Initiation of Review of Management Plan/Regulations of the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary; Intent To Prepare Draft Environmental Impact Statement and Management Plan; Scoping Meetings

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In accordance with section 304(e) of the National Marine Sanctuaries Act, as amended, (NMSA) (16 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.), the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries (ONMS) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has initiated a review of the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary (HIHWNMS or sanctuary) management plan, to evaluate substantive progress toward implementing the goals for the sanctuary, and to make revisions to its management plan and regulations as necessary to fulfill the purposes and policies of the NMSA and the Hawaiian Islands National Marine Sanctuary Act (HINMSA; Title II, Subtitle C, Pub. L. 102-587). The present management plan was written as part of the sanctuary's management plan review process in 2002 and did not contain any regulatory or boundary changes from the implementing regulations that became effective December 29, 1999 (64 FR 63262). NOAA anticipates completion of the revised management plan and concomitant documents will require approximately thirty-six months from the date of publication of this Notice of Intent. The management plan review process occurs concurrently with a public process under the National En