[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 146 (Friday, July 29, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45605-45606]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-19218]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLAK927000 L54200000 FR0000 LVDIL0440000; AA-086375]


Notice of Application for a Recordable Disclaimer of Interest for 
Lands Underlying Whitefish Lake and Its Outlet in Alaska

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The State of Alaska (State) has filed an application with the 
Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for a Recordable Disclaimer of Interest 
from the United States in those lands underlying Whitefish Lake and its 
outlet in southwestern Alaska. The State asserts that Whitefish Lake 
and its outlet were 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 lake and its outlet are partially within the 
exterior boundaries of the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge, 
created by the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, Public 
Law 96-487 of December 2, 1980, and administered by the U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service.

DATES: All comments to this action should be received on or before 
October 27, 2011.

ADDRESSES: Comments on the State of Alaska application or the BLM Draft 
Summary Report must be filed with the Chief, Branch of Survey Planning 
and Preparation (AK-9270), Division of Cadastral Survey, BLM Alaska 
State Office, 222 West 7th Avenue, 13, Anchorage, Alaska 
99513-7504.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information contact Ralph 
Basner, Navigable Waters Specialist, 907-271-3329; 222 West 7th Avenue, 
13, Anchorage, Alaska 99513; e-mail [email protected]. Persons 
who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the 
Federal Information Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339 to contact the 
above individual; or visit the BLM Recordable Disclaimer of Interest 
Web site at http://www.blm.gov/ak/st/en/prog/rdi.html.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On March 10, 2006, the State filed an 
application for a Recordable Disclaimer of Interest pursuant to Section 
315 of the Federal Lands Policy and Management Act of 1976, and the 
regulations contained in 43 CFR Subpart 1864 for the lands underlying 
Whitefish Lake and its Outlet (AA-086375). A Recordable Disclaimer of 
Interest, if issued, will confirm that the United States has no valid 
interest in the subject lands. This notice is to notify the public of 
the pending application and the State's grounds for supporting it. The 
State asserts that this river system is navigable; therefore, under the 
Equal Footing Doctrine, the Submerged Lands Act of 1953, the Alaska 
Statehood Act, the Alaska Right of Way Act of 1898, and other title 
navigability law, ownership of these lands underlying the river 
automatically passed from the United States to the State at the time of 
statehood in 1959.
    The State's application, AA-086375, is for the submerged lands 
encompassed by the ordinary high water line of Whitefish Lake within 
the following townships and ranges in the Seward Meridian: Township 14 
North, Range 60 West; Township 15 North, Ranges 59-60 West. The State 
also submitted application for the submerged lands within the bed of 
the Whitefish Lake Outlet between the ordinary high water lines of the 
left and right banks of the Outlet, beginning at its source, Whitefish 
Lake, in the SW\1/4\SW\1/4\ of Section 3 in Township 15 North, Range 60 
West, Seward Meridian, Alaska; thence west-northwest to its confluence 
with two other unnamed streams in the NE\1/4\SW\1/4\ of Section 1 in 
Township 15 North, Range 61 West, Seward Meridian Alaska.
    On February 11, 2010, the State amended Section I (Description of 
Waterways), clarifying its application for a Recordable Disclaimer of 
Interest for the lands underlying Whitefish Lake and the entirety of 
its outlet, from Whitefish Lake to its confluence with the Kuskokwim 
River. In its amended application, the State claims to own the land 
underlying Whitefish Lake and its outlet (from where it flows out of 
Whitefish Lake to where it flows into the Kuskokwim River). The State 
did not identify any known adverse claimant or occupant of the affected 
lands.

[[Page 45606]]

    A final decision on the merits of the application will not be made 
before October 27, 2011. During the 90-day period, interested parties 
may comment on the State application, AA-086375, and supporting 
evidence. Interested parties may also comment during this time on the 
BLM Draft Summary Report. The State application and the BLM Draft 
Summary Report may be viewed on the BLM Recordable Disclaimer of 
Interest Web site at http://www.blm.gov/ak/st/en/prog/rdi.html, or in 
the BLM Public Room located at 222 West 7th Avenue, Anchorage, Alaska 
99513.
    Comments filed with the BLM Division of Cadastral Survey, including 
names and street addresses of commenters, will be available for public 
inspection at the BLM Alaska State Office (see ADDRESSES above), during 
regular business hours from 8 a.m. to 4 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 may 
ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying 
information from public view, we cannot guarantee that we will be able 
to do so.
    If no valid objection is received and all else is proper, a 
Disclaimer of Interest may be approved stating that the United States 
does not have a valid interest in these lands.

    Authority: 43 CFR 1864.2(a).

Craig Frichtl,
Chief, Branch of Survey Planning and Preparation.
[FR Doc. 2011-19218 Filed 7-28-11; 8:45 am]
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