[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 96 (Thursday, May 18, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31813-31815]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-10621]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[Docket No. FWS-R7-NWRS-2023-0072]
Notice of Intent To Prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact
Statement for a Potential Land Exchange Involving Izembek National
Wildlife Refuge Lands
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of
1969, as amended, and the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation
Act of 1980, as amended, along with other laws as applicable, the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) intends to prepare a supplemental
environmental impact statement (supplemental EIS) to consider the
effects of a potential land exchange of certain lands owned by the King
Cove Corporation and/or the State of Alaska with certain lands owned by
the U.S. Government. King Cove would use the acquired land for a road
corridor for noncommercial use through the Izembek National Wildlife
Refuge and the Izembek Wilderness Area. We furnish this notice to
advise the public and other agencies of our intentions and to seek
information and suggestions on the scope of issues to be addressed in
the supplemental EIS. In particular, we will update information used in
the 2013 analysis on the impacts of a then-proposed exchange and road
corridor and the viability of alternatives to provide safe and reliable
transportation between the City of King Cove, Alaska, and the airport
at Cold Bay, Alaska.
DATES: This notice initiates the public scoping process for the
supplemental EIS. The FWS must receive any public comments concerning
the scope of the analysis, potential alternatives, and identification
of relevant information and studies no later than June 20, 2023.
ADDRESSES:
Obtaining documents: To inform public comment, we are making FWS's
2013 EIS and ROD documents available for review at https://www.regulations.gov in Docket No. FWS-R7-NWRS-2023-0072. In addition,
any comments and other materials that we receive will be available for
public inspection online at that site.
Submitting public comments: You may submit comments related to the
potential Izembek land exchange and other potential transportation
solutions by any of the following methods:
Online: https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments on Docket No. FWS-R7-NWRS-2023-
0072.
U.S. mail: Public Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No.
FWS-R7-NWRS-2023-0072; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS: PRB/3W; 5275
Leesburg Pike; Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.
We will post all comments on https://www.regulations.gov. This
generally means that we will post any personal information you provide
us (see Public Review Process, below, for more information).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shane Walker, Branch Chief of
Conservation Planning and Policy, by telephone at 907-226-4626; by
email at shane_walker@fws.gov; or via U.S. mail at U.S. Fish & Wildlife
Service, Alaska Region, National Wildlife Refuge System, 95 Sterling
Highway, Suite 1, Homer, AK 99603. Contact Shane Walker to have your
name added to our mailing list. 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: The Izembek National Wildlife Refuge
(417,533 acres (ac)) and the North Creek (8,452 ac) and Pavlof
(1,447,264 ac) units of the Alaska Peninsula National Wildlife Refuge
are located at the westernmost tip of the Alaska Peninsula. The
1,008,697-ac Unimak Island (the easternmost Aleutian Island of the
Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge) lies across the Isanotski
Strait. To the north of the Izembek Refuge is the Bering Sea; to the
south is the Pacific Ocean. The Izembek Wilderness covers much of the
Izembek National Wildlife Refuge and includes pristine streams,
extensive wetlands, steep mountains, tundra, and sand dunes, and
provides high scenic, wildlife, and scientific values, as well as
opportunities for solitude and recreation. The Izembek National
Wildlife Refuge includes the traditional homelands of the of the
Unangax people.
The King Cove Corporation is an Alaska Native Village Corporation
established under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971
(ANCSA; 43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.). Under the authority of ANCSA, Congress
granted to King Cove Corporation land entitlements within and adjacent
to Izembek Refuge. The State of Alaska also owns lands, submerged
lands, shorelands, and tidelands within and adjacent to Izembek and
Alaska Peninsula Refuges, including the Izembek State Game Refuge.
The Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge stretches from the
Arctic Ocean to the southeast panhandle of Alaska and protects breeding
habitat for seabirds, marine mammals, and other wildlife on more than
2,500 islands, spires, rocks, and coastal headlands. Sitkinak Island,
which lies within the boundaries of the Alaska Maritime National
Wildlife Refuge, is primarily owned by the State of Alaska, with two
parcels owned by the Service.
In the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 (Pub. L. 111-11,
title VI, subtitle E (``the 2009 Act''), Congress directed FWS to
prepare an EIS under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as
amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), and its implementing regulations (40
CFR parts 1500-1508) to evaluate the impacts of a proposed land
exchange with the State of Alaska and the King Cove Corporation for the
purpose of constructing a single-lane gravel road between the
communities of King Cove and Cold Bay, Alaska. The 2009 Act required
that the road ``shall be used primarily for health and safety purposes
(including access to and from the Cold Bay Airport) and only for
noncommercial purposes,'' with limited exceptions. The land exchange
contemplated by the 2009 Act would have involved the removal of
approximately 206 ac within the Izembek Wilderness portion of Izembek
National Wildlife Refuge for the road corridor and approximately 1,600
ac of Federal land within the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge
on Sitkinak Island. In exchange, the FWS would have received
approximately
[[Page 31814]]
43,093 ac of land owned by the State of Alaska and approximately 13,300
ac of land owned by the King Cove Corporation.
These lands are located around Cold Bay and are adjacent to the
North Creek Unit of the Alaska Peninsula National Wildlife Refuge.
In accordance with section 6402(b)(2)(B) of the 2009 Act, an EIS
completed in 2013 (2013 EIS; February 6, 2013, 78 FR 8577) analyzed the
proposed land exchange and the potential construction and operation of
a road between the communities of King Cove and Cold Bay, Alaska, and,
among other alternatives, evaluated a specific road corridor through
the Izembek Refuge that was identified in consultation with the State
of Alaska, the City of King Cove, and the Agdaagux Tribe of King Cove.
In accordance with the 2009 Act, subsequent to the preparation of the
EIS and in conjunction with the 2013 record of decision (2013 ROD;
February 20, 2014, 79 FR 9759), Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell
decided not to enter a land exchange after determining the land
exchange (including the construction of the proposed road) was not in
the public interest.
On July 3, 2019, Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt signed a
memorandum titled ``Findings and Conclusions Concerning a Proposed Land
Exchange Between the Secretary of the Interior and King Cove
Corporation for Lands Within Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska''
(2019 Secretarial Memorandum). That memorandum laid the foundation for
the concurrent approval of a land exchange agreement (2019 Exchange
Agreement) between the Department of the Interior and King Cove
Corporation. The 2019 Secretarial Memorandum stated that the purpose of
the 2019 Exchange Agreement was to allow a road across the Izembek
National Wildlife Refuge to improve access by the residents of King
Cove to the airport at Cold Bay. Since the authorities under the 2009
Act had expired, the 2019 Exchange Agreement relied on the general
exchange authority found at in section 1302(h) of the Alaska National
Interest Lands Conservation Act of 1980 (Pub. L. 96-487, sec. 1302(h),
Dec. 2, 1980; 16 U.S.C. 3192(h)). However, the 2019 Exchange Agreement
relied in large part on the record developed for the exchange analyzed
under the 2013 EIS and rejected by Secretary Jewell in the 2013 ROD.
On June 1, 2020, the District Court for the District of Alaska
vacated the 2019 Exchange Agreement. The vacatur order, which remains
in effect, was based on several legal defects in the decision,
including the district court's conclusion that Secretary Bernhardt
failed to properly justify the change in policy and his rejection of
Secretary Jewell's prior conclusions. The district court did not rule
on claims that Secretary Bernhardt's 2019 decision violated the
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) or the Endangered Species Act
(ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) Therefore, those claims are pending and
have not yet been addressed. Review of the district court's judgment is
pending before an en banc panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
On March 14, 2023, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland issued a
new decision memorandum withdrawing the Department from the 2019
Exchange Agreement between the Secretary of the Interior and King Cove
Corporation. That decision memorandum identified concerns with analysis
of the 2019 Exchange Agreement's potential impacts on subsistence uses
and needs, and highlighted shortcomings in the record regarding NEPA
and ESA analyses. In addition, the Secretary expressed significant
policy concerns regarding the nonpublic manner in which the 2019
Exchange Agreement was accomplished, as well as the terms of the
exchange agreement, which differed from the exchange evaluated in the
2013 EIS.
While the authorities in the 2009 Act remain expired, the FWS will
prepare a supplemental EIS to address an exchange under section 1302(h)
of ANILCA or under other authorities, as applicable. The FWS's
supplemental EIS analysis will focus on thoroughly assessing the
impacts of the potential exchange and road, allowing for public
participation, and integrating the NEPA analysis with an evaluation
under ANILCA section 810. The FWS will also use and coordinate the NEPA
process to help inform the Department with respect to compliance with
the National Historic Preservation Act section 106 (54 U.S.C. 306108),
the ESA, ANILCA (including any land exchange's furtherance of the
statute's conservation and subsistence purposes), ANCSA (43 U.S.C. 1601
et seq.), the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997
(16 U.S.C. 668dd), and the Wilderness Act of 1964 (16 U.S.C. 1131 et
seq.).
Potential action alternatives under consideration at this time
include one or more of the action alternatives from the 2013 EIS
addressing the proposed land exchange and road construction and
operation as outlined in the 2009 Act, one or more of the action
alternatives from the 2013 EIS addressing other transportation
alternatives, and a new alternative for the terms of the proposed land
exchange for a road corridor approved in 2019.
Public Review Process
Request for Public Comments
The FWS is seeking public comments on issues, concerns, potential
impacts, alternatives, and mitigation measures that should be
considered in the analysis, particularly those not already addressed in
the 2013 EIS or in need of updating. Additional opportunities for
public participation, including a public comment period of at least 45
days, will be provided upon publication of the draft supplemental EIS.
It is important that commenters provide their comments at such
times and in such manner that they are useful to the agency's
preparation of the supplemental EIS. Therefore, comments should be
received prior to the close of the comment period and should clearly
articulate the commenters' concerns.
Public Availability of Comments
You may submit written comments and materials concerning this
proposed rule by one of the methods listed in ADDRESSES. Comments
submitted anonymously will be accepted and considered.
If you submit a comment via https://www.regulations.gov, your
entire comment, including any personal identifying information such as
your address, phone number, and email address, will be posted on the
website.
If you submit a hardcopy comment that includes personal identifying
information, you may request at the top of your document that we
withhold this information from public review. However, we cannot
guarantee that we will be able to do so. We will post all hardcopy
comments on https://www.regulations.gov.
Tribal Consultation and Comment
The meaningful input of Alaska Native Tribes and Alaska Native
Corporations is of critical importance to this supplemental EIS.
Therefore, and as expressed in Executive Order 13175, ``Consultation
and Coordination with Indian Tribal Governments,'' the Federal
officials that have been delegated authority by the Secretary are
committed to honoring the unique government-to-government political
relationship that exists between the Federal Government and federally
recognized Tribes (Tribes). Consultation with Alaska Native
Corporations is based on Public Law 108-199, div. H, sec. 161, January
23, 2004, 118 Stat. 452,
[[Page 31815]]
as amended by Public Law 108-447, div. H, title V, sec. 518, December
8, 2004, 118 Stat. 3267, which provides that: ``The Director of the
Office of Management and Budget and all Federal agencies shall
hereafter consult with Alaska Native corporations on the same basis as
Indian Tribes under Executive Order No. 13175.'' The FWS will hold
individual consultation meetings upon request. The Secretary will
consider Alaska Native Tribes' and Alaska Native Corporations'
information, input, and recommendations, and address their concerns as
much as practicable.
Reasonable Accommodations
The Department is committed to providing access to this process for
all participants. For more information, see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT.
Signing Authority
Shannon A. Estenoz, Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and
Parks, approved this action on May 15, 2023, for publication. On May
15, 2023, Shannon A. Estenoz authorized the undersigned to sign the
document electronically and submit it to the Office of the Federal
Register for publication as an official document of the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service.
Maureen D. Foster,
Chief of Staff, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife
and Parks.
[FR Doc. 2023-10621 Filed 5-17-23; 8:45 am]
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