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).
Nationwide Consultations
- EPA's Vessel General Permit and Small Vessel General Permit
(November 28, 2012) - U.S. Coast Guard's National Ballast Water Management Program
(June 20, 2012) - U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Nationwide Permit Program
(February 15, 2012) - EPA: Pesticide Biological Opinions
- Archive of NMFS Headquarters Biological Opinions (2010-2011)
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) - Archive of NMFS Headquarters Biological Opinions (2010-2011)
Scientific Research on ESA-Listed Species
- Proposal to Issue Permit 16598 to Inwater Research Group for Research on Sea Turtles
(July 3, 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) - 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) - 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) - Archive of NMFS Headquarters Biological Opinions (2010-2011)
Archive
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
More Information
Updated: January 9, 2013