A Comparison and Contrast of Environmental Monitoring Techniques from 2008 to 2014 on the Pacific Harbor Seal and Northern Channel Island Pinnipeds

• Main Author: Ortt, Jesse
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Published: 2015
• Subjects: Pacific; harbor seal
• Online Access: http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/resolver/1840.4/8630

Ortt, Jesse. Master of Environmental Assessment. A Comparison and Contrast of Environmental Monitoring Techniques from 2008 to 2014 on the Pacific Harbor Seal and Northern Channel Island Pinnipeds. During certain times of the calendar year, United States Spacelift launches from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California can cause stress and impact on the breeding grounds of the Pacific Harbor Seal and the Northern Channel Island Pinnipeds. The US Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA Fisheries Service have established monitoring requirements for space lift operations from Vandenberg Air Force Base for anthropogenic noise based off of the sonic boom modeling program (PCBoom3). Following the analysis of 5 years of cumulative data of the Atlas V launches, the Air Force proposed a set of mitigation and monitoring measures that would lessen the impact on the marine mammals. This included implementing seasonal restrictions such as “avoiding missile and rocket launches during the harbor seal pupping season of March through June, whenever possible and avoiding, whenever possible, launches which are predicted to produce a sonic boom on the Northern Channel Islands during Pinniped pupping seasons” (NOAA 2013). Based on these seasonal restrictions, the requirements for monitoring were reduced for Vandenberg Air Force Base.