Seals may get spooked for Washington's new park boat ramps
Published Date: 8/11/2026
Proposed Rule
Summary
Pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS has received a request from the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission (State Parks) for authorization to take marine mammals incidental to the Marine Facilities Replacement Program (MFRP) in North Puget Sound in Western Washington (WA) over the course of 5 years from the date of effectiveness. NMFS is proposing incidental take regulations setting forth permissible methods of taking, other means of effecting the least practicable adverse impact on such marine mammal stocks (i.e., mitigation measures), and requirements pertaining to monitoring and reporting such takes, and requests comments on the proposed regulations. NMFS will consider public comments before making any final decision on promulgating the requested MMPA regulations.
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 2 costs, 0 mixed.
Required Construction Mitigation
If you are a contractor working on these projects in North Puget Sound, you must implement mitigation measures including mandatory monitoring to detect marine mammals before work begins, establishment of shutdown zones, use of bubble curtains for impact pile driving, and a "soft start" for impact pile driving. You must also produce monitoring reports summarizing species and behavioral observations, any construction shutdowns or delays, and construction work completed.
Timing and Work-hour Limits
Construction in-water work is restricted to specific annual windows at each site (e.g., Reid Harbor and Bowman Bay between September 1, 2026 and February 15, 2027) and pile driving/removal may occur only during daylight hours up to 14 hours per day. Across all six projects the rule estimates up to 160 in-water construction days over 5 years, and up to 69 pile driving/removal days in total.
Five-year Take Authorization
NMFS is proposing 5-year incidental-take regulations for Washington State Parks' Marine Facilities Replacement Program that would be valid from 2026 to 2031 and would authorize Level A and Level B harassment (but not serious injury or mortality) for 10 marine mammal species in North Puget Sound.
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Key Dates
Department and Agencies
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