Department of the Interior August 31, 2021 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In accordance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, as amended, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has issued Letters of Authorization for the nonlethal take of polar bears and Pacific walruses incidental to oil and gas industry exploration, development, and production activities in the Beaufort Sea and the adjacent northern coast of Alaska as well as northern sea otters in Cook Inlet, Alaska, in 2019 and 2020. This notice announces a list of the Letters of Authorizations that were issued in calendar years 2019 and 2020. The Letters of Authorization stipulate conditions and methods that minimize impacts to polar bears, Pacific walruses, and northern sea otters from these activities.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service or we) proposes to establish annual hunting regulations for certain migratory game birds for the 2022-23 hunting season. We annually prescribe outside limits (frameworks) within which States may select hunting seasons. This proposed rule provides the regulatory schedule, announces the Service Migratory Bird Regulations Committee (SRC) and Flyway Council meetings, describes the proposed regulatory alternatives for the 2022-23 general duck seasons and preliminary proposals that vary from the 2021-22 hunting season regulations, and requests proposals from Indian Tribes that wish to establish special migratory game bird hunting regulations on Federal Indian reservations and ceded lands. Migratory bird hunting seasons provide opportunities for recreation and sustenance; aid Federal, State, and Tribal governments in the management of migratory game birds; and permit harvests at levels compatible with migratory game bird population status and habitat conditions.

Pursuant to the provisions of the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, the Department of the Interior (DOI) proposes to modify the DOI-50, Insider Threat Program, system of records. The DOI Office of Law Enforcement and Security uses this system to identify potential threats to DOI resources and information assets and facilitate management of insider threat investigations, complaints, inquiries, and counterintelligence threat detection activities. DOI is publishing this revised system of records notice to reflect the updated system location and system manager address, authorities, expand the scope of categories of individuals and categories of records in the modified system, propose new and modified routine uses, and provide general and administrative updates to the remaining sections of the notice. Additionally, DOI is publishing a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking elsewhere in the Federal Register to exempt this system of records from certain provisions of the Privacy Act. This modified system will be included in DOI's inventory of record systems.

The plats of survey of lands described in this notice are scheduled to be officially filed in the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Alaska State Office, Anchorage, Alaska, 30 calendar days from the date of the Federal Register notice publication. The surveys, which were executed at the request of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the BLM, are necessary for the management of these lands.

The Las Vegas Field Office announces the temporary closure of certain public lands under its administration in Clark County, Nevada. This temporary closure is being made in the interest of public safety in relation to the authorized 2021 Rise Lantern Festival. This closure controls access to multiple points of entry to the festival located on the Jean Dry Lake Bed in order to minimize the risk of vehicle collisions with festival participants and workers. The temporary closure also ensures adequate time to conduct clean-up of the festival location.

This rule prescribes the seasons, hours, areas, and daily bag and possession limits for hunting migratory birds. Taking of migratory birds is prohibited unless specifically provided for by annual regulations. This rule permits the taking of designated species during the 2021-22 season.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, announce a 12-month finding on a petition to list the Peary caribou (Rangifer tarandus pearyi) (a caribou subspecies) and the Dolphin and Union caribou (Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus x peary) as endangered or threatened subspecies under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). Both Peary caribou and Dolphin and Union caribou are native only to Canada. After a review of the best available scientific and commercial information, we find that it is not warranted at this time to add the Peary caribou to the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife. We find that listing the Dolphin and Union caribou as a Distinct Population Segment (DPS) of the barren-ground caribou subspecies (Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus) is warranted. Accordingly, we propose to list this DPS with a rule issued under section 4(d) of the Act (``4(d) rule''). To ensure that subsequent rulemaking resulting from this proposed rule is as accurate and effective as possible, we are soliciting information from the public, other governmental agencies, the Government of Canada and its provincial governments, the scientific community, industry, and any other interested parties.