Biological Opinions (ESA Section 7)
Overview
Biological opinions document NMFS' opinion as to whether a Federal action is likely to jeopardize the continued existence of an ESA-listed species, or result in the destruction or adverse modification of species' critical habitat.
Opinions Issued
In the Headquarters office, NMFS consults on two general types of Federal Agency actions:
- actions that are large in scale, such as
- nationwide, or programmatic, consultations - actions that address a Federal Agency's entire program, rather than each specific action
- incidental harassment - actions that have a large acoustic footprint and may result in incidental harassment
- directed take of ESA-listed species for scientific research - actions that result in directed take of our listed species
Regional Offices consult on smaller-scale projects; those Opinions can be found on the regional offices web pages (see below).
- Proposal to Issue Permit 16598 to Inwater Research Group for Research on Sea Turtles
(July 3, 2012) - Registration of thiobencarb to EPA
(July 2, 2012) - U.S. Coast Guard's National Ballast Water Management Program
(June 20, 2012) - Issuance of Batched Permits 15569, 16111, 16160, and 16163
(June 4, 2012) - Proposal to Issue Permit 15802 to Gregg Poulakis for Research on Smalltooth Sawfish
(June 1, 2012) - Registration of three dinitroaniline herbicides to EPA
(May 31, 2012) - Proposal to Issue Permit 16473 to Ann Pabst for Whale Survey
(May 30, 2012) - Proposal to Issue Permit 15420 to NMFS PIFSC for Research on 27 Cetacean Species
(May 15, 2012) - Proposal to Issue Permit 16306 for Research on Shortnose Sturgeon
(May 11, 2012) - Proposal to Issue Permit 15566-01 to the SCDNR to Authorize Research on Sea Turtles
(May 3, 2012) - Permits 15575 and 16109 for research on marine mammals and sea turtles in the Atlantic Ocean from MA to NC
(May 1, 2012) - Permit 14118 to Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution for Cetacean Research in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans
(April 27, 2012) - Permit 15634 to NMFS SWFSC for leatherback sea turtle research off the coasts of CA, WA, and OR
(April 13, 2012) - Proposal to Issue Permit 14534-02 to NMFS to Conduct Research on Humpback Whales
(April 6, 2012) - Permits (multiple) for Atlantic Sturgeon Research
(April 2, 2012) - Permit 15672 to Molly Lutcavage for research on leatherback sea turtles off the New England coast in the Atlantic Ocean
(March 7, 2012) - Permit 15844 to Susan Boudreau for Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve
(February 23, 2012) - U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Nationwide Permit Program
(February 15, 2012) - U.S. Forest Service: Aerial Application of Long-term Fire Retardants on all U.S. Forest Service Lands
(November 7, 2011) - EPA's Issuance of the Office of Water's National Pollution Discharge Elimination System, Pesticides General Permit under the Clean Water Act for DC, ID, MA, and NH; Federal lands in DE, VT, and WA; and Indian lands nationwide
(October 14, 2011) - EPA: Office of Water Pesticides General Permit [pdf]
(October 14, 2011) - EPA: Pesticide Biological Opinions
Incidental Harassment Authorizations
- Cascadia Thrust Zone northern area and Cascadia Subduction Zone seismic survey
(July 10, 2012) - L-DEO Seismic Survey in the Northeast Pacific Ocean: Cascadia Thrust Zone southern survey area
(June 27, 2012) - L-DEO Seismic Survey in the Northeast Pacific Ocean: Juan de Fuca Plate study area
(June 13, 2012) - Proposal to Issue IHA for South America Seismic Survey by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography
(May 2, 2012) - Issuance of IHA Seismic Survey by the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observation Over the Shatsky Rise
(March 23, 2012) - Issuance of IHA Seismic Survey by the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observation off the Marianas Islands
(February 1, 2012) - Navy HRC LOA 2012-2014: U.S. Navy training exercises in the Hawaii Range Complex
(January 10, 2012) - Navy SOCAL LOA 2012-2014: U.S. Navy Training in the Southern California Training Range
(January 9, 2012) - Navy AFAST LOA 2012-2014: U.S. Navy active sonar training along the Atlantic Coast and Gulf of Mexico
(December 19, 2011) - LDEO IHA for Marine Seismic Survey in the Central Pacific Ocean
(November 23, 2011) - Scripps Institute of Oceanography IHA for seismic survey in western tropical North Pacific
(October 31, 2011)
Scientific Research on ESA-Listed Species
- Permit 15672 to Molly Lutcavage for research on leatherback sea turtles off the New England coast in the Atlantic Ocean
(March 7, 2012) - Permit 15844 to Susan Boudreau for Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve
(February 23, 2012) - Permits 15661 and 15685 and Modification to Permit 10027-04 on sea turtles in nearshore habitats off the Northern Mariana Islands, the Hawaiian Islands, and Palmyra Atoll
(January 18, 2012) - Permit 16253 to Bonnie Ponwith, SEFSC
(January 9, 2012) - Permit 16194 to Bonnie Ponwith, SEFSC
(December 22, 2011) - Permit 15682 to research humpback whales in Puerto Rico
(December 16, 2011) - Permit 16146 for Research on the Biology, Distribution, and Abundance of Sea Turtles at Buck Island Reef National Monument, USVI
(December 15, 2011) - Permit 10022-02 Modification for sea turtles in the coastal bays of Northwest Florida
(December 7, 2011) - Permit 781-1824-02 Amendment for Brad Hanson, NWFSC
(November 22, 2011) - Permit 16439 to evaluate shortnose sturgeon populations in the Hudson River
(November 21, 2011) - Permit 15750 to ABR, Inc., for marine mammal research in Alaska
(November 15, 2011) - Permit 15274 to Dan Salden for research on humpback whales and Hawaiian insular false killer whales in Hawaii and Southeast Alaska
(November 8, 2011) - Permit 16174 to Michael Salmon for juvenile green sea turtles research in Florida
(November 8, 2011)
Region-Specific Biological Opinions
- Alaska Region (AKR) Biological Opinions
- Northeast Region (NER) Biological Opinions
- Northwest Region (NWR) Biological Opinions
- Pacific Islands Region (PIR) Biological Opinions
- Southeast Region (SER) Biological Opinions
- Southwest Region (SWR) Biological Opinions
For More Information
- Archive of NMFS Headquarters Biological Opinions (2010-2011)
- Endangered Species Act (ESA)
- Consultation Query (Northwest Region) in Public Consultation Tracking System (PCTS)
Updated: August 23, 2012