; $150,000 to enforce the provisions of the Act; and the remaining $150,000 for studying population status and trends of sea turtles, Hawaiian monk seal, Guadalupe fur seal, and northern elephant seal.

In fiscal year 1977, $541,000 was approrpiated. The administration, enforcement and research allocations remained relatively unchanged from fiscal year 1976, and research emphasis shifted to sea turtles. In order to accelerate development of gear designed to reduce incidental catch of turtles by commercial fishermen, in fiscal year 1977 we reprogrammed $163,000 from other activities into sea turtle research. These monies primarily came from salary lapses within the agency.

In fiscal year 1978, $1,548,000 was appropriated. Most of the increase in appropriations was for expanded whale research. This year's funding is allocated as follows: program administration $38,000; enforcement $160,000; sea turtle research $250,000; cetacean research $1,039,000; seal research $50,000; and shortnose sturgeon recovery team $11,000. Most research is performed on a contract basis.

Major activities to be carried out in future years will, of course, be keyed to available funding. The Administration's fiscal year 1979 budget request asks to increase our endangered species budget by $680,000. This increase would be used to expand sea turtle research and to fund State projects under State/Federal Cooperative Agreements.

An increase of $380,000 would be used to implement fully the gear research program on sea turtles and conduct expanded sea turtle biological research consisting of stock assessments, mechanical tagging studies for migration and population estimates, and coordination with local conservationists on nest relocation programs. An increase of $300,000 would be used to establish or augment State endangered species conservation programs in lieu of continued increases of Federal programs. Of the $300,000, $255,000 is for grants and $45,000 is for one position and related administrative costs to administer the cooperative State/Federal agreements and grants.

In addition to expanding sea turtle research and initiating State/Federal Cooperative Agreements with funding, we will continue to do the following with our fiscal year 1979 base appropriations of $1,583,000; promulgate regulations; conduct law enforcement activities; conduct whale research; carry out sea turtle research and management programs; designate critical habitat as appropriate for sea turtles and the Hawaiian monk seal; process permits; review State/Federal Cooperative Agreement applications; and review Federal agency projects to ensure that they do not jeopardize endangered or threatened species or destroy or modify critical habitats. Actions which we are considering undertaking over the next several years include: research on all species listed; status reviews and protection resulting from listing Convention species not presently listed domestically as endangered or threatened; status reviews of species for which we receive petitions which present substantial evidence in support of listing; commercial fishing gear research to reduce or eliminate incidental catch of endangered or threatened species; marine flora research and regulations; designation of critical habitat areas; and adequate State/ Federal Cooperative Agreement support.

The Subcommittee has expressed particular interest in Section 7 of the Act. Our involvement under this provision of law is small by comparison with that of FWS, due primarily to the number of listed marine species (we are responsible for 14 species presently listed and FWS is responsible for over 600), and that most Federal actions affect land or freshwater areas. We have not designated any critical habitat. Prior to NMFS and FWS publishing Section 7 final regulations on January 4, 1978, most consultations were initiated through the NEPA process and informal Section 7 guidelines published by NMFS and FWS.

Most consultations have involved: the Army Corps of Engineers concerning maintenance dredging, beach nourishment, or power projects; the Environmental Protection Agency concerning power plants, sewage treatment, and tidal projections; and, more recently, the Bureau of Land Management in oil and gas lease/sales in the Outer Continental Shelf. We have also reviewed coastal zone management plans of