81 FR 65159 - Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument
Executive Office of the President
Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 183 (September 21, 2016)
Page Range
65159-65167
FR Document
2016-22921
Federal Register, Volume 81 Issue 183 (Wednesday, September 21, 2016)
[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 183 (Wednesday, September 21, 2016)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 65159-65167]
From the Federal Register Online [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-22921]
[[Page 65159]]
Vol. 81
Wednesday,
No. 183
September 21, 2016
Part III
The President
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Proclamation 9496--Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National
Monument
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 81 , No. 183 / Wednesday, September 21, 2016
/ Presidential Documents
___________________________________________________________________
Title 3--
The President
[[Page 65161]]
Proclamation 9496 of September 15, 2016
Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National
Monument
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
For generations, communities and families have relied
on the waters of the northwest Atlantic Ocean and have
told of their wonders. Throughout New England, the
maritime trades, and especially fishing, have supported
a vibrant way of life, with deep cultural roots and a
strong connection to the health of the ocean and the
bounty it provides. Over the past several decades, the
Nation has made great strides in its stewardship of the
ocean, but the ocean faces new threats from varied
uses, climate change, and related impacts. Through
exploration, we continue to make new discoveries and
improve our understanding of ocean ecosystems. In these
waters, the Atlantic Ocean meets the continental shelf
in a region of great abundance and diversity as well as
stark geological relief. The waters are home to many
species of deep-sea corals, fish, whales and other
marine mammals. Three submarine canyons and, beyond
them, four undersea mountains lie in the waters
approximately 130 miles southeast of Cape Cod. This
area (the canyon and seamount area) includes unique
ecological resources that have long been the subject of
scientific interest.
The canyon and seamount area, which will constitute the
monument as set forth in this proclamation, is composed
of two units, which showcase two distinct geological
features that support vulnerable ecological
communities. The Canyons Unit includes three underwater
canyons--Oceanographer, Gilbert, and Lydonia--and
covers approximately 941 square miles. The Seamounts
Unit includes four seamounts--Bear, Mytilus, Physalia,
and Retriever--and encompasses 3,972 square miles. The
canyon and seamount area includes the waters and
submerged lands within the coordinates included in the
accompanying map. The canyon and seamount area contains
objects of historic and scientific interest that are
situated upon lands owned or controlled by the Federal
Government. These objects are the canyons and seamounts
themselves, and the natural resources and ecosystems in
and around them.
The canyons start at the edge of the geological
continental shelf and drop from 200 meters to thousands
of meters deep. The seamounts are farther off shore, at
the start of the New England Seamount chain, rising
thousands of meters from the ocean floor. These canyons
and seamounts are home to at least 54 species of deep-
sea corals, which live at depths of at least 3,900
meters below the sea surface. The corals, together with
other structure-forming fauna such as sponges and
anemones, create a foundation for vibrant deep-sea
ecosystems, providing food, spawning habitat, and
shelter for an array of fish and invertebrate species.
These habitats are extremely sensitive to disturbance
from extractive activities.
Because of the steep slopes of the canyons and
seamounts, oceanographic currents that encounter them
create localized eddies and result in upwelling.
Currents lift nutrients, like nitrates and phosphates,
critical to the growth of phytoplankton from the deep
to sunlit surface waters. These nutrients fuel an
eruption of phytoplankton and zooplankton that form the
base of the food chain. Aggregations of plankton draw
large schools of small fish
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and then larger animals that prey on these fish, such
as whales, sharks, tunas, and seabirds. Together the
geology, currents, and productivity create diverse and
vibrant ecosystems.
The Canyons
Canyons cut deep into the geological continental shelf
and slope throughout the mid-Atlantic and New England
regions. They are susceptible to active erosion and
powerful ocean currents that transport sediments and
organic carbon from the shelf through the canyons to
the deep ocean floor. In Oceanographer, Gilbert, and
Lydonia canyons, the hard canyon walls provide habitats
for sponges, corals, and other invertebrates that
filter food from the water to flourish, and for larger
species including squid, octopus, skates, flounders,
and crabs. Major oceanographic features, such as
currents, temperature gradients, eddies, and fronts,
occur on a large scale and influence the distribution
patterns of such highly migratory oceanic species as
tuna, billfish, and sharks. They provide feeding
grounds for these and many other marine species.
Toothed whales, such as the endangered sperm whale, and
many species of beaked whales are strongly attracted to
the environments created by submarine canyons. Surveys
of the area show significantly higher numbers of beaked
whales present in canyon regions than in non-canyon
shelf-edge regions. Endangered sperm whales, iconic in
the region due to the historic importance of the
species to New England's whaling communities,
preferentially inhabit the U.S. Atlantic continental
margin. Two additional species of endangered whales
(fin whales and sei whales) have also been observed in
the canyon and seamount area.
The Seamounts
The New England Seamount Chain was formed as the
Earth's crust passed over a stationary hot spot that
pushed magma up through the seafloor, and is now
composed of more than 30 extinct undersea volcanoes,
running like a curved spine from the southern side of
Georges Bank to midway across the western Atlantic
Ocean. Many of them have characteristic flat tops that
were created by erosion by ocean waves and subsidence
as the magma cooled. Four of these seamounts--Bear,
Physalia, Retriever, and Mytilus--are in the United
States Exclusive Economic Zone. Bear Seamount is
approximately 100 million years old and the largest of
the four; it rises approximately 2,500 meters from the
seafloor to within 1,000 meters of the sea surface. Its
summit is over 12 miles in diameter. The three smaller
seamounts reach to within 2,000 meters of the surface.
All four of these seamounts have steep and complex
topography that interrupts existing currents, providing
a constant supply of plankton and nutrients to the
animals that inhabit their sides. They also cause
upwelling of nutrient-rich waters toward the ocean
surface.
Geographically isolated from the continental platform,
these seamounts support highly diverse ecological
communities with deep-sea corals that are hundreds or
thousands of years old and a wide array of other
benthic marine organisms not found on the surrounding
deep-sea floor. They provide shelter from predators,
increased food, nurseries, and spawning areas. The New
England seamounts have many rare and endemic species,
several of which are new to science and are not known
to live anywhere else on Earth.
The Ecosystem
The submarine canyons and seamounts create dynamic
currents and eddies that enhance biological
productivity and provide feeding grounds for seabirds;
pelagic species, including whales, dolphins, and
turtles; and highly migratory fish, such as tunas,
billfish, and sharks. More than ten species of shark,
including great white sharks, are known to utilize the
feeding grounds of the canyon and seamount area.
Additionally, surveys of leatherback and loggerhead
turtles in the area have revealed increased numbers
above and immediately adjacent to the canyons and Bear
Seamount.
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Marine birds concentrate in upwelling areas near the
canyons and seamounts. Several species of gulls,
shearwaters, storm petrels, gannets, skuas, and terns,
among others, are regularly observed in the region,
sometimes in large aggregations. Recent analysis of
geolocation data found that Maine's vulnerable Atlantic
puffin frequents the canyon and seamount area between
September and March, indicating a previously unknown
wintering habitat for those birds.
These canyons and seamounts, and the ecosystem they
compose, have long been of intense scientific interest.
Scientists from government and academic oceanographic
institutions have studied the canyons and seamounts
using research vessels, submarines, and remotely
operated underwater vehicles for important deep-sea
expeditions that have yielded new information about
living marine resources. Much remains to be discovered
about these unique, isolated environments and their
geological, ecological, and biological resources.
WHEREAS, the waters and submerged lands in and around
the deep-sea canyons Oceanographer, Lydonia, and
Gilbert, and the seamounts Bear, Physalia, Retriever,
and Mytilus, contain objects of scientific and historic
interest that are situated upon lands owned or
controlled by the Federal Government;
WHEREAS, section 320301 of title 54, United States Code
(the ``Antiquities Act''), authorizes the President, in
his discretion, to declare by public proclamation
historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric
structures, and other objects of historic or scientific
interest that are situated upon the lands owned or
controlled by the Federal Government to be national
monuments, and to reserve as a part thereof parcels of
land, the limits of which shall be confined to the
smallest area compatible with the proper care and
management of the objects to be protected;
WHEREAS, it is in the public interest to preserve the
marine environment, including the waters and submerged
lands, in the area to be known as the Northeast Canyons
and Seamounts Marine National Monument, for the care
and management of the objects of historic and
scientific interest therein;
WHEREAS, the well-being of the United States, the
prosperity of its citizens and the protection of the
ocean environment are complementary and reinforcing
priorities; and the United States continues to act with
due regard for the rights, freedoms, and lawful uses of
the sea enjoyed by other nations under the law of the
sea in managing the canyon and seamount area and does
not compromise the readiness, training, and global
mobility of the U.S. Armed Forces when establishing
marine protected areas;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the
United States of America, by the authority vested in me
by section 320301 of title 54, United States Code,
hereby proclaim the objects identified above that are
situated upon lands and interests in lands owned or
controlled by the Federal Government to be the
Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National
Monument (monument) and, for the purpose of protecting
those objects, reserve as a part thereof all lands and
interests in lands owned or controlled by the Federal
Government within the boundaries described on the
accompanying map entitled ``Northeast Canyons and
Seamounts Marine National Monument,'' which is attached
hereto, and forms a part of this proclamation. The
Federal lands and interests in lands reserved consist
of approximately 4,913 square miles, which is the
smallest area compatible with the proper care and
management of the objects to be protected.
The establishment of the monument is subject to valid
existing rights. All Federal lands and interests in
lands within the boundaries of the monument are hereby
appropriated and withdrawn from all forms of entry,
location, selection, sale, leasing, or other
disposition under the public land laws to the extent
that those laws apply, including but not limited to,
withdrawal from location, entry and patent under mining
laws, and from disposition under all laws relating to
development of oil and gas, minerals, geothermal,
[[Page 65164]]
or renewable energy. Lands and interest in lands within
the monument not owned or controlled by the United
States shall be reserved as part of the monument upon
acquisition of title or control by the United States.
Management of the Marine National Monument
The Secretaries of Commerce and the Interior
(Secretaries) shall share management responsibility for
the monument. The Secretary of Commerce, through the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
and in consultation with the Secretary of the Interior,
shall have responsibility for management of activities
and species within the monument under the Magnuson-
Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the
Endangered Species Act (for species regulated by NOAA),
the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and any other
applicable Department of Commerce legal authorities.
The Secretary of the Interior, through the United
States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), and in
consultation with the Secretary of Commerce, shall have
responsibility for management of activities and species
within the monument under its applicable legal
authorities, including the National Wildlife Refuge
System Administration Act, the Refuge Recreation Act,
and the Endangered Species Act (for species regulated
by FWS), and Public Law 98-532 and Executive Order 6166
of June 10, 1933.
The Secretaries shall prepare a joint management plan,
within their respective authorities, for the monument
within 3 years of the date of this proclamation, and
shall promulgate as appropriate implementing
regulations, within their respective authorities, that
address any further specific actions necessary for the
proper care and management of the objects and area
identified in this proclamation. The Secretaries shall
revise and update the management plan as necessary. In
developing and implementing any management plans and
any management rules and regulations, the Secretaries
shall consult, designate, and involve as cooperating
agencies the agencies with jurisdiction or special
expertise, including the Department of Defense and
Department of State, in accordance with the National
Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and
its implementing regulations. In addition, the
Secretaries shall work to continue advances in resource
protection in the Monument area that have resulted from
a strong culture of collaboration and enhanced
stewardship of marine resources.
This proclamation shall be applied in accordance with
international law, and the Secretaries shall coordinate
with the Department of State to that end. The
management plans and their implementing regulations
shall not unlawfully restrict navigation and overflight
and other internationally recognized lawful uses of the
sea in the monument and shall incorporate the
provisions of this proclamation regarding U.S. Armed
Forces actions and compliance with international law.
No restrictions shall apply to or be enforced against a
person who is not a citizen, national, or resident
alien of the United States (including foreign flag
vessels) unless in accordance with international law.
Also, in accordance with international law, no
restrictions shall apply to foreign warships, naval
auxiliaries, and other vessels owned or operated by a
state and used, for the time being, only on government
non-commercial service, in order to fully respect the
sovereign immunity of such vessels under international
law.
Restrictions
Prohibited Activities
The Secretaries shall prohibit, to the extent
consistent with international law, any person from
conducting or causing to be conducted the following
activities:
1. Exploring for, developing, or producing oil and
gas or minerals, or undertaking any other energy
exploration or development activities within the
monument.
2. Using or attempting to use poisons, electrical
charges, or explosives in the collection or harvest of
a monument resource.
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3. Introducing or otherwise releasing an introduced
species from within or into the monument.
4. Removing, moving, taking, harvesting,
possessing, injuring, disturbing, or damaging, or
attempting to remove, move, take, harvest, possess,
injure, disturb, or damage, any living or nonliving
monument resource, except as provided under regulated
activities below.
5. Drilling into, anchoring, dredging, or otherwise
altering the submerged lands; or constructing, placing,
or abandoning any structure, material, or other matter
on the submerged lands, except for scientific
instruments and constructing or maintaining submarine
cables.
6. Fishing commercially or possessing commercial
fishing gear except when stowed and not available for
immediate use during passage without interruption
through the monument, except for the red crab fishery
and the American lobster fishery as regulated below.
Regulated Activities
Subject to such terms and conditions as the Secretaries
deem appropriate, the Secretaries, pursuant to their
respective authorities, to the extent consistent with
international law, may permit any of the following
activities regulated by this proclamation if such
activity is consistent with the care and management of
the objects within the monument and is not prohibited
as specified above:
1. Research and scientific exploration designed to
further understanding of monument resources and
qualities or knowledge of the North Atlantic Ocean
ecosystem and resources.
2. Activities that will further the educational
value of the monument or will assist in the
conservation and management of the monument.
3. Anchoring scientific instruments.
4. Recreational fishing in accordance with
applicable fishery management plans and other
applicable laws and other requirements.
5. Commercial fishing for red crab and American
lobster for a period of not more than 7 years from the
date of this proclamation, in accordance with
applicable fishery management plans and other
regulations, and under permits in effect on the date of
this proclamation. After 7 years, red crab and American
lobster commercial fishing is prohibited in the
monument.
6. Other activities that do not impact monument
resources, such as sailing or bird and marine mammal
watching so long as those activities are conducted in
accordance with applicable laws and regulations,
including the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Nothing in
this proclamation is intended to require that the
Secretaries issue individual permits in order to allow
such activities.
7. Construction and maintenance of submarine
cables.
Regulation of Scientific Exploration and Research
The prohibitions required by this proclamation shall
not restrict scientific exploration or research
activities by or for the Secretaries, and nothing in
this proclamation shall be construed to require a
permit or other authorization from the other Secretary
for their respective scientific activities.
Emergencies and Law Enforcement Activities
The prohibitions required by this proclamation shall
not apply to activities necessary to respond to
emergencies threatening life, property, or the
environment, or to activities necessary for law
enforcement purposes.
U.S. Armed Forces
1. The prohibitions required by this proclamation
shall not apply to activities and exercises of the U.S.
Armed Forces, including those carried out by the United
States Coast Guard.
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2. The U.S. Armed Forces shall ensure, by the
adoption of appropriate measures not impairing
operations or operation capabilities, that its vessels
and aircraft act in a manner consistent so far as is
practicable, with this proclamation.
3. In the event of threatened or actual destruction
of, loss of, or injury to a monument resource or
quality resulting from an incident, including but not
limited to spills and groundings, caused by a component
of the Department of Defense or the United States Coast
Guard, the cognizant component shall promptly
coordinate with the Secretaries for the purpose of
taking appropriate action to respond to and mitigate
any harm and, if possible, restore or replace the
monument resource or quality.
4. Nothing in this proclamation or any regulation
implementing it shall limit or otherwise affect the
U.S. Armed Forces' discretion to use, maintain,
improve, manage or control any property under the
administrative control of a Military Department or
otherwise limit the availability of such property for
military mission purposes, including, but not limited
to, defensive areas and airspace reservations.
Other Provisions
Nothing in this proclamation shall be deemed to revoke
any existing withdrawal, reservation, or appropriation;
however, the monument shall be the dominant
reservation.
Warning is hereby given to all unauthorized persons not
to appropriate, excavate, injure, destroy, or remove
any feature of this monument and not to locate or
settle upon any lands thereof.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
fifteenth day of September, in the year of our Lord two
thousand sixteen, and of the Independence of the United
States of America the two hundred and forty-first.
(Presidential Sig.)
Billing code 3295-F6-P
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[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TD21SE16.003
[FR Doc. 2016-22921
Filed 9-20-16; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3510-07-C