Marine Mammals; Incidental Take of Polar Bears in the Southern Beaufort Sea; Seismic Exploration Activities by SAExploration, Inc.

What it does

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, received a request under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 from SAExploration, Inc., to issue regulations facilitating the authorization of incidental, unintentional take of small numbers of polar bears during seismic exploration activities on the North Slope of Alaska. Take may result from three-dimensional seismic survey programs and associated activities occurring for a period of 5 years beginning July 1, 2026. If this rule is finalized, we may issue letters of authorization, upon request, for specific activities in accordance with the final rule for a period of up to 5 years. We intend that any final action resulting from this proposed rule will be as accurate and effective as possible. Therefore, we request comments on these proposed regulations and the accompanying draft environmental assessment from the public, Tribes, and local, State, and Federal agencies.

The Fish and Wildlife Service's summary, as published in the Federal Register.

What it would change

1 part of Title 50 of the Code of Federal Regulations:

50 CFR 18

Before this

No earlier Federal Register document under regulation identifier 1018-BG75 since Jan. 1, 2025.

What happens next and when

Comments on these proposed incidental take regulations and the accompanying draft environmental assessment will be accepted on or before June 17, 2026. Comments submitted electronically using the Federal eRulemaking Portal (see ADDRESSES, below) must be received by 11:59 p.m. eastern time on the closing date.

The agency's dates, word for word.

Check it yourself

• The document in the Federal Register
• Docket FWS-R7-ES-2023-0086 on Regulations.gov
• Title 50 on eCFR

The record as published

Source: the Federal Register (public domain). The document in the Federal Register