Environmental Assessment: Issuance of a Protected Species Conservation and Recovery Grant to the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks to Conduct Research of Gulf Sturgeion in the Pascagoula River Estuary, Mississippi (Award File 4720034)

摘要

Under section 6 of the ESA, NMFS is authorized to cooperate with states to the maximum extent practicable in carrying out programs for the conservation of threatened and endangered species, and monitoring of candidate species. Scientific research is an important means of gathering valuable information about protected species to inform conservation and management measures to recovery listed species, and avoid the listing of candidate species. The purpose of this proposed action is to provide financial assistance to support research that helps identify feeding habitat for and movement of the juvenile/sub-adult cohort of Gulf sturgeon in the Pascagoula River estuary. Section 6(d) of the ESA allows NMFS to provide financial assistance to any State, through its respective State agency that has entered into a section 6 agreement with NMFS, to support conservation activities for threatened and endangered species, or to monitor the status of candidate species and recently de-listed species. Many of the specific activities that would be funded through the proposed action have been authorized under delegated authorities granted to the MDWFP by the USFWS under an ESA section 6 agreement for scientific collecting and handling permits for federally listed threatened species in Mississippi. MDWFP has delegated this responsibility to the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science.