[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 47 (Thursday, March 10, 2016)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 12590-12591]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-05317]


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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

[Docket No. FWS-R7-SM-2015-0156; FXRS12610700000-156-FF07J00000; 
FBMS#4500087231]
RIN 1018-BA82


Subsistence Management Regulations for Public Lands in Alaska; 
Rural Determinations, Nonrural List

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

ACTION: Affirmation of direct final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Subsistence Board is adopting, without change, a 
direct final rule that revised the list of areas in Alaska determined 
to be nonrural for purposes of the Federal Subsistence Program to the 
list that existed prior to 2007. Accordingly, the community of Saxman 
and the area of Prudhoe Bay were removed from the nonrural list. The 
following areas continue to be nonrural, but their boundaries returned 
to their previous borders: The Kenai Area; the Wasilla/Palmer area; the 
Homer area; and the Ketchikan area. Because we received no substantive 
adverse comments on the direct final rule, it is now effective.

DATES: The direct final rule published at 80 FR 68245 on November 4, 
2015, was effective December 21, 2015.

ADDRESSES: The direct final rule may be found online at 
www.regulations.gov in Docket No. FWS-R7-SM-2015-0156.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Chair, Federal Subsistence Board, c/o 
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Attention: Eugene R. Peltola, Jr., 
Office of Subsistence Management; (907) 786-3888 or 
[email protected]. For questions specific to National Forest System 
lands, contact Thomas Whitford, Regional Subsistence Program Leader, 
USDA, Forest Service, Alaska Region; (907) 743-9461 or 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    Under Title VIII of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation 
Act (ANILCA) (16 U.S.C. 3111-3126), the Secretary of the Interior and 
the Secretary of Agriculture (Secretaries) jointly implement the 
Federal Subsistence Management Program (Program). This program provides 
a preference for take of fish and wildlife resources for subsistence 
uses on Federal public lands and waters in Alaska. Only residents of 
areas identified as rural are eligible to participate in the Program on 
Federal public lands in Alaska. Because this program is a joint effort 
between Interior and Agriculture, these regulations are located in two 
titles of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR): Title 36, ``Parks, 
Forests, and Public Property,'' and Title 50, ``Wildlife and 
Fisheries,'' at 36 CFR 242.1-242.28 and 50 CFR 100.1-100.28, 
respectively.
    Consistent with these regulations, the Secretaries established a 
Federal Subsistence Board (Board) comprising Federal officials and 
public members to administer the Program. One of the Board's 
responsibilities is to determine which communities or areas of the 
State are nonrural. The Secretaries also divided Alaska into 10 
subsistence resource regions, each of which is represented by a 
Regional Advisory Council (Council). The Council members represent 
varied geographical, cultural, and user interests within each region. 
The Councils provide a forum for rural residents with personal 
knowledge of local conditions and resource requirements to have a 
meaningful role in the subsistence management of fish and wildlife on 
Federal public lands in Alaska.

Related Rulemaking

    The Secretaries published a final rule (80 FR 68249; November 4, 
2015) that sets forth a new process by which the Board will make rural 
determinations (``Subsistence Management Regulations for Public Lands 
in Alaska; Rural Determination Process'').
    Until promulgation of the rule mentioned above, Federal subsistence 
regulations at 36 CFR 242.15 and 50 CFR 100.15 had required that the 
rural or nonrural status of communities or areas be reviewed every 10 
years, beginning with the availability of the 2000 census data. In 
addition, criteria for aggregation of communities and population 
thresholds were listed. On May 7, 2007, the Board published a final 
rule that revised the list of nonrural areas (72 FR 25688), and the 
rule included a compliance date of May 7, 2012.
    On October 23, 2009, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar 
announced the initiation of a Departmental review of the Federal 
Subsistence Management Program in Alaska; Secretary of Agriculture Tom 
Vilsack later concurred with this course of action. The Secretaries 
announced the findings of the review, which included several proposed 
administrative and regulatory reviews and/or revisions to strengthen 
the Program and make it more responsive to those who rely on it for 
their subsistence uses. One proposal called for a review, with Council 
input, of the rural determination process and, if needed, 
recommendations for regulatory changes.
    The Board met on January 20, 2012, and, among other things, decided 
to extend the compliance date of its 2007 final rule on rural 
determinations. A final rule published March 1, 2012 (77 FR 12477), 
that extended the compliance date until either the rural determination 
process and findings review were completed or 5 years, whichever came 
first. The 2007 regulations have remained in titles 36 and 50 of the 
CFR unchanged since their effective date.
    The Board followed that action with a request for comments and 
announcement of public meetings (77 FR 77005; December 31, 2012) to 
receive public, Tribal, and Alaska Native Corporation input on the 
rural determination process. At their fall 2013 meetings, the Councils 
provided a public forum to hear from residents of their regions, 
deliberate on the rural determination process, and provide 
recommendations for changes to the Board. The Board also held hearings 
in Barrow, Ketchikan, Sitka, Kodiak, Bethel, Anchorage, Fairbanks, 
Kotzebue, Nome, and Dillingham to solicit comments on the rural 
determination process, and public testimony was recorded. Government-
to-government tribal consultations on the rural determination process 
were held between members of the Board and Federally recognized Tribes 
of Alaska. Additional consultations were held between members of the 
Board and Alaska Native Corporations.
    Altogether, the Board received 475 substantive comments from 
various sources, including individuals, members of the Councils, and 
other entities or organizations, such as Alaska Native Corporations and 
borough governments. In general, this information indicated a broad 
dissatisfaction with the current rural determination process.

[[Page 12591]]

    Based on this information, the Board, at their public meeting held 
on April 17, 2014, elected to recommend a simplification of the process 
by determining which areas or communities are nonrural in Alaska; all 
other communities or areas would, therefore, be rural. The Board would 
make nonrural determinations using a comprehensive approach that 
considers population size and density, economic indicators, military 
presence, industrial facilities, use of fish and wildlife, degree of 
remoteness and isolation, and any other relevant material, including 
information provided by the public. The Board would rely heavily on the 
recommendations of the Councils. The Board developed a proposal that 
simplifies the process of rural determinations and submitted its 
recommendation to the Secretaries on August 15, 2014.
    On November 24, 2014, the Secretaries requested that the Board 
initiate rulemaking to pursue the regulatory changes recommended by the 
Board.
    The Departments published a proposed rule on January 28, 2015 (80 
FR 4521), to revise the regulations governing the rural determination 
process in subpart B of 36 CFR part 242 and 50 CFR part 100. Following 
a process that involved substantial Council and public input, the 
Departments published the final rule on November 4, 2015 (80 FR 68249).

Direct Final Rule

    During the rulemaking process, the Board went on to address a 
starting point for nonrural communities and areas.
    Since the 2007 final rule (72 FR 25688; May 7, 2007) was 
contentious, and so many comments were received objecting to the 
changes imposed by that rule, the Board decided to return to the rural 
determinations prior to the 2007 final rule. The Board further decided 
that the most expedient method to enact their decisions was to publish 
a direct final rule adopting the pre-2007 nonrural determinations. As a 
result, the Board determined the following areas to be nonrural: 
Fairbanks North Star Borough; Homer area--including Homer, Anchor 
Point, Kachemak City, and Fritz Creek; Juneau area--including Juneau, 
West Juneau, and Douglas; Kenai area--including Kenai, Soldotna, 
Sterling, Nikiski, Salamatof, Kalifornsky, Kasilof, and Clam Gulch; 
Ketchikan area--including Ketchikan City, Clover Pass, North Tongass 
Highway, Ketchikan East, Mountain Point, Herring Cove, Saxman East, 
Pennock Island, and parts of Gravina Island; Municipality of Anchorage; 
Seward area--including Seward and Moose Pass, Valdez; and Wasilla 
area--including Palmer, Wasilla, Sutton, Big Lake, Houston, and 
Bodenberg Butte.
    While the Board received one comment on the direct final rule 
during the public comment period provided, the comment was not specific 
to the issues raised in this rulemaking action. Therefore, because the 
comment had no bearing on whether the new rule should become effective 
or the 2007 rule should remain in place, the direct final rule became 
effective December 21, 2015, as specified in that rule.

Authority

    This rule is issued under the authority of Title VIII of the Alaska 
National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) (16 U.S.C. 3111-
3126).

List of Subjects

36 CFR Part 242

    Administrative practice and procedure, Alaska, Fish, National 
forests, Public lands, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, 
Wildlife.

50 CFR Part 100

    Administrative practice and procedure, Alaska, Fish, National 
forests, Public lands, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, 
Wildlife.

PART__--SUBSISTENCE MANAGEMENT REGULATIONS FOR PUBLIC LANDS IN 
ALASKA

    Accordingly, the Board is affirming as a final rule, without 
change, the direct final rule amending 36 CFR part 242 and 50 CFR part 
100 that was published at 80 FR 68245 on November 4, 2015.

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 3, 472, 551, 668dd, 3101-3126; 18 U.S.C. 
3551-3586; 43 U.S.C. 1733.

    Dated: February 16, 2016.
Eugene R. Peltola, Jr.,
Assistant Regional Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Acting 
Chair, Federal Subsistence Board.
    Dated: February 18, 2016.
Thomas Whitford,
Subsistence Program Leader, USDA-Forest Service.
[FR Doc. 2016-05317 Filed 3-9-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4333-15-3410-11-P