[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 43, Volume 2]
[Revised as of October 1, 2004]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 43CFR2653.5]

[Page 203-205]
 
                    TITLE 43--PUBLIC LANDS: INTERIOR
 
    CHAPTER II--BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
 
PART 2650_ALASKA NATIVE SELECTIONS--Table of Contents
 
                  Subpart 2653_Miscellaneous Selections
 
Sec. 2653.5  Cemetery sites and historical places.

    (a) The appropriate regional corporation may apply to the Secretary 
for the conveyance of existing cemetery sites or historical places 
pursuant to section 14(h) of the Act. The Secretary may give favorable 
consideration to these applications: Provided, That the Secretary 
determines that the criteria in these regulations are met: And provided 
further, That the regional corporation agrees to accept a covenant in 
the conveyance that these cemetery sites or historical places will be 
maintained and preserved solely as cemetery sites or historical places 
by the regional corporation, in accordance with the provisions for 
conveyance reservations in Sec. 2653.11.
    (b) A historical place may be granted in a National Wildlife Refuge 
or National Forest unless, in the judgment of the Secretary, the events 
or the qualities of the site from which it derives its particular value 
and significance as a historical place can be commemorated or found in 
an alternative site outside the refuge or forest, or if the Secretary 
determines that the conveyance could have a substantial detrimental 
effect on (1) a fish or wildlife population, (2) its habitat, (3) the 
management of such population or habitat, or (4) access by a fish or 
wildlife population to a critical part of its habitat.
    (c) Although the existence of a cemetery site or historical place 
and a proper application for its conveyance create no valid existing 
right, they operate to segregate the land from all other forms of 
appropriation under the public land laws. Conveyances of lands reserved 
for the National Wildlife Refuge System made pursuant to this subpart 
are subject to the provisions of section 22(g) of the Act and Sec. 
2650.4-6 as though they were conveyances to a village corporation.
    (d) For purposes of evaluating and determining the eligibility of 
properties as historical places, the quality of significance in Native 
history or culture shall be considered to be present in places that 
possess integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, 
feeling and association, and:
    (1) That are associated with events that have made a significant 
contribution to the history of Alaskan Indians, Eskimos or Aleuts, or
    (2) That are associated with the lives of persons significant in the 
past of Alaskan Indians, Eskimos or Aleuts, or
    (3) That possess outstanding and demonstrably enduring symbolic 
value in the traditions and cultural beliefs and practices of Alaskan 
Indians, Eskimos or Aleuts, or
    (4) That embody the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, 
or method of construction, or that represent the work of a master, or 
that possess high artistic values, or
    (5) That have yielded, or are demonstrably likely to yield 
information important in prehistory or history.
    (e) Criteria considerations for historic places: Ordinarily, 
cemeteries, birthplaces, or graves of historical figures, properties 
owned by religious institutions or used for religious purposes, 
structures that have been moved from their original locations, 
reconstructed historic buildings, properties primarily commemorative in 
nature, and properties that have achieved significance within the past 
50 years shall not be considered eligible as a historical place unless 
they fall within one of the following categories:

[[Page 204]]

    (1) A religious property deriving primary significance from 
architectural or artistic distinction or historical importance;
    (2) A building or structure removed from its original location but 
which is the surviving structure most importantly associated with a 
historic person or event;
    (3) A birthplace or grave of a historical figure of outstanding 
importance if there is no appropriate site or building directly 
associated with his productive life;
    (4) A cemetery which derives its primary significance from graves of 
persons of transcendent importance, from age, from distinctive design 
features, or from association with historic events;
    (5) A reconstructed building when accurately executed in a suitable 
environment and preserved in a dignified manner as part of a restoration 
master plan and when no other building or structure with the same 
association has survived;
    (6) A property primarily commemorative in intent if design, age, 
tradition, or symbolic value has invested it with its own historical 
significance; or
    (7) A property achieving significance within the past 50 years if it 
is of exceptional importance.
    (f) Applications by a regional corporation under section 14(h)(1) of 
the Act for conveyance of existing cemetery sites or historical places 
within its boundaries shall be filed with the proper office of the 
Bureau of Land Management in accordance with Sec. 2650.2(a) of this 
chapter. The regional corporation shall include as an attachment to its 
application for a historical place a statement describing the events 
that took place and the qualities of the site from which it derives its 
particular value and significance as a historical place. In making the 
application, the regional corporation should identify accurately and 
with sufficient specificity the size and location of the site for which 
the application is made as an existing cemetery site or historical place 
to enable the Bureau of Land Management to segregate the proper lands. 
The land shall be described in accordance with Sec. 2650.2(e) of this 
chapter, except that if the site under application is less than 2.50 
acres or if it cannot be described by a protracted survey description, 
it shall be described by a metes and bounds description.
    (g) Upon receipt of an application for an existing cemetery site or 
historical place, the Bureau of Land Management shall segregate from all 
other appropriation under the public land laws the land which it 
determines, adequately encompasses the site described in the 
application.
    (h) Notice of filing of such application specifying the regional 
corporation, the size and location of the segregated lands encompassing 
the site for which application has been made, the date of filing, and 
the date by which any protest of the application must be filed shall be 
published once in the Federal Register and in one or more newspapers of 
general circulation in Alaska once a week for three consecutive weeks by 
the Bureau of Land Management. The Bureau of Land Management shall then 
forward the application to the Director, Juneau Area Office, Bureau of 
Indian Affairs, for investigation, report, and certification and supply 
a copy to the National Park Service. When an application pertains to 
lands within a National Wildlife Refuge or National Forest, the Bureau 
of Land Management shall also forward informational copies of the 
application and the size and location of segregated lands to the agency 
or agencies involved.
    (i) If, during its investigation, the Bureau of Indian Affairs finds 
that the location of the site as described in the application is in 
error, it shall notify the applicant, the Bureau of Land Management, and 
other affected Federal agencies, of such error. The applicant shall have 
60 days from receipt of such notice to file with the Bureau of Land 
Management an amendment to its application with respect to the location 
of the site. Upon acceptance of such amendment the Bureau of Land 
Management shall reprocess the application, including segregation of 
lands and publication of notice.
    (j) The Bureau of Indian Affairs shall identify on a map and mark on 
the ground, including gravesites or other important items, the location 
and size

[[Page 205]]

of the site or place with sufficient clarity to enable the Bureau of 
Land Management to locate on the ground said site or place. The Bureau 
of Indian Affairs, after consultation with the National Park Service 
and, in the case of refuges and forests, the agency or agencies 
involved, shall certify as to the existence of the site or place and 
that it meets the criteria in this subpart.
    (1) Cemetery sites. The Bureau of Indian Affairs shall certify 
specifically that the site is the burial place of one or more Natives. 
The Bureau of Indian Affairs shall determine whether the cemetery site 
is in active or inactive use, and if active, it shall estimate the 
degree of use by Native groups and villages in the area which it shall 
identify.
    (2) Historical places. The Bureau of Indian Affairs shall describe 
the events that took place and qualities of the site which give it 
particular value and significance as a historical place.
    (k) The Bureau of Indian Affairs shall submit its report and 
certification along with the written comments and recommendations of the 
National Park Service and any other Federal agency, to the Bureau of 
Land Management. If the land is available, the Bureau of Land Management 
shall issue a decision to convey. However, where the issues in Sec. 
2653.5(b) are raised by the reports of the Fish and Wildlife Service or 
the Forest Service, the State Director, Bureau of Land Management shall 
submit the record including a land status report, to the Secretary for a 
resolution of any conflicts. If the land is available for that purpose, 
the Secretary shall make his determination to convey or not to convey 
the site to the applicant.
    (l) The decision of the Bureau of Land Management or the Secretary 
shall be served on the applicant and all parties of record in accordance 
with the provisions of 43 CFR part 4, subpart E and shall be published 
in accordance with Sec. 2650.7 of this part. The decision of the Bureau 
of Land Management shall become final unless appealed to the Board of 
Land Appeals in accordance with 43 CFR part 4, subpart E. Any agency 
adversely affected by the certification of BIA or the decision of the 
Bureau of Land Management may also appeal the matter to the Board of 
Land Appeals. After a decision to convey an existing cemetery site or 
historical place has become final, the Bureau of Land Management shall 
adjust the segregation of the lands to conform with said conveyance.
    (m) For inactive cemeteries, the boundaries of such cemetery sites 
shall include an area encompassing all actual gravesites including a 
reasonable buffer zone of not more than 66 feet. For active cemeteries, 
the boundaries of such sites shall include an area of actual use and 
reasonable future expansion of not more than 10 acres, but the BLM in 
consultation with any affected Federal agency may include more than 10 
acres upon a determination that special circumstances warrant it. For 
historical places, the boundaries shall include an area encompassing the 
actual site with a reasonable buffer zone of not more than 330 feet.

[41 FR 14738, Apr. 7, 1976; 41 FR 17909, Apr. 29, 1976, as amended at 41 
FR 49487, Nov. 9, 1976]