Petersburg to host NMFS hearing

The borough assembly requested Dec. 6 at 3 P.M. as the date for a public hearing with the National Marine Fisheries Service on the humpback whale critical habitat proposed rule.

NMFS recently published a proposed rule to designate critical habitat for Mexico, Central America and Western North Pacific district population segments of humpback whales under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, according to Angela Somma, of NMFS's Endangered Species Division. If the proposed rule passes, actions that result in the destruction or modification of the critical habitats could be restricted. The Dungenes...