Notice2026-09680
Taking and Importing Marine Mammals; Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to U.S. Marine Corps Training Activities at Cherry Point Range Complex, North Carolina
Primary source
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Published
May 14, 2026
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
NMFS has received a request from the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) for authorization to take marine mammals incidental to training activities at Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Cherry Point, North Carolina over the course of 7 years from 2026 through 2033. Pursuant to regulations implementing the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is announcing receipt of the USMC's request for the promulgation of regulations governing the incidental taking of marine mammals and issuance of a 7-year Letter of Authorization (LOA). NMFS invites the public to provide information, suggestions, and comments on the USMC's application and request.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 93 (Thursday, May 14, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 93 (Thursday, May 14, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27302-27303]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-09680]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[RTID 0648-XF482]
Taking and Importing Marine Mammals; Taking Marine Mammals
Incidental to U.S. Marine Corps Training Activities at Cherry Point
Range Complex, North Carolina
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; receipt of application for incidental take regulations
and Letter of Authorization; request for comments and information.
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SUMMARY: NMFS has received a request from the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC)
for authorization to take marine mammals incidental to training
activities at Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Cherry Point, North
Carolina over the course of 7 years from 2026 through 2033. Pursuant to
regulations implementing the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS
is announcing receipt of the USMC's request for the promulgation of
regulations governing the incidental taking of marine mammals and
issuance of a 7-year Letter of Authorization (LOA). NMFS invites the
public to provide information, suggestions, and comments on the USMC's
application and request.
DATES: Comments and information must be received no later than June 15,
2026.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be addressed to the Permits and Conservation
Division, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries
Service, and should be submitted via email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#733a27235d101f1605161d00071a1d16331d1c12125d141c05"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="622b36324c010e0714070c11160b0c07220c0d03034c050d14">[email protected]</span></a>.
Instructions: NMFS is not responsible for comments sent by any
other method, to any other address or individual, or received after the
end of the comment period. Comments received electronically, including
all attachments, must not exceed a 25-megabyte file size. Attachments
to electronic comments will be accepted in Microsoft Word or Excel or
Adobe PDF file formats only. All comments received are a part of the
public record and will generally be posted online at <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/marine-mammal-protection/incidental-take-authorizations-military-readiness-activities">https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/marine-mammal-protection/incidental-take-authorizations-military-readiness-activities</a> without change. All
personal identifying information (e.g., name, address) voluntarily
submitted by the commenter may be publicly accessible. Do not submit
confidential business information or otherwise sensitive or protected
information.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alyssa Clevenstine, Office of
Protected Resources, NMFS, (301) 427-8401.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The MMPA prohibits the ``take'' of marine mammals, with certain
exceptions. Section 101(a)(5)(A) and (D) of the MMPA (16 U.S.C. 1361 et
seq.) directs the Secretary of Commerce (as delegated to NMFS) to
allow, upon request, the incidental, but not intentional, taking of
small numbers of marine mammals by U.S. citizens who engage in a
specified activity (other than commercial fishing) within a specified
geographical region if certain findings are made and either regulations
are proposed or, if the taking is limited to harassment, a notice of a
proposed authorization is provided to the public for review.
Authorization for incidental takings shall be granted if NMFS finds
that the taking will have a negligible impact on the species or
stock(s) and will not have an unmitigable adverse impact on the
availability of the species or stock(s) for taking for subsistence uses
(where relevant). Further, NMFS must prescribe the permissible methods
of taking and other ``means of effecting the least practicable adverse
impact'' on the affected species or stocks and their habitat, paying
particular attention to rookeries, mating grounds, and areas of similar
significance, and on the availability of the species or stocks for
taking for certain subsistence uses (referred to in shorthand as
``mitigation''); and requirements pertaining to the monitoring and
reporting of the takings.
NMFS has defined ``negligible impact'' in 50 CFR 216.103 as an
impact resulting from the specified activity that cannot be reasonably
expected to, and is not reasonably likely to, adversely affect the
species or stock through effects on annual rates of recruitment or
survival.
The MMPA states that the term ``take'' means to harass, hunt,
capture, kill or attempt to harass, hunt, capture, or kill any marine
mammal.
The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2004
(Pub. L. 108-136) amended section 101(a)(5) of the MMPA to remove the
``small numbers'' and ``specified geographical region'' provisions and
amended the definition of ``harassment'' as applied to a ``military
readiness activity'' to read as follows (section 3(18)(B) of the MMPA):
(i) Any act that injures or has the significant potential to injure a
marine mammal or marine mammal stock in the wild (Level A Harassment);
or (ii) Any act that disturbs or is likely to disturb a marine mammal
or marine mammal stock in the wild by causing disruption of natural
behavioral patterns, including, but not limited to, migration,
surfacing, nursing, breeding, feeding, or sheltering, to a point where
such behavioral patterns are abandoned or significantly altered (Level
B Harassment). On August 13, 2018, the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2019 (Pub.
L. 115-232) amended the MMPA to allow incidental take regulations for
military readiness activities to be issued for up to 7 years.
Summary of Request
On November 13, 2025, NMFS received an application from the USMC
requesting authorization to take marine mammals incidental to military
readiness activities, including the use of munitions (live (explosive)
and inert ammunition and ordnance), at the USMC's Cherry Point Range
Complex in Pamlico Sound, NC. NMFS provided initial comments on
November 28, 2025, and USMC submitted a revised application on April 6,
2026. In response to our comments and following information exchange,
the USMC submitted a final revised application on May 1, 2026, that we
determined was adequate and complete on May 7, 2026. The USMC requested
the regulations and subsequent LOA be valid for 7 years beginning in
2026.
[[Page 27303]]
NMFS issued previous MMPA incidental take authorizations to the
USMC for similar military readiness activities at the Cherry Point
Range Complex effective beginning March 13, 2015 (80 FR 21212), May 18,
2020 (85 FR 31462), and May 18, 2021 (86 FR 27389).
Description of the Specified Activities
The USMC proposes to conduct training activities, which include
weapons delivery training exercises (air-to-surface and surface-to-
surface) at two water-based bombing targets located within the Cherry
Point Range Complex in North Carolina.
The proposed activities would occur from 2026 through 2033, year-
round, day or night. The USMC proposes to use small arms, large arms,
bombs, missiles, rockets, grenades, and pyrotechnics for air-to-surface
and surface-to-surface training exercises, which qualify as military
readiness activities. The proposed activities are likely to result in
the take of one species of marine mammal: bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops
erebennus).
The application includes proposed mitigation measures for marine
mammals that would be implemented during training activities in the
Cherry Point Range Complex (see section 11 of the application).
Proposed mitigation generally involves: (1) establishing clearance and
monitoring zones for marine mammals; (2) conducting range sweeps during
the morning of each exercise day prior to range operations; (3)
conducting a cold pass by an aircraft immediately prior to ordnance
delivery at the bombing targets; and (4) small boat visual checks
before and after live-fire activities.
The USMC also proposes to undertake monitoring and reporting
efforts to better understand the impacts of their activities on marine
mammals and their habitat.
Information Solicited
Interested persons may submit information, suggestions, and
comments concerning the USMC's request (see ADDRESSES section). NMFS
will consider all information, suggestions, and comments related to the
request during the development of proposed regulations governing the
incidental taking of marine mammals by the USMC, if appropriate.
Dated: May 12, 2026.
Kimberly Damon-Randall,
Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 2026-09680 Filed 5-13-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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