[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 195 (Tuesday, October 9, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61427-61428]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-24834]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLAK927000 L54200000 FR0000 LVDIL110470; AA-92408]


Notice of Application for a Recordable Disclaimer of Interest for 
Lands Underlying the Kisaralik River System, Alaska

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The State of Alaska 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 the Kisaralik River System 
(including Kisaralik Lake) in western Alaska. The State asserts that 
the Kisaralik River System 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). This river system is within the 
exterior boundaries of the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge, 
created by the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act of 1980, 
and administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

DATES: All comments to this action should be received on or before 
January 7, 2013.

ADDRESSES: Comments on the State of Alaska's application or the BLM 
Draft Summary Report must be filed with the BLM Chief, Branch of Survey 
Planning and Preparation (AK-9270), Division of Cadastral Survey. You 
may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     Email: [email protected];
     Fax: 907-271-4193; or
     Mail: 222 W. 7th Avenue, 13, Anchorage, AK 99513-
7504

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Angie Nichols, Program Manager, 
telephone: 907-271-3359; address: 222 W. 7th Avenue, 13, 
Anchorage, AK 99513-7504; Email: [email protected]; or visit the BLM 
Recordable Disclaimer of Interest Web site at http://www.blm.gov/ak/st/en/prog/rdi.html. Persons who use a telecommunications device for the 
deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-
800-877-8339 to contact the above individual during normal business 
hours. The FIRS is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to leave a 
message or question with the above individual. You will receive a reply 
during normal business hours.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On November 30, 2010, the State of Alaska 
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 the Kisaralik River (AA-92408). A Recordable Disclaimer of 
Interest, if issued, will confirm that 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 this river system was navigable 
and unreserved at the time of statehood; 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-92408, is for ``submerged lands and bed 
up to and including the ordinary high water line of Kisaralik Lake 
within Township 3 North, Range 58 West, Seward Meridian and for the 
submerged lands and bed of the Kisaralik River lying between the 
ordinary high water lines of the right and left banks of that river 
from the outlet of Kisaralik Lake within Township 3 North, Range 58 
West, Seward Meridian, Alaska, downstream to the location where the 
river enters the Kuskokuak Slough within Township 9 North, Range 67 
West, Seward Meridian, Alaska. This includes the submerged lands and 
beds of all sloughs, braids, and channels that carry water from the 
navigable Kisaralik River and thus are part of the navigable river and 
all lands within the river system permanently or periodically covered 
by tidal waters up to the line of mean high tide.'' The State 
identified the Kokarmiut Corporation, Calista Corporation, and the U.S. 
Fish and Wildlife Service as possible interested parties of the 
affected lands.
    A final decision on the merits of the application will not be made 
before January 7, 2013. During the 90-day period, interested parties 
may comment on the State's application, AA-92408, and supporting 
evidence. The State's application and the BLM Draft Summary Report may 
be viewed on the BLM's 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, 13, Anchorage, AK 99513-7504. 
Interested parties may also comment during this time on the BLM's Draft 
Summary Report by using one of the methods listed in the ADDRESSES 
section above.
    Comments filed with the Division of Cadastral Survey, including 
names and street addresses of commenters, will be available for public 
inspection at the Alaska State Office (see ADDRESSES above), during 
regular business hours from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, 
except holidays.
    Before including your address, phone number, email 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.
    If no valid objection is received, a Disclaimer of Interest may be 
approved, if all else is proper, stating that the

[[Page 61428]]

United States does not have a valid interest in these lands.

Craig Frichtl,
Chief, Branch of Survey Planning and Preparation.
[FR Doc. 2012-24834 Filed 10-5-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-JA-P