[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 162 (Wednesday, August 22, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Page 47067]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-16491]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[AK-930-5420-FR-L042; AA-085787]


Notice of Application for a Recordable Disclaimer of Interest for 
Lands Underlying the Stikine River in Alaska

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The State of Alaska (State) has filed an application for a 
Recordable Disclaimer of Interest from the United States in those lands 
underlying the Stikine River, located in Southeast Alaska. The State 
asserts that the Stikine River was navigable and unreserved at the time 
of statehood; therefore, title to the submerged lands passed to the 
State at the time of statehood (1959). The lands included in the 
application are within the exterior boundary of the Tongass National 
Forest, created by Presidential Proclamation of February 16, 1909, and 
administered by the U.S. Forest Service in the Department of 
Agriculture.

DATES: Comments on the State of Alaska's application should be 
submitted on or before November 20, 2007. The Bureau of Land Management 
(BLM) has prepared a Draft Summary Report. Comments on the Draft 
Summary Report should be submitted on or before October 22, 2007. The 
State's application and the BLM Draft Summary Report will be posted on 
the BLM-Alaska Web site: http://www.blm.gov/ak/ak930/rdi/index.html

ADDRESSES: Comments on the State of Alaska's application or the BLM 
Draft Summary Report should be sent to the Chief, Branch of Survey 
Planning and Preparation (AK-927), Division of Cadastral Survey, BLM 
Alaska State Office, 222 West 7th Avenue, 13, Anchorage, 
Alaska 99513-7599.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mike Brown at (907) 271-3602 or [email protected] or visit the BLM-Alaska Web site http://www.blm.gov/ak/ak930/rdi/index.html.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On February 17, 2005, the State of Alaska 
(State) filed an application for a Recordable Disclaimer of Interest 
pursuant to Section 315 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act 
and the regulations contained in 43 CFR Subpart 1864 for those lands 
underlying the Stikine River (AA-085787). A Recordable Disclaimer of 
Interest, if issued, will confirm the United States has no valid 
interest in the subject lands. The notice is intended to notify the 
public of the pending application and the State's grounds for 
supporting it. The State asserts that the Stikine River is navigable 
and unreserved; therefore, under the Equal Footing Doctrine and 
Submerged Lands Act of 1953, ownership of these lands automatically 
passed from the United States to the State at the time of statehood in 
1959. The State did not identify any known adverse claimant or occupant 
of the affected lands. The applied for lands are within the exterior 
boundary of the Tongass National Forest, created by Presidential 
Proclamation of February 16, 1909, and administered by the U.S. Forest 
Service in the Department of Agriculture.
    A final decision on the merits of the application will not be made 
before November 20, 2007. During the ninety (90) day notice period, 
interested parties may comment upon the State's application (AA-085787) 
and supporting evidence. Interested parties may also comment on the 
evidence presented in the BLM Draft Summary Report within sixty (60) 
days of the date of this notice. The State's application and the BLM 
Draft Summary Report will be posted on the BLM-Alaska Web site: http://www.blm.gov/ak/ak930/rdi/index.html.
    Comments, including names and street addresses of the commenters, 
will be available for public review at the Alaska State Office (see 
address above), during regular business hours 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., 
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. Before including your 
address, phone number, e-mail address, or other personal identifying 
information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire 
comment--including your personal identifying information--may be made 
publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your comment to 
withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we 
cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.

    Authority: 43 CFR 1864.2(a)).

    Dated: June 28, 2007.
Craig Frichtl,
Chief, Branch of Survey Planning and Preparation.
 [FR Doc. E7-16491 Filed 8-21-07; 8:45 am]
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