[Federal Register: August 31, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 168)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 53011-53013]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr31au04-10]
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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-AJ25
Subsistence Management Regulations for Public Lands in Alaska,
Subpart D--2004-05 Subsistence Taking of Wildlife Regulations;
Correction
AGENCIES: Forest Service, USDA; Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Final rule; correction.
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SUMMARY: This rule corrects the Subsistence Management Regulations for
Public Lands in Alaska, published in the Federal Register on July 1,
2004, (69 FR 40174) implementing the subsistence priority for rural
residents of Alaska under Title VIII of the Alaska National Interest
Lands Conservation Act of 1980. The July 1, 2004, final rule
established regulations for seasons, harvest limits, methods, and means
relating to the taking of wildlife for subsistence uses during the
2004-05 regulatory year. This document makes three changes to that
final rule: It corrects an inadvertent error in the definition of
``fur,'' clarifies exactly who may sell handicrafts made from the fur
of bears, and corrects a Government Printing Office publication error
relative to caribou seasons in Unit 10.
DATES: The amendment to section ----.25 is effective July 1, 2004. The
amendment to section ----.26 is effective July 1, 2004 through June 30,
2005.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas H. Boyd, Office of Subsistence
Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, telephone (907) 786-3888.
For questions specific to National Forest System lands, contact Steve
Kessler, Regional Subsistence Program Leader, USDA--Forest Service,
Alaska Region, telephone (907) 786-3592.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On July 1, 2004, we published in the Federal Register a final rule
to establish regulations for seasons, harvest limits, methods, and
means related to taking of wildlife for subsistence uses in Alaska
during the 2004-05 regulatory year (69 FR 40174). That rulemaking was
[[Page 53012]]
necessary because the regulations governing the subsistence harvest of
wildlife in Alaska are subject to an annual public review cycle. The
July 1, 2004, rule replaced the wildlife regulations that expired on
June 30, 2004. The rule also amended the regulations that establish
which Alaska residents are eligible to take specific species for
subsistence uses.
Since publication of the July 1, 2004, final rule, we have become
aware of some needed corrections to that document. Because the final
rule related to public lands managed by an agency or agencies in both
the Departments of Agriculture and the Interior, identical text was
incorporated into 36 CFR part 242 and 50 CFR part 100. Consequently,
the corrections cited in this document will be incorporated into those
same CFR sections. The corrections are as follows: (1) In the rule, we
attempted to clarify the use of fur from bears in handicraft articles
by inserting a definition of ``fur.'' However, we now believe that
definition to be incorrect, and this correction replaces the new
definition with that in place prior to publication of the final rule.
(2) This document clarifies exactly who is allowed to sell handicrafts
made from the fur of bears. (3) A final correction identifies the
correct seasons for caribou in Unit 10 that were scrambled during
printing the original Federal Register publication.
The Federal Subsistence Board finds that additional public notice
and comment requirements under the Administrative Procedure Act for
this correcting amendment are impracticable, unnecessary, and contrary
to the public interest. A lapse in regulatory control could seriously
affect the continued viability of wildlife populations, adversely
impact future subsistence opportunities for rural Alaskans, and would
generally fail to serve the overall public interest. Therefore, the
Board finds good cause pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(3)(B) to waive the
public notice and comment procedures prior to publication of this rule.
The Board further finds good cause under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3) to make
this rule effective July 1, 2004.
Drafting Information
William Knauer drafted these regulations under the guidance of
Thomas H. Boyd of the Office of Subsistence Management, Alaska Regional
Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Anchorage, Alaska. Taylor
Brelsford, Alaska State Office, Bureau of Land Management; Greg Bos and
Carl Jack, Alaska Regional Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service;
Sandy Rabinowitch, Alaska Regional Office, National Park Service;
Warren Eastland, Alaska Regional Office, Bureau of Indian Affairs; and
Steve Kessler, Alaska Regional Office, USDA-Forest Service, provided
additional guidance.
List of Subjects
36 CFR Part 242
Administrative practice and procedure, Alaska, Fish, National
forests, Public lands, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements,
Wildlife.
50 CFR Part 100
Administrative practice and procedure, Alaska, Fish, National
forests, Public lands, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements,
Wildlife.
0
For the reasons presented in the preamble, the Federal Subsistence
Board amends Title 36, part 242, and Title 50, part 100, of the Code of
Federal Regulations, by making the following correcting amendments:
PART D--SUBSISTENCE MANAGEMENT REGULATIONS FOR PUBLIC LANDS IN
ALASKA [AMENDED]
0
1. The authority citation for both 36 CFR part 242 and 50 CFR part 100
continues to read as follows:
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 3, 472, 551, 668dd, 3101-3126; 18 U.S.C.
3551-3586; 43 U.S.C. 1733.
0
2. Section ----.25 is amended:
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a. In paragraph (a), by removing the definition of ``fur'';
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b. In paragraph (a), by removing the definition of ``skin, hide, or
pelt'' and adding in its place a definition for ``skin, hide, pelt, or
fur'' to read as set forth below; and
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c. In paragraph (j), by revising paragraphs (j)(6) and (j)(7) to read
as set forth below:
Sec. ----.25 Subsistence taking of fish, wildlife, and shellfish:
general regulations.
(a) * * *
Skin, hide, pelt, or fur means any tanned or untanned external
covering of an animal's body; excluding bear. The skin, hide, pelt, or
fur of a bear is the entire external covering with claws attached.
* * * * *
(J) * * *
(6) If you are a federally qualified subsistence user, you may sell
handicraft articles made from the fur of a black bear.
(7) If you are a federally qualified subsistence user, you may sell
handicraft articles made from the fur of a brown bear taken from Units
1-5, 9(A)-(C), 9(E), 12, 17, 20, and 25.
* * * * *
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3. In Sec. ----.26(n)(10), the entry for caribou in the table showing
Harvest Limits and Open Season is revised to read as follows:
Sec. ----.26 Subsistence taking of wildlife.
* * * * *
(n) * * *
(10) * * *
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Harvest limits Open season
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Hunting
Caribou:
Unit 10--Unimak Island only--4 Aug. 1-Sept. 30.
caribou by Federal registration Nov. 15-Mar. 31.
permit only.
Unit 10--remainder--No limit...... July 1-June 30.
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[[Page 53013]]
* * * * *
Dated: August 11, 2004.
Thomas H. Boyd,
Acting Chair, Federal Subsistence Board.
Dated: August 11, 2004.
Calvin H. Casipit,
Acting Regional Subsistence Program Leader, USDA-Forest Service.
[FR Doc. 04-19838 Filed 8-30-04; 8:45 am]