Department of the Interior November 14, 2022 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC or Commission) issued a proposed rule revising its management contract regulations. The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) provides that an Indian tribe may enter into a management contract for the operation of Class II or Class III gaming activity if such contract has been submitted to and approved by the NIGC Chairman. Collateral agreements to a management contract are also subject to the Chairman's approval. This final rule makes background investigations required of all persons who have 10 percent or more direct or indirect financial interest in a management contract, of all entities with 10 percent or more financial interest in a management contract, of any other person or entity with a direct or indirect financial interest in a management contract otherwise designated by the Commission, and authorizes the Chairman, either by request or unilaterally, to exercise discretion to reduce the scope of the information to be furnished and background investigation to be conducted for certain entities.

The National Park Service (NPS) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) are jointly preparing an environmental impact statement (EIS) for the North Cascades Ecosystem Grizzly Bear Restoration Plan to determine how to restore the grizzly bear to the North Cascades ecosystem (NCE), a portion of its historical range. As part of the planning and EIS process, the NPS and the FWS will evaluate various approaches for the restoration of a grizzly bear population to the NCE. Action is needed to restore grizzly bears to the NCE because they are functionally extirpated from the ecosystem, and restoration there will contribute to overall grizzly bear recovery.