56356 Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 187 / Wednesday, September 27, 2006 / Rules and Regulations 

Environment 

We have analyzed this temporary rule 

under Commandant Instruction 

M16475.1D and Department of 

Homeland Security Management 

Directive 5100.1, which guide the Coast 

Guard in complying with the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

(NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321–4370f), and 

have concluded that there are not 

factors in this case that would limit the 

use of a categorical exclusion under 

section 2.B.2 of the Instruction. 

Therefore, this rule is categorically 

excluded, under figure 2–1, paragraph 

(34)(h), of the Instruction, from further 

environmental documentation. Under 

figure 2–1, paragraph (34)(h), of the 

Instruction, and ‘‘Environmental 

Analysis Check List’’ and a ‘‘Categorical 

Exclusion Determination’’ are not 

required for this rule. 

List of Subjects in 33 CFR Part 100 

Marine Safety, Navigation (water), 

Reporting and record keeping 

requirements, Waterways. 

■ For the reasons discussed in the 

preamble, the Coast Guard amends 33 

CFR part 100 as follows: 

PART 100—SAFETY OF LIFE ON 

NAVIGABLE WATERS 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 100 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 33 U.S.C. 1233; Department of 

Homeland Security Delegation No. 0170.1. 

■ 2. Add § 100.T13–032 to read as 

follows: 

§ 100.T13–032 Special Local Regulations, 

Strait Thunder Hydroplane Races, Port 

Angeles, WA. 

(a) Regulated areas. (1) The regulated 

area encompasses all waters located 

inside of a line connecting the following 

points located near Port Angeles, 

Washington: Point 1: 48° 07′ 24′′ N, 123° 

25′ 32′′ W; Point 2: 48° 07′ 26′′ N, 123° 

24′ 35′′ W; Point 3: 48° 07′ 12′′ N, 123° 

25′ 31′′ W; Point 4: 48° 07′ 15′′ N, 123° 

24′ 34′′ W. [Datum: NAD 1983]. 

(2) The spectator area encompasses all 

waters located within a box bounded by 

the following points located near Port 

Angeles, Washington: Point 1: 48° 07′ 

32′′ N, 123° 25′ 33′′ W; Point 2: 48° 07′ 

29′′ N, 123° 24′ 36′′ W; Point 3: 48° 07′ 

24′′ N, 123° 25′ 32′′ W, Point 4: 48° 07′ 

26′′ N, 123° 24′ 35′′ W. [Datum: NAD 

1983]. 

(b) Coast Guard Patrol Commander. 

The Coast Guard Patrol Commander is 

a commissioned, warrant, or petty 

officer of the Coast Guard who has been 

designated by Commander, Coast Guard 

Group Port Angeles. The Patrol 

Commander is empowered to control 

the movement of vessels on the 

racecourse and in the adjoining waters 

described in paragraph (a) above during 

the periods this regulation is in effect. 

The Coast Guard will maintain a patrol 

consisting of Coast Guard vessels, 

assisted by Coast Guard Auxiliary 

vessels. The Patrol Commander may be 

assisted by other federal, state and local 

law enforcement agencies as well as 

Strait Thunder event craft. 

(c) Special Local Regulations. From 

9 a.m. until 5 p.m. on September 29, 30, 

and October 1, 2006, non-participant 

vessels are prohibited from entering the 

regulated area unless authorized by the 

Coast Guard Patrol Commander. 

Spectator craft may remain in the 

designated spectator area but must 

follow the directions of the Coast Guard 

Patrol Commander. Spectator craft 

entering, exiting or moving within the 

spectator area must operate at speeds 

which will create a minimum wake, and 

not exceed seven knots. The maximum 

speed may be reduced at the discretion 

of the Patrol Commander. 

(d) A succession of sharp, short 

signals by whistle or horn from vessels 

patrolling the areas under the discretion 

of the Patrol Commander shall serve as 

a signal to stop. Vessels signaled shall 

stop and shall comply with the orders 

of the patrol vessel. Failure to do so may 

result in expulsion from the area, 

citation for failure to comply, or both. 

Dated: September 11, 2006. 

Richard R. Houck, 

Rear Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard, Commander, 

Thirteenth Coast Guard District. 

[FR Doc. E6–15843 Filed 9–26–06; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

36 CFR Part 242 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

50 CFR Part 100 

RIN 1018–AU92 

Subsistence Management Regulations 

for Public Lands in Alaska; Kenai 

Peninsula Subsistence Resource 

Region 

AGENCIES: Forest Service, Agriculture; 

Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior. 

ACTION: Direct final rule; withdrawal. 

SUMMARY: We, the Federal Subsistence 

Board, are withdrawing the direct final 

rule that would have amended the 

regulations governing subsistence use of 

fish and wildlife in Alaska by creating 

an additional subsistence resource 

region for the Kenai Peninsula. We 

predicate this withdrawal on the fact 

that we have received significant 

adverse comments, specifically relating 

to the lack of public input on this issue. 

DATES: This withdrawal is effective 

September 27, 2006. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

electronically to Subsistence@fws.gov or 

via the Federal E-Rulemaking Portal at 

http://www.regulations.gov. See 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for file 

format and other information about 

electronic filing. You may also submit 

written comments to the Office of 

Subsistence Management, 3601 C Street, 

Suite 1030, Anchorage, AK 99503. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

general subsistence management 

program questions, contact Pete 

Probasco at (907) 786–3888. For Forest 

Service questions, contact Steve Kessler, 

Regional Subsistence Program Leader, 

USDA—FS Alaska Region, at (907) 786–

3592. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

In Title VIII of the Alaska National 

Interest Lands Conservation Act 

(ANILCA) (16 U.S.C. 3111–3126), 

Congress found that ‘‘the situation in 

Alaska is unique in that, in most cases, 

no practical alternative means are 

available to replace the food supplies 

and other items gathered from fish and 

wildlife which supply rural residents 

dependent on subsistence uses * * *’’

and that ‘‘continuation of the 

opportunity for subsistence uses of 

resources on public and other lands in 

Alaska is threatened * * *.’’ As a result, 

Title VIII requires, among other things, 

that the Secretary of the Interior and the 

Secretary of Agriculture (Secretaries) 

implement a joint program to grant a 

preference for subsistence uses of fish 

and wildlife resources on public lands 

in Alaska, unless the State of Alaska 

enacts and implements laws of general 

applicability that are consistent with 

ANILCA and that provide for the 

subsistence definition, preference, and 

participation specified in Sections 803, 

804, and 805 of ANILCA. 

The State implemented a program that 

the Department of the Interior 

previously found to be consistent with 

ANILCA. However, in December 1989, 

the Alaska Supreme Court ruled in 

McDowell v. State of Alaska that the 

rural preference in the State subsistence 


sroberts on PROD1PC70 with RULES
Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 187 / Wednesday, September 27, 2006 / Rules and Regulations 56357 

statute violated the Alaska Constitution. 

The Court’s ruling in McDowell required 

the State to delete the rural preference 

from its subsistence statute and, 

therefore, negated State compliance 

with ANILCA. The Court stayed the 

effect of the decision until July 1, 1990. 

As a result of the McDowell decision, 

the Department of the Interior and the 

Department of Agriculture 

(Departments) assumed, on July 1, 1990, 

responsibility for implementation of 

Title VIII of ANILCA on public lands. 

On June 29, 1990, the Temporary 

Subsistence Management Regulations 

for Public Lands in Alaska were 

published in the Federal Register (55 

FR 27114). 

Federal Subsistence Regional Advisory 

Councils 

Pursuant to the Subsistence 

Management Regulations for Federal 

Public Lands in Alaska, April 6, 1992, 

and the Subsistence Management 

Regulations for Federal Public Lands in 

Alaska, 36 CFR 242.11 (2002) and 50 

CFR 100.11 (2002), and for the purposes 

identified therein, we divided Alaska 

into 10 subsistence resource regions, 

each of which is represented by a 

Federal Subsistence Regional Advisory 

Council (Regional Council). The 

Regional Councils provide a forum for 

residents of the regions, who have 

personal knowledge of local conditions 

and resource requirements, to have a 

meaningful role in the subsistence 

management of fish and wildlife on 

Alaska public lands. The Regional 

Council members represent varied 

geographical, cultural, and user 

diversity within each region. 

Withdrawal of Direct Final Rule 

The Kenai Peninsula has unique fish 

and wildlife management challenges 

due to intense use of the Peninsula’s 

fish and wildlife by local and nonlocal 

residents and by nonresidents, and due 

to the recent Board actions to begin to 

provide a meaningful subsistence 

priority for fisheries in Federally 

managed fresh waters on the Kenai 

Peninsula. Kenai Peninsula lands 

primarily under Federal management 

include the Chugach National Forest 

and the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. 

We published a direct final rule on 

August 14, 2006 (71 FR 46400), that 

would have created a separate 

subsistence resource region for the 

Kenai Peninsula because we viewed this 

action as an uncontroversial 

administrative action by the Federal 

Subsistence Board. That direct final rule 

would have become effective September 

29, 2006, unless we received significant 

adverse comments. 

During a Southcentral Federal 

Subsistence Regional Advisory Council 

meeting held in Anchorage, Alaska on 

August 24, 2006, we heard significant 

adverse testimony regarding the creation 

of a new Kenai Peninsula Subsistence 

Resource Region. Additionally, the 

Southcentral Regional Council 

unanimously recommended against the 

formation of such a region without 

providing more opportunity for public 

input. Letters from the public also 

strongly opposed the formation of such 

a region without providing more 

opportunity for public input. Therefore, 

we are withdrawing the direct final rule 

and will hold hearings in the affected 

area to obtain additional public input 

before deciding whether to proceed with 

the formation of a new subsistence 

resource region. In addition, on the 

same date that we published the direct 

final rule, we published a proposed rule 

(71 FR 46427) to create an additional 

subsistence resource region for the 

Kenai Peninsula. 

For the reasons stated above, the 

Federal Subsistence Board withdraws 

the direct final rule of August 14, 2006 

(71 FR 46400). 

Dated: September 19, 2006. 

Peter J. Probasco, 

Acting Chair, Federal Subsistence Board. 

Dated: September 19, 2006. 

Steve Kessler, 

Subsistence Program Leader, USDA-Forest 

Service. 

[FR Doc. 06–8276 Filed 9–26–06; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–11–P; 4310–55–P 

NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS 

ADMINISTRATION 

36 CFR Parts 1253 and 1280 

[Docket NARA–06–0007] 

RIN 3095–AB52 

Changes in NARA Research Room 

Hours 

AGENCY: National Archives and Records 

Administration (NARA). 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: NARA is further modifying 

the research room hours at its facilities 

in the Washington, DC, area to retain, on 

a monthly basis, Saturday and some 

evening hours. We are taking this action 

in response to the many comments 

received on the interim final rule on this 

subject published in July. As noted in 

the previous rulemaking, NARA is 

reducing the research room hours as one 

of several measures the agency must 

take in Fiscal Year 2007 to ensure that 

our expenditures are in line with our 

expected resources. This regulation will 

affect individuals who use our archival 

research rooms in the National Archives 

Building and National Archives at 

College Park facility. 

DATES: Effective Date: This final rule is 

effective October 2, 2006. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Nancy Allard at 301–837–1477 or 

Jennifer Davis Heaps at 301–837–1801 

or via fax number 301–837–0319. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NARA 

published an interim final rule with 

request for comments on July 25, 2006 

(71 FR 42058). The interim rule 

specified changes to NARA research 

room hours at the National Archives 

Building in Washington, DC, and the 

National Archives at College Park, MD 

and a revision of the public hours for 

visiting the National Archives 

Experience and the Rotunda exhibits in 

the National Archives Building. We 

received more than 530 timely 

comments. In addition, approximately 

70 individuals attended a public 

meeting on the rule on August 3, 2006, 

at which 24 individuals spoke. Virtually 

all of the responsive comments 

concerned the research room hours in 

our DC area facilities. 

In this final rule, we are further 

amending the interim final rule to 

specify that the research room hours at 

the National Archives Building and the 

National Archives at College Park will 

include, one week a month, evening 

hours from 5 p.m. to 8:45 p.m. on 

Thursday and Friday and Saturday 

hours from 8:45 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. This 

rule and the other provisions of the 

interim final rule published at 71 FR 

42058 will go into effect on October 2, 

2006. 

Summary of Public Comments Received 

The total number of comments 

received included submissions made 

through http://www.regulations.gov, 

individual letters that were mailed or 

faxed (or both) to NARA, letters 

forwarded from Congressional offices, 

and two petitions. Comments received 

on or before 11:59 p.m. on September 8, 

2006, and those postmarked on or before 

September 8, were considered timely. 

Because of the time constraints in 

revising the rule before October 2, 2006, 

we were not able to consider late 

comments. 

Many comments expressed 

appreciation for the important role 

NARA plays in providing public access 

to records and offered suggestions for 

ways in which NARA might be able to 

retain some or all extended hours. We 

address the most frequently stated 

suggestions in the next sections of this 


sroberts on PROD1PC70 with RULES