SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), BLM Alaska, prepared the ANCSA 17(d)(1) Withdrawals EIS to evaluate the effects of any Secretarial decision to revoke withdrawals established following enactment of ANCSA section 17(d)(1) affecting the lands described in PLO Nos. 7899 through 7903. PLO Nos. 7900, 7901, 7902, and 7903 would have revoked withdrawals on lands in the Ring of Fire, Bay, Bering Sea-Western Interior, and East Alaska planning areas, ( printed page 70205) respectively. These PLOs were signed on January 15 and 16, 2021; however, they were never published in the Federal Register . PLO No. 7899, which would have revoked withdrawals on lands in the Kobuk-Seward Peninsula planning area, was signed on January 11, 2021, and published in the Federal Register on January 19, 2021 (86 FR 5236).

Subsequently, the DOI identified certain procedural and legal defects in the decision-making process for these five PLOs, as described in the April 16, 2021, Federal Register notice (86 FR 20193), including an insufficient analysis under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The DOI extended the opening order for PLO No. 7899 until August 31, 2024, to provide an opportunity to review the decisions and to ensure the orderly management of the public lands (88 FR 21207). The BLM used this time to address identified deficiencies and to update the NEPA analysis. The Secretary identified the No Action Alternative (Alternative A) as the preferred alternative in the final EIS. A Notice of Availability for the ANCSA 17(d)(1) Withdrawals Final EIS was published in the Federal Register on July 5, 2024 (89 FR 55654). Any order rescinding these PLOs will be published separately with the effective date listed with that order.

(Authority: 40 CFR 1501.9(c)(5))

89 FR 70204