[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 212 (Thursday, November 3, 2022)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 66255-66256]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-23931]
[[Page 66255]]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
50 CFR Chapter I
[Docket No. FWS-R7-EA-2022-0088; FF07X00000-FXGO16600700000-223]
Draft Alaska Native Relations Policy of the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Draft proposed policy; request for comment.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), are making
available for public comment our draft Alaska Native Relations policy.
The purpose of this policy is to build on the Service's existing Native
American policy by providing additional clarity for employees on the
Service's relationships with Tribes in Alaska, Alaska Native
organizations, and Alaska Native corporations. We invite comments on
the draft policy from State and Federal government agencies, federally
recognized Tribal governments, inter-Tribal organizations, non-
federally recognized Tribal governments, Alaska Native corporations,
and the general public.
DATES: The Service will accept comments received or postmarked on or
before December 5, 2022.
ADDRESSES:
Obtaining Documents: You may obtain copies of the draft policy
online at https://www.regulations.gov. In the Search box, enter the
docket number, which is FWS-R7-EA-2022-0088.
Submitting Comments: You may submit comments by one of the
following methods:
Internet: https://www.regulations.gov. In the Search box,
enter the docket number, which is FWS-R7-EA-2022-0088. You may enter a
comment by clicking on the ``Comment'' button. Please ensure that you
have found the correct docket before submitting your comment.
U.S. Mail or Hand Delivery: Public Comments Processing,
Attn: Docket No. FWS-R7-EA-2022-0088; Policy and Regulations Branch;
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; 5275 Leesburg Pike, MS: PRB (JAO/3W);
Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.
We will post all comments on https://www.regulations.gov. This
generally means that we will post any personal information you provide
us (see Public Availability of Comments and Personal Information for
more information).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Crystal Leonetti, Alaska Native
Affairs Specialist, via email at [email protected]; by U.S. mail
at U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1011 E Tudor Road, MS-101,
Anchorage, AK 99503; or by telephone at (907) 230-8419. Individuals in
the United States who are deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a
speech disability may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to access
telecommunications relay services. Individuals outside the United
States should use the relay services offered within their country to
make international calls to the point-of-contact in the United States.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
(Service), are making available for public comment our draft Alaska
Native Relations policy. The purpose of the policy is to build on the
Service's foundational Native American policy, and to serve as a
framework for relationships and interactions between the Service and
federally recognized Tribes in Alaska, Alaska Native organizations, and
Alaska Native corporations, in order to conserve fish and wildlife and
protect cultural resources. It will provide additional clarity for the
Service on doctrines of reserved rights, statutes, case law, Executive
Orders, and Secretarial Orders. The policy is intended to recognize the
sovereignty of federally recognized Tribes in Alaska, direct that the
Service work on a government-to-government basis with Tribal
governments, and make clear that the Service has a unique relationship
with Alaska Native organizations and Alaska Native corporations. The
policy includes guidance on co-management, subsistence, resource
management, capacity, law enforcement, and education.
This policy is not meant to stand on its own; when final, it will
be part of the Service's existing Native American policy. We will
incorporate it into part 510 of the Fish and Wildlife Service Manual as
chapter 2.
To implement the Alaska Native Relations policy, in addition to
drawing upon the overall Native American policy, the Service will use
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Tribal Consultation Handbook and
carry out Alaska Native Relations training so that Service employees
will be able to better perform duties related to this policy.
Draft Policy
We recognize that, when the Service and Indigenous peoples work
together on stewarding the land and wildlife, our longstanding
relationships are strengthened and resources are better stewarded. This
policy will provide Service employees with guidance on recognition of
the unique Alaska Native way of life, known in statute as ``subsistence
living,'' and the Service's role in honoring those ecosystem
relationships. The policy will provide Service employees with guidance
when working with recognized Tribes in Alaska and Alaska Native
organizations and corporations.
The proposed structure of the policy follows:
Section 1 recognizes the unique relationship that Federal
governmental agencies have with federally recognized Tribes. It
identifies which statutes make specific provisions for Alaska Native
peoples and ways of life that are integral to how the Service manages
lands and species entrusted to our care. It explains why the Service
has a unique relationship with Alaska Native corporations and
organizations.
Section 2 re-emphasizes the sovereignty of 229 Tribes in
Alaska and the Service's government-to-government relationships with
these Tribes.
Section 3 describes communication, consultation, and
information sharing between the Service and Tribes, Alaska Native
organizations, and Alaska Native corporations.
Section 4 sets out a range of collaborative management
opportunities and establishes principles of co-management where Tribes
and the Service have shared responsibility by statute, land management
authority, and shared values.
Section 5 recognizes the importance of Alaska Native
peoples' traditional and spiritual ways of life, including recognition
through the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act.
Section 6 presents guidance for Service law enforcement
programs to work collaboratively with Tribes and Alaska Native
organizations and corporations, which may include reviewing their draft
regulatory language to ensure it is enforceable.
Section 7 outlines some of the ways the Service supports
Tribal, Alaska Native organization, and Alaska Native corporation
capacity building and assistance.
Section 8 commits the Service to offer training for
employees that covers diverse topics such as Alaska Native history,
Indigenous traditional ecological knowledge, and the laws that impact
Alaska Native peoples. It encourages Service personnel to seek Alaska
Native job applicants and facilitate opportunities for Alaska Native
business partnerships.
Section 9 describes the policy's scope and limitations.
[[Page 66256]]
Exhibit 1 provides a glossary that supplements the
glossary found in chapter 1 of the Service's Native American policy.
Exhibit 2 describes the responsibilities of employees at
all levels of the Service to carry out this policy.
Exhibit 3 lists the authorities under which the Service
may take the actions described in the policy.
Background and Development of the Draft Policy
On January 20, 2016, the Service adopted its updated Native
American policy to guide the Service's government-to-government
relations with federally recognized Tribal governments in conserving
fish and wildlife resources and to ``help accomplish its mission and
concurrently to participate in fulfilling the Federal Government's and
Department of the Interior's trust responsibilities to assist Native
Americans in protecting, conserving, and utilizing their reserved,
treaty guaranteed, or statutorily identified trust assets.'' In order
to update the Native American policy, in 2013 the Service had convened
a Native American policy team to review the original 1994 policy. The
team was comprised of Service representatives from its regions and
programs and 16 self-nominated Tribal representatives from all of the
major regions. As team discussions evolved, it became apparent that
there was a large volume of Alaska-related exceptions to Native
American policy, such as statutes guiding co-management relationships
and subsistence on Federal lands. The exceptions called for a separate
chapter on Alaska.
Representatives from the following Tribes, Alaska Native
organizations, and Alaska Native corporations participated in a series
of meetings with Service representatives to write the draft Alaska
Native Relations policy chapter: Chugach Regional Resources Commission,
Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, Ninilchik
Tribal Council, Curyung Tribal Council, Native Village of Savoonga,
Native Village of Afognak, Village of Wainwright, Ruby Tribal Council,
Agdaagux Tribe of King Cove, Kwethluk, Inc., Doyon, Ltd., and Sealaska.
The team used a consensus decision-making process. The team wrote the
policy to mirror the existing Native American policy, so that each
section of chapter 2 is parallel in structure to the corresponding
section in chapter 1 and supplements chapter 1.
In April 2022, the Service invited federally recognized Tribal
governments in Alaska, Alaska Native organizations, and Alaska Native
corporations to consult on a draft of the new policy. Five Tribal
government representatives, eight Alaska Native organization
representatives, and seven Alaska Native corporation representatives
attended consultation events via web broadcasts and telephone. The
Service also received written comments from three Alaska Native
organizations and one Alaska Native corporation to further develop and
refine the draft Alaska Native Relations policy.
Request for Comments and Information
While this publication opens the 30-day public review and comment
period, we also invite and encourage Tribes, Alaska Native
organizations, and Alaska Native corporations to continue to review and
submit comments within this review period. The Service's invitation to
federally recognized Tribal governments to consult on a government-to-
government basis regarding development of the Alaska Native Relations
policy continues until the comment period closes (see DATES). Comments
from local, State, and Federal government agencies; federally
recognized Tribal governments; inter-Tribal organizations, non-
federally recognized Tribal governments; Alaska Native corporations;
and the general public are welcome.
Public Availability of Comments and Personal Information
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.
Authority
The authority for this action is found in the Alaska National
Interest Lands Conservation Act of 1980, as amended (ANILCA; 16 U.S.C.
3101-3233), and the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, as amended
(ANCSA; 43 U.S.C. 1601-1629h).
Signing Authority
Martha Williams, Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
approved this action on October 27, 2022, for publication. On October
31, 2022, Martha Williams authorized the undersigned to sign the
document electronically and submit it to the Office of the Federal
Register for publication as an official document of the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service.
Madonna Baucum,
Regulations and Policy Chief, Division of Policy, Economics, Risk
Management, and Analytics of the Joint Administrative Operations, U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2022-23931 Filed 10-31-22; 4:45 pm]
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