[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 20 (Tuesday, January 31, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6308-6311]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-01969]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLES960000.L14400000.ET0000.234; MNES-059784]


Public Land Order No. 7917 for Withdrawal of Federal Lands; Cook, 
Lake, and Saint Louis Counties, MN

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Department of the Interior.

ACTION: Public Land Order.

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SUMMARY: This Order withdraws approximately 225,504 acres of National 
Forest System lands in Cook, Lake, and Saint Louis counties, Minnesota, 
from disposition under the United States mineral and geothermal leasing 
laws, for a period of 20 years, subject to valid existing rights, to 
protect and preserve the fragile and vital social and natural 
resources, ecological integrity, and wilderness values in the Rainy 
River Watershed, the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW), the 
Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness Mining Protection Area (MPA), and 
the 1854 Ceded Territory of the Lake Superior Chippewa in northeastern 
Minnesota from the potential adverse effects of mineral and geothermal 
exploration and development.

DATES: This Order takes effect on January 31, 2023.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: F. David Radford, Bureau of Land 
Management (BLM) Eastern States Office, telephone: (703) 558-7759, 
email: [email protected], during regular business hours, 8 a.m. to 4:30 
p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays. 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: The National Forest System Lands described 
in this Order are within Lake, Cook, and Saint Louis counties, 
Minnesota. This Order does not apply to non-Federal interests within 
the boundaries of the area described herein. If the non-Federal 
interests within the boundaries of the area described in this Order are 
subsequently acquired by the United States, the non-Federal interests 
will become subject to this withdrawal.

Order

    By virtue of the authority vested in the Secretary of the Interior 
by Section 204(c) of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 
1976, 43 U.S.C. 1714(c), it is ordered as follows:
    1. Subject to valid existing rights, the National Forest System 
lands, and all non-Federal lands that are subsequently acquired by the 
Federal government, within the Townships identified below, as depicted 
in the attached map, are hereby withdrawn from disposition under the 
United States mineral and geothermal leasing laws, including the 
Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq., as amended), the 
Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 (30 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.), the Mineral 
Leasing

[[Page 6309]]

Act for Acquired Lands of 1947 (30 U.S.C. 351 et seq., as amended), 
Section 402 of the President's Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1946, 16 
U.S.C. 520, and 16 U.S.C. 508b, in order to protect and preserve the 
fragile and vital social and natural resources, ecological integrity, 
and wilderness values in the Rainy River Watershed, the Boundary Waters 
Canoe Area Wilderness, the Mining Protection Area, and the 1854 Ceded 
Territory of the Chippewa Bands in northeastern Minnesota from adverse 
effects of mineral and geothermal exploration and development. The 
purpose of the withdrawal is also to protect the health, traditional 
cultural values, and subsistence-based lifestyle of the Tribes that 
rely on resources in the region, such as wild rice, which are 
particularly susceptible to adverse impacts associated with mineral 
exploration and development. The Federal lands would remain subject to 
laws authorizing the disposal of mineral materials, as defined by 36 
CFR 228, subpart C.

National Forest System Lands

Superior National Forest

Fourth Principal Meridian, Minnesota

Tps. 61 and 62 N., R. 5 W.
Tps. 60 to 62 N., R. 6 W.
Tps. 59 to 61 N., R. 7 W.
Tps. 59 to 61 N., R. 8 W.
Tps. 58 to 61 N., R. 9 W.
Tps. 57 to 62 N., R. 10 W.
Tps. 57 to 63 N., R. 11 W. Tp. 59 N., R. 12 W.
Tps. 61 to 63 N., R. 12 W.
Tps. 61 to 63 N., R. 13 W.

    Further information on the project is available at BLM's ePlanning 
site at https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2022642/510 or 
at the USFS Superior National Forest, 8901 Grand Ave. Place, Duluth, 
Minnesota, 55808.
    2. The withdrawal made by this Order does not alter the 
applicability of laws governing the use of National Forest System lands 
other than the geothermal and mineral leasing laws.
    3. This withdrawal will expire 20 years from the effective date of 
this order unless, as a result of a review conducted before the 
expiration date pursuant to Section 204(f) of the Federal Land Policy 
and Management Act of 1976, 43 U.S.C. 1714(f), the Secretary determines 
that the withdrawal shall be extended.
    (The following map depicts the area withdrawn under this Public 
Land Order.)
BILLING CODE 4331-18-P

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[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN31JA23.057


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(Authority: 43 CFR 2310.)

Deb Haaland,
Secretary of the Interior.
[FR Doc. 2023-01969 Filed 1-30-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4331-18-C