[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 187 (Thursday, September 28, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66883-66884]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-21287]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[FF01R05000/XXX/FSRS34510100000/OROR-106303965]


Notice of Proposed Withdrawal and Opportunity for Public Meeting 
for the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, Oregon

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of proposed withdrawal.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: On behalf of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) 
and subject to valid existing rights, the Secretary of the Interior 
proposes to withdraw 199.90 acres of public lands from appropriation 
under the public land laws, including location and entry under the 
United States mining laws, subject to valid existing rights, for up to 
100 years to protect and reserve the land for management as part of the 
Malheur

[[Page 66884]]

National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) located in Harney County, Oregon. This 
notice temporarily segregates these lands for up to 2 years and 
announces to the public an opportunity to comment and request a public 
meeting on the proposed withdrawal.

DATES: Comments and requests for a public meeting must be received by 
December 28, 2023.

ADDRESSES: All comments and meeting requests should be sent to the BLM 
Oregon/Washington State Director Attn: Malheur NWR Withdrawal Notice, 
P.O. Box 2965, Portland, Oregon 97208. The BLM will not consider 
comments via telephone calls. The application and case file are 
available for public examination by interested persons by appointment 
at the BLM Public Room, 1220 SW 3rd Ave., 11th Floor, Portland, Oregon 
97208 during regular business hours 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday 
through Friday except holidays. Please call 503-808-6001 to make an 
appointment.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Luke Poff, Realty Specialist, BLM 
Oregon/Washington State Office, 503-808-6249, email at [email protected], 
or you may contact the BLM office at the address noted above. The FWS 
can be reached at the Region 1 Regional Office, 911 NE 11th Ave. 
Portland, Oregon 97232 or through Sequoia Williams, Realty Specialist, 
at 503-956-7691, or by email at [email protected]. Individuals 
in the United States who are deaf, blind, 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 FWS filed a petition/application 
requesting that the Secretary of the Interior withdraw the following 
described public lands from all forms of appropriation under the public 
land laws, including location and entry under the United States mining 
laws, subject to valid existing rights, for up to 100 years to protect 
and reserve the land for wildlife refuge purposes:

Willamette Meridian, Oregon

Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, Addition

T. 25 S., R. 33 E.,
    Sec. 34, lot 10.
T. 26 S., R. 33 E.,
    Sec. 3, lots 2, 4, and 10, and SW\1/4\SE\1/4\;
    Sec. 10, W\1/2\NE\1/4\.

    The areas described aggregate 199.90 acres.

    The Secretary of the Interior approved the FWS's petition. 
Therefore, the petition/application constitutes a withdrawal proposal 
of the Secretary of the Interior (43 CFR 2310.1-3(e)).
    The use of a right-of-way, interagency agreement, or cooperative 
agreement would not provide adequate protection of the wildlife refuge. 
There are no suitable alternative sites since these lands are located 
within the Malheur NWR.
    No water is necessary to fulfill the purpose of the proposed 
withdrawal.
    Comments will be available for public review. 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 personally identifying information--may be made 
publicly available at any time. While you may ask the BLM in your 
comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public 
review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.
    An opportunity for a public meeting may be afforded in connection 
with the application for withdrawal. All interested persons who desire 
a public meeting for the purpose of being heard on the application for 
this withdrawal must submit a written request to the State Director, 
BLM Oregon/Washington State Office at the address in the ADDRESSES 
section, within 90 days from the date of publication of this notice. If 
the authorized officer determines that a public meeting will be held, a 
notice of the date, time, and place will be published in the Federal 
Register and local newspapers and posted on the BLM website at 
www.blm.gov at least 30 days before the scheduled date of the meeting.
    For a period of two years from the date of publication of this 
notice in the Federal Register, the lands will be segregated as 
specified above unless the application is denied or cancelled or if the 
withdrawal is approved prior to that date. The temporary uses that may 
be permitted during this segregation period are leases, licenses, 
permits, rights-of-way, and disposal of mineral or vegetative resources 
other than under the mining laws.
    The withdrawal application will be processed in accordance with the 
regulations set forth in 43 CFR 2300.

(Authority: 43 U.S.C. 1714)

Barry R. Bushue,
BLM Oregon/Washington State Director.
[FR Doc. 2023-21287 Filed 9-27-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-HC-P