[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 193 (Friday, October 8, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56287-56288]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-22039]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[FF02R05000/FSRS34510200000/AZA-38417]
Notice of Proposed Withdrawal and Opportunity for Public Meeting
for the Bill Williams River National Wildlife Refuge, Arizona
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: On behalf of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS)
and subject to valid existing rights, the Deputy Secretary of the
Interior proposes to withdraw 1,464 acres of public lands from
appropriation under the public land laws, including location and entry
under the United States mining laws, and 1,134 acres of Federal surface
estate public lands from appropriation under the public land laws for
100 years to protect and reserve the land for management as part of the
Bill Williams River National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) located in La Paz
and Mohave Counties, Arizona. Publication of this notice temporarily
segregates the lands for up to two-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
January 6, 2022.
ADDRESSES: All comments and meeting requests should be sent to the
Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Arizona State Office, 1 North Central
Avenue, Suite 800, Phoenix, AZ 85004; faxed to (602) 417-9452; or sent
by email to BLM_AZ_Withdrawal_Comments@blm.gov. The BLM will not
consider comments via telephone calls.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mike Ouellett, Realty Specialist, BLM
Arizona State Office, telephone: (602) 417-9561, email at
mouellett@blm.gov; or you may contact the BLM office at the address
noted above. Persons who use a telecommunications device for the deaf
(TDD) may call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339 to
contact the above individual during normal business hours. The FRS is
available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to leave a message or
question. You will receive a reply during normal business hours.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The applicant is the FWS, and its petition/
application requests the Deputy Secretary of the Interior withdraw the
following described public lands from
[[Page 56288]]
all forms of appropriation under the public land laws, including
location and entry under the United States mining laws, subject to
valid existing rights, and reserve them for wildlife refuge purposes
for a 100-year term.
Gila and Salt River Meridian, Arizona
(Surface and Subsurface Estate Land)
T. 11 N., R. 17 W.,
Sec. 20, E\1/2\, E\1/2\NW\1/4\, NE\1/4\SW\1/4\, S\1/2\SW\1/4\;
Sec. 25, S\1/2\SE\1/4\;
Sec. 26, SE\1/4\SW\1/4\, S\1/2\SE\1/4\;
Sec. 28, N\1/2\, N\1/2\SW\1/4\, SE\1/4\SW\1/4\, SE\1/4\SE\1/4\;
Sec. 34, N\1/2\NE\1/4\, SE\1/4\NE\1/4\, N\1/2\NW\1/4\;
Sec. 36, N\1/2\SE\1/4\NE\1/4\.
T. 11 N., R. 18 W.,
Sec. 12, SW\1/4\SW\1/4\ that portion lying northerly of the
Havasu Lake National Wildlife Refuge boundary, as described in
Executive Order 8647 of January 22, 1941, and southwesterly of the
southwesterly right-of-way line of State Highway 95;
Sec. 24, NE\1/4\NE\1/4\.
The areas described aggregate approximately 1464 acres.
The petition/application further requests that the Deputy Secretary
of the Interior withdraw the following described public lands (surface
estate only) from all forms of appropriation under the public land
laws, subject to valid existing rights, and reserve them for wildlife
refuge purposes for a 100-year term:
Gila and Salt River Meridian, Arizona
(Surface Estate Land)
T. 11 N., R. 17 W.,
Sec. 19, lot 2, NE\1/4\SW\1/4\, S\1/2\SE\1/4\;
Sec. 21, SW\1/4\SW\1/4\;
Sec. 25, S\1/2\SW\1/4\;
Sec. 27, SW\1/4\NE\1/4\, S\1/2\NW\1/4\;
Sec. 29, E\1/2\NW\1/4\;
Sec. 33, S\1/2\NE\1/4\, SE\1/4\NW\1/4\;
Sec. 35, N\1/2\NE\1/4\, S\1/2\NE\1/4\SW\1/4\, NW\1/4\SW\1/4\,
S\1/2\NW\1/4\SE\1/4\.
T. 11 N., R. 18 W.,
Sec. 11, those portions of the SW\1/4\NE\1/4\, W\1/2\NW\1/4\,
SE\1/4\NW\1/4\, NE\1/4\SW\1/4\, N\1/2\NW\1/4\SW\1/4\, N\1/2\SE\1/
4\SW\1/4\, NE\1/4\SE\1/4\, W\1/2\SE\1/4\, SE\1/4\SE\1/4\ lying
northerly of the Havasu Lake National Wildlife boundary, as
described in Executive Order 8647 of January 22,1941, and southerly
of the southwesterly right-of-way line of State Route 95.
Sec. 13, those portions of the W\1/2\NE\1/4\SW\1/4\, NW\1/
4\SW\1/4\, SE\1/4\SW\1/4\, S\1/2\SW\1/4\SE\1/4\, SW\1/4\SE\1/4\SE\1/
4\ lying southerly of the Havasu Lake National Wildlife boundary, as
described in Executive Order 8647 of January 22, 1941.
The areas described aggregate approximately 1,134 acres.
The Deputy 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.
No additional water rights will fulfill the purpose of this new
withdrawal.
There are no suitable alternative sites since these lands are
located within the Bill Williams River NWR.
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 personal identifying
information, may be made publicly available at any time. While you can
ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be
able to do so.
Notice is hereby given that an opportunity for a public meeting is
afforded in connection with the proposed withdrawal. All interested
persons who desire a public meeting for the purpose of being heard on
the proposed withdrawal must submit a written request to the BLM
Arizona State Director no later than January 6, 2022. If the authorized
officer determines that a public meeting will be held, a notice of the
time and place will be published in the Federal Register and a local
newspaper at least 30 days before the scheduled date of the meeting.
For a period until October 9, 2023 the lands described above will
be segregated from all forms of appropriation under the public land
laws, unless the application is denied or canceled, or the withdrawal
is approved prior to that date. This application will be processed in
accordance with the regulations set-forth in 43 CFR part 2300.
Raymond Suazo,
State Director.
[FR Doc. 2021-22039 Filed 10-7-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P