[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 166 (Monday, August 29, 2005)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 50999-51000]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-17080]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

36 CFR Part 242

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 100

RIN 1018-AT81


Subsistence Management Regulations for Public Lands in Alaska, 
Subpart A

AGENCIES: Forest Service, Agriculture; Fish and Wildlife Service, 
Interior.

ACTION: Proposed Rule: Notice of availability of supplemental 
information and reopening of the comment period.

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SUMMARY: On December 8, 2004, we, the Federal Subsistence Board, 
published a proposed rule to revise and clarify the jurisdiction of the 
Federal Subsistence Management Program in coastal areas in southwestern 
Alaska. This rulemaking is necessary in order to exclude numerous 
saltwater embayments within National Wildlife Refuge boundaries that 
were never intended to fall under the jurisdiction of the Federal 
Subsistence Management Program. We are now reopening the comment period 
for this rulemaking action because of newly available maps of the 
specific embayments in southwestern Alaska to be excluded from the 
jurisdiction of the Federal Subsistence Management Program. If you have 
already commented on the proposed rule and have no additional comments 
to make as a result of viewing the newly available maps, then you do 
not need to resubmit your comment(s), as they will

[[Page 51000]]

be fully considered in the final determination.

DATES: We must receive your written public comments on this proposed 
rule no later than October 21, 2005.

ADDRESSES: Please submit comments electronically to 
[email protected]. See ``Viewing Documents'' and ``Public Comment'' 
under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for information about viewing the maps 
and electronic filing of your comments. You may also submit written 
comments to the Office of Subsistence Management, 3601 C Street, Suite 
1030, Anchorage, Alaska 99503.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Chair, Federal Subsistence Board, c/o 
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Attention: Thomas H. Boyd, Office of 
Subsistence Management; (907) 786-3888. For questions specific to 
National Forest System lands, contact Steve Kessler, Regional 
Subsistence Program Leader, USDA, Forest Service, Alaska Region, (907) 
786-3888.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Federal Subsistence Management Regulations (50 CFR 100.3 and 36 CFR 
242.3) currently specify that they apply on ``all navigable and non-
navigable waters within the exterior boundaries * * *'' of the parks, 
refuges, forests, conservation areas, recreation areas, and Wild and 
Scenic Rivers. This includes, within National Wildlife Refuge 
boundaries, hundreds of thousands of acres of saltwater embayments that 
were not withdrawn prior to Statehood and thus where the current 
regulations exert jurisdiction. During the early interagency 
discussions relative to inclusion of fisheries management in the 
Federal Subsistence Management Program, there does not appear to have 
been any intention to specifically extend Federal jurisdiction to 
various embayments where there was no pre-Statehood withdrawal of 
submerged lands and waters.
    On December 8, 2004, the Secretary of the Interior and the 
Secretary of Agriculture published a proposed rule in the Federal 
Register (69 FR 70940) that, if finalized, would revise and clarify the 
jurisdiction of the Federal Subsistence Management Program in coastal 
areas of southwestern Alaska to exclude those various embayments where 
there was no pre-Statehood withdrawal of submerged lands and waters. 
During the comment period, which closed originally on January 24, 2005, 
and was extended until April 1, 2005, one commenter indicated that in 
order to make meaningful comments, the public needed to know which 
specific bays would be affected and needed access to maps of the 
affected areas. We agree and are making maps available for review and 
are reopening the comment period to accept comments on the maps as well 
as on the proposed rule (69 FR 70940).

Areas To Be Excluded From Federal Subsistence Management Program 
Jurisdiction

    Under the proposed rule, all of the following areas have been 
identified for exclusion from jurisdiction under the Federal 
Subsistence Management Program. Maps are now available for these areas.
    Within the Alaska Peninsula or Izembek National Wildlife Refuge 
boundaries:

Wide Bay
Agripina Bay
Kujulik Bay
Chignik Lagoon, including Mallard Duck Bay and Schooner Bay
Mud Bay
Anchorage Bay
Lake Bay
Castle Bay
Warner Bay, including Ross Cove
Devils Bay
Kuiukta Bay, including Portage Bay, Windy Bay, Foot Bay, Fishhook Bay, 
and Herring Lagoon
Mitrofania Bay, including Fishrack Bay
Ivanof Bay
Boulder Bay
Fox Bay
American Bay
Albatross Anchorage
Pavlof Bay, including Canoe Bay, Jackson Lagoon, and Chinaman Lagoon
Long John Lagoon
Dushkin Lagoon
Bear Bay
Cold Bay, including Lenard Harbor, Nurse Lagoon, and Kinzarof Lagoon
Morzhovoi Bay, including Littlejohn Lagoon
Traders Cove
Bechevin Bay, including Hotsprings Bay
Herendeen Bay, including Mine Harbor
Port Moller, including Mud Bay, Right Head, and Left Head

    Within Togiak National Wildlife Refuge boundaries:

Tvativak Bay
Kulukak Bay
Metervik Bay

    Within the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge boundaries:

Kangirlvar Bay, including Toksook Bay
Hazen Bay
Hooper Bay
Kokechik Bay

Viewing Documents

    To view maps, go to the Office of Subsistence Management Web site 
at http://alaska.fws.gov/asm/home.html. If you do not have access to 
the internet, you may contact the Office of Subsistence Management at 
the address and phone number shown at FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT 
and we will send the maps to you.

Public Comment

    Electronic filing of comments (preferred method): Please submit 
electronic comments and other data to [email protected]. Please 
submit as either WordPerfect or MS Word files, avoiding the use of any 
special characters and any form of encryption.
    Our practice is to make comments, including names and home 
addresses of respondents, available for public review during regular 
business hours. Individual respondents may request that we withhold 
their home address from the rulemaking record, which we will honor to 
the extent allowable by law. In some circumstances, we would withhold 
from the rulemaking record a respondent's identity, as allowable by 
law. If you wish for us to withhold your name and/or address, you must 
state this prominently at the beginning of your comment. We will make 
all submissions from organizations or businesses, and from individuals 
identifying themselves as representatives or officials of organizations 
or businesses, available for public inspection in their entirety.
    William Knauer drafted this document under the guidance of Thomas 
H. Boyd of the Office of Subsistence Management, Alaska Regional 
Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Anchorage, Alaska. Taylor 
Brelsford, Alaska State Office, Bureau of Land Management; Greg Bos, 
Carl Jack, and Rod Simmons, Alaska Regional Office, U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service; Sandy Rabinowitch, Alaska Regional Office, National 
Park Service; Warren Eastland, Pat Petrivelli, and Dr. Glenn Chen, 
Alaska Regional Office, Bureau of Indian Affairs; and Steve Kessler, 
Alaska Regional Office, USDA-Forest Service provided additional 
guidance.

    Dated: July 25, 2005.
Thomas H. Boyd,
Acting Chair, Federal Subsistence Board.

    Dated: July 27, 2005.
Steve Kessler,
Subsistence Program Leader, USDA-Forest Service.
[FR Doc. 05-17080 Filed 8-26-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-P; 4310-55-P