[Code of Federal Regulations]

[Title 43, Volume 2]

[Revised as of October 1, 2006]

From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access

[CITE: 43CFR2653.5]



[Page 199-201]

 

                    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 200]]



    (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 201]]



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]