Taking and Importing Marine Mammals; Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to Rocket Launches at Vandenberg Air Force Base, CA

NMFS, upon application from the 30th Space Wing, U.S. Air Force, has issued a modification to regulations and the annual Letter of Authorization (LOA) that authorizes the take of small numbers of marine mammals incidental to missile and rocket launches, aircraft flight test operations, and helicopter operations at Vandenberg Air Force Base, CA (VAFB). The 30th Space Wing requested that the current monitoring requirements be modified so that biological monitoring is required only during the Pacific harbor seal pupping season (March 1 to June 30). By this document, NMFS is amending the regulations governing the take of marine mammals incidental to rocket launches at VAFB. NMFS, in issuing the regulation to which a modification is sought previously determined that rocket launches at VAFB would have a negligible impact on the affected species and stocks of marine mammals. In order to make the requested amendment to the regulation, NMFS has determined that the monitoring program at VAFB and the resultant data from pre- and post- launch marine mammal observations have effectively shown that rocket launch activities have a negligible impact on marine mammal populations and stocks.