The Makah Indian Tribe has requested authorization to hunt eastern North Pacific gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus). The right to take whales at usual and accustomed grounds is a Makah tradition secured by the 1855 Treaty of Neah Bay.
The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in 2004 that to pursue any treaty rights for whaling, the Makah Tribe must comply with the process prescribed in the Marine Mammal Protection Act for authorizing take of marine mammals otherwise prohibited by the Act's moratorium on take. Under the MMPA, “take” means to harass, hunt, capture, or kill any marine mammal or attempt such actions.
On February 14, 2005, NOAA Fisheries received a request from the Makah for a waiver of the MMPA's take moratorium. We are conducting a full evaluation of the Tribe's MMPA waiver request.
Chronology of major events related to Makah Tribe’s request to hunt gray whales
On April 5, 2019, we published a proposed rule to issue a waiver under the MMPA and proposed regulations governing the hunting of eastern North Pacific gray whales by the Makah Tribe for a 10-year period. We also published a related notice of hearing before an administrative law judge to consider the waiver and proposed regulations.
Opportunities for public participation regarding the proposed waiver and regulations
On November 14, 2019, NOAA Fisheries convened a 6-day hearing in Seattle, Washington before the administrative law judge regarding the proposed waiver and regulations.
On September 23, 2021, the administrative law judge sent his recommended decision to the Assistant Administrator for NOAA Fisheries along with the hearing transcript and other required documentation. These documents—and public comments on them and a forthcoming supplement to the 2015 draft environmental impact statement (see below)—will inform our final decision on the Makah Tribe’s waiver request.
On October 18, 2021, NOAA Fisheries announced a 25-day extension to the original 20-day public comment period, with a new deadline of November 13, 2021 to receive comments.
On December 10, 2021, NOAA Fisheries notified the parties of the administrative law judge hearing of the timeline for next steps in the waiver review process, namely the publication of a Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement, a Final Environmental Impact Statement, and a final waiver decision.
On July 1, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced the availability of a Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement and a public comment period ending on August 15, 2022.
On August 16, 2022, NOAA Fisheries announced a 60-day extension to the original 45-day public comment period, with a new deadline of October 14, 2022 to receive comments.
On October 25, 2022, NOAA announced a 7-day reopening of the public comment period, with comments accepted from October 28, 2022 until November 3, 2022
On February 6, 2023, NOAA Fisheries notified the parties (PDF, 8 pages) of the administrative law judge hearing of an updated timeline for the publication of a Finale Environmental Impact Statement and a final waiver decision.
On November 17, 2023, the EPA announced the availability of a Final Environmental Impact Statement under NEPA.
2005 Makah Request for Marine Mammal Protection Act Waiver
- Transmittal Letter from the Makah Tribal Council to William T. Hogarth (NOAA)
- Application for Waiver of the MMPA Take Moratorium to Exercise Gray Whale Hunting Rights Secured in the Treaty of Neah Bay
- Appendix A of the Application (Needs Statement)
- Appendix B of the Application (1855 Treaty of Neah Bay)
- Federal Register notice of availability of waiver request
National Environmental Protection Act Analysis of Makah Request
Our first step in evaluating the request was to develop a draft environmental impact statement in accordance with the provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act, which we released for public comment in May 2008. In May 2012 we terminated that initial process and began developing a new DEIS in light of substantial new scientific information central to our consideration of the Tribe's request and our NEPA evaluation. In March 2015, we released a new DEIS that considers that new information and public input from our previous requests for comment.
On February 27, 2020, we announced our intent to prepare a supplement to the 2015 DEIS. The supplement will be based on the Assistant Administrator’s consideration of the administrative law judge’s recommendation and public comments on that recommendation.
On November 17, 2023, we published the Final Environmental Impact Statement, which evaluates a no action and six action alternatives. The preferred alternative is based on the administrative law judge’s recommendation and public comments on that recommendation. The release of the Final Environmental Impact Statement represents a required step in the process that brings the NOAA Assistant Administrator closer to a final decision.
Below are key documents prepared during the NEPA process.
2023 Final Environmental Impact Statement
- 2023 Final Environmental Impact Statement
- EPA Notice of FEIS Availability (November 17, 2023)
2022 Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement
- 2022 Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement
- EPA Notice of SDEIS Availability (July 1, 2022)
- Dear Recipient letter (July 1, 2022)
- NOAA Fisheries Request for Comments on the SDEIS (July 5, 2022)
- NOAA Fisheries Notice of Comment Period Extension (August 16, 2022)
- Recent Trends in the Abundance of Seasonal Gray Whales (Eschrichtius robustus) in the Pacific Northwest, 1996-2020 (September 2022)
2015 Draft Environmental Impact Statement
- 2015 Draft Environmental Impact Statement
- EPA Notice of Comment Period Extension to July 31, 2015
- EPA Notice of DEIS Availability (March 13, 2015)
- NOAA Fisheries Notice of Public Meetings and Request for Comments on the DEIS (March 20, 2015)
Libraries where you can view the complete 2015 DEIS:
- Seattle Public Library, 1000 Fourth Ave., Seattle, WA 98104
- North Olympic Library System (NOLS) - Forks Branch, 171 South Forks Ave., Forks, WA 98331
- NOLS - Sequim Branch, 630 North Sequim Avenue, Sequim, WA 98382
- NOLS - Port Angeles Branch, 2210 S Peabody St., Port Angeles, WA 98362
- NOLS - Clallam Bay Branch, 16990 Hwy 112, Clallam Bay, WA 98326
The public comment period for this DEIS expired on July 31, 2015. Public meetings were held on:
- Mon April 27th, 6:30 pm - 9:30 pm, NOAA Western Regional Center, Building 9 (Kelly C. Sandy III Auditorium), 7600 Sand Point Way, NE, Seattle, Washington
- Wed April 29th, 6:30 pm - 9:30 pm, Vern Burton Memorial Community Center, 308 East 4th Street, Port Angeles, Washington
- Public comments received on the 2015 DEIS
