Department of the Interior May 29, 2018 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This Order revokes the withdrawal created by two Executive Orders as they affect 70.97 acres located at Turn Point, Stuart Island, San Juan Islands, Washington, reserved for use by the United States Coast Guard (USCG) for lighthouse purposes. This Order also transfers administrative jurisdiction over the subject land to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to be managed as part of the San Juan Islands National Monument (Monument).

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is proposing a noncompetitive (direct) sale of 3,180.35 acres of public land in Maricopa County, Arizona, and 200.64 acres of public land in Pinal County, Arizona, a total of 3,380.69 acres at no less than the appraised fair market value to the Gila River Indian Community (GRIC). The sale is subject to the provisions of Sections 203 and 209 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, as amended (FLPMA). Because disposal of these lands is restricted to Federal, State, local, and tribal governments and agencies, the publication of this notice represents a formal opportunity for any qualified purchasers to express interest in the subject lands. If interest in purchase, at fair market value, is indicated by another qualified party, the BLM will proceed with a modified competitive sale of the lands. If no qualified parties express interest, the BLM will proceed with a noncompetitive sale.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, propose to open 3 National Wildlife Refuges (NWRs) to hunting, open 1 NWR to sport fishing, increase the hunting activities available at 26 NWRs, increase sport fishing activities at 4 NWRs, and add pertinent refuge-specific regulations for other NWRs that pertain to migratory game bird hunting, upland game hunting, big game hunting, and sport fishing for the 2018- 2019 season. Through these openings and expansions, we are proposing to open or expand an additional 248,000 acres to hunting and sport fishing within the Refuge System resulting in an estimated increase of 17,575 user days yielding approximately $711,000 in recreation-related expenditures. By having ripple effects throughout the economy, these direct expenditures yield a total economic impact of approximately $1.6 million. We also request public comments on the changes we made in our 2017-2018 season final rule concerning adding regulations for upland and big game hunting for Kankakee National Wildlife Refuge in Illinois.