[Federal Register: September 27, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 187)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 56421-56422]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr27se06-33]
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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; extension of comment period.
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SUMMARY: We, the Federal Subsistence Board, are extending the comment
period through November 9, 2006, on the proposed rule that would amend
the regulations governing subsistence use of fish and wildlife in
Alaska by creating an additional subsistence resource region for the
Kenai Peninsula.
DATES: The comments period on the proposed rule is extended through
November 9, 2006.
http://www.regulations.gov. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for file format and
other information about electronic filing. You may also submit written
comments to the Office of Subsistence Management, 3601 C Street, Suite
1030, Anchorage, AK 99503.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general subsistence management
program questions, contact Pete Probasco at (907) 786-3888. For Forest
Service questions, contact Steve Kessler, Regional Subsistence Program
Leader, USDA-FS Alaska Region, at (907) 786-3592.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
In Title VIII of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation
Act (ANILCA) (16 U.S.C. 3111-3126), Congress found that ``the situation
in Alaska is unique in that, in most cases, no practical alternative
means are available to replace the food supplies and other items
gathered from fish and wildlife which supply rural residents dependent
on subsistence uses * * * '' and that ``continuation of the opportunity
for subsistence uses of resources on public and other lands in Alaska
is threatened * * * '' As a result, Title VIII requires, among other
things, that the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of
Agriculture (Secretaries) implement a joint program to grant a
preference for subsistence uses of fish and wildlife resources on
public lands in Alaska, unless the State of Alaska enacts and
implements laws of general applicability that are consistent with
ANILCA and that provide for the subsistence definition, preference, and
participation specified in Sections 803, 804, and 805 of ANILCA.
The State implemented a program that the Department of the Interior
previously found to be consistent with ANILCA. However, in December
1989, the Alaska Supreme Court ruled in McDowell v. State of Alaska
that the rural preference in the State subsistence statute violated the
Alaska Constitution. The Court's ruling in McDowell required the State
to delete the rural preference from its subsistence statute and,
therefore, negated State compliance with ANILCA. The Court stayed the
effect of the decision until July 1, 1990. As a result of the McDowell
decision,
[[Page 56422]]
the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture
(Departments) assumed, on July 1, 1990, responsibility for
implementation of Title VIII of ANILCA on public lands. On June 29,
1990, the Temporary Subsistence Management Regulations for Public Lands
in Alaska were published in the Federal Register (55 FR 27114).
Federal Subsistence Regional Advisory Councils
Pursuant to the Subsistence Management Regulations for Federal
Public Lands in Alaska, April 6, 1992, and the Subsistence Management
Regulations for Federal Public Lands in Alaska, 36 CFR 242.11 (2002)
and 50 CFR 100.11 (2002), and for the purposes identified therein, we
divided Alaska into 10 subsistence resource regions, each of which is
represented by a Federal Subsistence Regional Advisory Council
(Regional Council). The Regional Councils provide a forum for residents
of the regions, who have personal knowledge of local conditions and
resource requirements, to have a meaningful role in the subsistence
management of fish and wildlife on Alaska public lands. The Regional
Council members represent varied geographical, cultural, and user
diversity within each region.
Comments and Extension of Comment Period on the Proposed Rule
The Kenai Peninsula has unique fish and wildlife management
challenges due to intense use of the Peninsula's fish and wildlife by
local and nonlocal residents and by nonresidents, and due to the recent
Board actions to begin 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.
On August 14, 2006, the Board published a proposed rule (71 FR
46427) related to the establishment of a new Kenai Peninsula
Subsistence Resource Region. During a Southcentral Federal Subsistence
Regional Advisory Council meeting held in Anchorage, Alaska on August
24, 2006, we heard significant 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 without providing more opportunity for
public input. Letters from the public also strongly recommended
providing more opportunity for public input. Therefore, the comment
period on that proposed rule is extended through November 9, 2006.
Prior to that date, the Board will hold public meetings on the Kenai
Peninsula to receive testimony and discuss the proposed Kenai Peninsula
Subsistence Resource Region. The specific time and place will be
noticed in local and regional newspapers and by press release. You may
submit electronic comments (preferred method) as a PDF or MS Word file,
avoiding the use of any special characters and any form of encryption.
Dated: September 19, 2006.
Peter J. Probasco,
Acting Chair, Federal Subsistence Board.
Dated: September 19, 2006.
Steve Kessler,
Subsistence Program Leader, USDA-Forest Service.
[FR Doc. 06-8280 Filed 9-26-06; 8:45 am]
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