[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 139 (Wednesday, July 22, 2009)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 36131-36132]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-17283]
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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
RIN 1018-AU92
Subsistence Management Regulations for Public Lands in Alaska;
Kenai Peninsula Subsistence Resource Region
AGENCIES: Forest Service, Agriculture; Fish and Wildlife Service,
Interior.
ACTION: Proposed rule; withdrawal.
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SUMMARY: We, the Federal Subsistence Board, are withdrawing the
proposed rule to amend the regulations governing subsistence use of
fish and wildlife in Alaska by creating an additional subsistence
resource region for the Kenai Peninsula. We received significant
adverse comments on our proposal, and we have decided not to pursue
this action.
DATES: The proposed rule published at 71 FR 46427, August 14, 2006 and
extended at 71 FR 56421, September 27, 2006 is withdrawn effective July
22, 2009.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For Forest Service questions, contact
Calvin H. Casipit, Acting Regional Subsistence Program Leader, USDA-FS
Alaska Region, at (907) 586-7918. For Fish and Wildlife Service
questions, contact Peter J. Probasco at (907) 786-3888.
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. This
[[Page 36132]]
program grants a preference for subsistence uses of fish and wildlife
resources on Federal public lands and waters in Alaska. The Secretaries
first published regulations to carry out this program in the Federal
Register on May 29, 1992 (57 FR 22940). The Program has subsequently
amended these regulations several times. 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 242.1-28 and 50 CFR 100.1-28, respectively.
The regulations contain subparts as follows: Subpart A, General
Provisions; Subpart B, Program Structure; Subpart C, Board
Determinations; and Subpart D, Subsistence Taking of Fish and Wildlife.
Federal Subsistence Board
Consistent with subpart B of these regulations, the Departments
established a Federal Subsistence Board to administer the Federal
Subsistence Management Program. The Board is made up of:
Chair appointed by the Secretary of the Interior with
concurrence of the Secretary of Agriculture;
Alaska Regional Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service;
Alaska Regional Director, U.S. National Park Service;
Alaska State Director, U.S. Bureau of Land Management;
Alaska Regional Director, U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs;
and
Alaska Regional Forester, U.S. Forest Service.
Through the Board, these agencies participate in the development of
regulations for subparts A, B, and C, which set forth the basic
program, and they continue to work together on regularly revising the
subpart D regulations, which, among other things, set forth specific
harvest seasons and limits.
Federal Subsistence Regional Advisory Councils
In administering the program, the Secretaries divided Alaska into
10 subsistence resource regions, each of which is represented by a
Regional Council. The Regional 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. The Regional
Council members represent varied geographical, cultural, and user
diversity within each region.
Kenai Peninsula
The Kenai Peninsula in Alaska has unique fish and wildlife
management challenges resulting from intense use of the Peninsula's
fish and wildlife by local and nonlocal residents and by nonresidents
and from the Board's actions to provide a meaningful subsistence
priority for fisheries in Federally managed fresh waters on the Kenai
Peninsula. Kenai Peninsula lands primarily under Federal management
include the Chugach National Forest and the Kenai National Wildlife
Refuge. The Departments published a proposed rule in the Federal
Register on August 14, 2006 (71 FR 46427), to create a separate
subsistence resource region for the Kenai Peninsula and requested
public comments until September 18, 2006. On September 27, 2006, we
published a document to extend the comment period on this proposed rule
until November 9, 2006 (71 FR 56421).
Withdrawal of Proposed Rule
During a Southcentral Federal Subsistence Regional Advisory Council
meeting held in Anchorage, Alaska on August 24, 2006, we heard
significant adverse testimony regarding the creation of a new Kenai
Peninsula Subsistence Resource Region. Additionally, the Southcentral
Regional Council unanimously recommended against the formation of such
a region. Letters from the public also strongly opposed the formation
of such a region. Therefore, we are withdrawing the proposed rule.
For the reasons stated above, the Federal Subsistence Board
withdraws the proposed rule of August 14, 2006 (71 FR 46427).
Dated: June 18, 2009.
Peter J. Probasco,
Acting Chair, Federal Subsistence Board.
Dated: June 18, 2009.
Calvin H. Casipit,
Acting Subsistence Program Leader, USDA--Forest Service.
[FR Doc. E9-17283 Filed 7-21-09; 8:45 am]
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