[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 68 (Monday, April 10, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21207-21208]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-07420]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[BLM_AK_FRN_MO4500170073; F-86061, F-16298, F-16299, F-16301, AA-61299, 
F-16304, F-85667, AA-61005, F-86064, F-85702, AA-66614]


Extension of the Opening Order in Public Land Order No. 7899 and 
Addressing Pending Public Land Orders in Alaska

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Amended opening order.

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SUMMARY: For orderly management of the public lands subject to Public 
Land Order 7899, published on January 19, 2021, extended by 60 days on 
February 18, 2021, and extended for two years on April 16, 2021, the 
lands described therein shall not be opened until August 31, 2024. This 
notice also clarifies that the BLM has not published opening orders for 
PLOs 7900, 7901, 7902, and 7903, and therefore they continue to have no 
effective date.

DATES: This Order takes effect on April 10, 2023.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David V. Mushovic, Bureau of Land 
Management (BLM) Alaska State Office, 222 West Seventh Avenue, Mailstop 
#13, Anchorage, AK 99513-7504; telephone: 907-271-4682; or email: 
[email protected]. 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: Public Land Order (PLO) No. 7899, which 
would revoke withdrawals established under the Alaska Native Claims 
Settlement Act (ANCSA) section 17(d)(1) on lands in the Kobuk-Seward 
Peninsula planning area, was signed on January 11, 2021, and published 
in the Federal Register on January 19, 2021 (86 FR 5236). PLO Nos. 
7900, 7901, 7902, and 7903, which would revoke withdrawals established 
under ANCSA section 17(d)(1) on lands in the Ring of Fire, Bay, Bering 
Sea-Western Interior, and East Alaska planning areas, respectively, 
were signed on January 15 and 16, 2021, but were never published in the 
Federal Register and therefore do not have an opening date. The 
Department of the Interior (Department) deferred the opening of the 
lands

[[Page 21208]]

described in PLO No. 7899 by 60 days on February 18, 2021, to provide 
an opportunity to review the decisions and ensure the orderly 
management of the public lands (86 FR 10131). Subsequently, the 
Department identified certain procedural and legal defects in the 
decision-making processes for PLO Nos. 7899, 7900, 7901, 7902, and 7903 
(collectively, ``the PLOs''), including insufficient analysis under the 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), failure to follow section 106 
of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), possible failure to 
adequately evaluate impacts under section 7 of the Endangered Species 
Act (ESA), and failure to secure consent from the Department of Defense 
(DOD) with regard to lands under DOD administration as required by 
section 204(i) of FLPMA (43 U.S.C. 1714(i)). Due to these identified 
deficiencies, on April 16, 2021, the Department--relying on its 
inherent authority to revisit decisions based on identified legal 
errors--deferred the opening of lands under PLO No. 7899 and the 
publication of PLO Nos. 7900, 7901, 7902, and 7903, in order to address 
the deficiencies in the decision-making processes that led to the PLOs 
(86 FR 20193).
    Due to the five-year statutory limit on the application period for 
allotment selections by Alaska Native Vietnam-era Veterans under 
section 1119 of the Dingell Act, the BLM prioritized completion of an 
environmental assessment to ensure legal compliance for opening lands 
within the areas affected by PLO Nos. 7899, 7900, 7901, 7902, and 7903. 
The BLM completed its process on April 21, 2022, and the Secretary 
issued Public Land Order No. 7912 to open lands within PLO Nos. 7899, 
7900, 7901, 7902, and 7903 to allotment selection under section 1119 of 
the Dingell Act on August 15, 2022 (87 FR 50202).
    On August 18, 2022, the BLM published in the Federal Register a 
notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement to 
consider the impacts of opening lands subject to PLO Nos. 7899, 7900, 
7901, 7902, and 7903 within the Bay, Bering Sea-Western Interior, East 
Alaska, Kobuk-Seward Peninsula, and Ring of Fire Planning Areas (87 FR 
50875). This process is intended to address the remaining legal defects 
in the decision-making processes for PLO Nos. 7899, 7900, 7901, 7902, 
and 7903 and to ensure compliance with the requirements of NEPA, 
section 204(i) of FLPMA, section 106 of the NHPA, section 7 of the ESA, 
and section 810 of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act. 
Due to the scope and complexity of the issues being analyzed in the 
EIS, the BLM will not be ready to reach a decision by April 16, 2023 
and, as a result, will defer the opening order to August 31, 2024 to 
allow the BLM to complete the analysis and consultation required to 
address the legal defects identified in the decision-making processes 
for PLO Nos. 7899, 7900, 7901, 7902, and 7903.
    For the orderly administration of the public lands and in 
accordance with 43 CFR 2091.6, this Order amends the opening order 
contained in Paragraph 3 of PLO 7899 (86 FR 5236) as follows:
    At 8 a.m. Alaska Time on August 31, 2024, the lands described in 
paragraph 1 of PLO 7899 (86 FR 5236) shall be open to all forms of 
appropriation under the general public land laws, including location 
and entry under the mining laws, leasing under the Mineral Leasing Act 
of February 25, 1920, as amended, subject to valid existing rights, the 
provisions of existing withdrawals, other segregations of record, and 
the requirements of applicable law. Appropriation of any of the lands 
referenced in paragraph 1 of PLO 7899 (86 FR 5236), under the general 
mining laws prior to the date and time of revocation remain 
unauthorized. Any such attempted appropriation, including attempted 
adverse possession under 30 U.S.C. 38, shall vest no rights against the 
United States.

Laura Daniel-Davis,
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Land and Minerals Management.
[FR Doc. 2023-07420 Filed 4-7-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4331-10-P