Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 62 / Friday, March 30, 2012 / Notices 19315 

Type of Review: Extension without 

change of a currently approved 

collection. 

Respondents: Contract and Grant 

schools; Bureau-operated schools. 

Number of Respondents: 48,000 per 

year, on average. 

Total Number of Responses: 48,000 

per year, on average. 

Frequency of Response: Once per 

year. 

Estimated Time per Response: 15 

minutes. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden: 

12,000 total burden hours. 

Dated: March 26, 2012. 

Alvin Foster, 

Assistant Director for Information Resources. 

[FR Doc. 2012–7683 Filed 3–29–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–6W–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Indian Affairs 

Renewal of Agency Information 

Collection for Reindeer in Alaska 

AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of submission to OMB. 

SUMMARY: In compliance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the 

Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) is 

submitting to the Office of Management 

and Budget (OMB) a request for renewal 

for the collection of information for 

Reindeer in Alaska. The information 

collection is currently authorized by 

OMB Control Number 1076–0047, 

which expires March 30, 2012. 

DATES: Interested persons are invited to 

submit comments on or before April 30, 

2012. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

on the information collection to the 

Desk Officer for the Department of the 

Interior at the Office of Management and 

Budget, by facsimile to (202) 395–5806 

or you may send an email to: 

OIRA_DOCKET@omb.eop.gov. Please 

send a copy of your comments to Keith 

Kahklen, Natural Resources Manager, 

Bureau of Indian Affairs, P.O. Box 

25520 [3rd Floor Federal Building], 

Juneau, Alaska 99802–5520; email: 

Keith.Kahklen@bia.gov; facsimile (907) 

586–7120. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Keith Kahklen, (907) 586–7618. You 

may review the ICR online at http:// 

www.reginfo.gov. Follow the 

instructions to review Department of the 

Interior collections under review by 

OMB. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Abstract 

The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) is 

seeking renewal of the approval for the 

information collection conducted under 

25 CFR part 243, Reindeer in Alaska, 

which is used to monitor and regulate 

the possession and use of Alaskan 

reindeer by non-Natives in Alaska. The 

information to be provided includes an 

applicant’s name and address, and 

where an applicant will keep reindeer. 

The applicant must fill out an 

application for a permit to get a reindeer 

for any purpose, and is required to 

report on the status of reindeer annually 

or when a change occurs, including 

changes prior to the date of the annual 

report. Comments were received in 

response to the Federal Register notice 

(76 FR 71600) which did not address the 

information collection; therefore, we 

have not changed the collection. This 

renewal does include changes to the 

burden hours, reducing the number of 

respondents from 21 to 18. In addition, 

we have changed the number of forms 

associated with this collection from two 

to four to accurately reflect the forms 

being used to collect this information. 

II. Request for Comments 

The BIA requests that you send your 

comments on this collection to the 

location listed in the ADDRESSES section. 

Your comments should address: (a) The 

necessity of the information collection 

for the proper performance of the 

agencies, including whether the 

information will have practical utility; 

(b) the accuracy of our estimate of the 

burden (hours and cost) of the collection 

of information, including the validity of 

the methodology and assumptions used; 

(c) ways we could enhance the quality, 

utility and clarity of the information to 

be collected; and (d) ways we could 

minimize the burden of the collection of 

the information on the respondents, 

such as through the use of automated 

collection techniques or other forms of 

information technology. 

Please note that an agency may not 

sponsor or conduct, and an individual 

need not respond to, a collection of 

information unless it has a valid OMB 

Control Number. Approval for this 

collection expires March 30, 2012. 

Response to the information collection 

is required to obtain a benefit. 

It is our policy to make all comments 

available to the public for review at the 

location listed in the ADDRESSES section 

during the hours of 9 a.m.–5 p.m., 

Eastern Time, Monday through Friday 

except for legal holidays. Before 

including your address, phone number, 

email address or other personally 

identifiable information, be advised that 

your entire comment—including your 

personally identifiable information— 

may be made public at any time. While 

you may request that we withhold your 

personally identifiable information, we 

cannot guarantee that we will be able to 

do so. 

III. Data 

OMB Control Number: 1076–0047. 

Title: Reindeer in Alaska, 25 CFR part 

243. 

Brief Description of Collection: There 

are four forms associated with this 

information collection, Sale Permit for 

Alaska Reindeer, Sale Report for Alaska 

Reindeer, Special Use Permit for Alaska 

Reindeer, and Special Use Reindeer 

Report, which require information to be 

provided to obtain or retain a benefit, 

namely, a permit to obtain a reindeer. 

Type of Review: Extension. 

Respondents: Non-Natives who wish 

to possess Alaskan reindeer. 

Total Number of Respondents: 18 per 

year, on average (8 respondents for the 

Sale Permit for Alaska Reindeer, 8 

respondents for the Sale Report Form 

for Alaska Reindeer, 1 respondent for 

the Special Use Permit for Alaska 

Reindeer, and 1 respondent for the 

Special Use Reindeer Report). 

Frequency of Collection: Once a year. 

Estimated Time per Response: 5 

minutes for the Sale Permit and Report 

forms and 10 minutes for the Special 

Use Permit and Report forms, on 

average. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden 

Hours: 2 hours. 

Estimated Total Annual Non-hour 

Burden: $10.00. 

Dated: March 26, 2012. 

Alvin Foster, 

Assistant Director for Information Resources. 

[FR Doc. 2012–7680 Filed 3–29–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–4J–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Indian Affairs 

Final Determination Against Federal 

Acknowledgment of the Central Band 

of Cherokee 

AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of final determination. 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that 

the Department of the Interior 

(Department) declines to acknowledge 

that the petitioner known as the 

‘‘Central Band of Cherokee’’ (formerly 

known as the ‘‘Cherokees of Lawrence 

County, Tennessee’’), Petitioner #227, is 

an Indian tribe within the meaning of 

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19316 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 62 / Friday, March 30, 2012 / Notices 

Federal law. This notice is based on a 

determination that the petitioner does 

not meet one of the seven mandatory 

criteria for a government-to-government 

relationship with the United States. The 

Office of Federal Acknowledgment 

(OFA) produced a Summary under the 

Criterion as the basis for this final 

determination (FD). 

DATES: This determination is final and 

will become effective on June 28, 2012, 

unless a request for reconsideration is 

filed with the Interior Board of Indian 

Appeals. 

ADDRESSES: Requests for a copy of the 

FD should be addressed to the Office of 

the Assistant Secretary—Indian Affairs, 

Attention: Office of Federal 

Acknowledgment, 1951 Constitution 

Avenue NW., MS: 34B–SIB, 

Washington, DC 20240. The FD and 

Federal Register notice are also 

available at the OFA section of the 

Indian Affairs Web site at www.bia.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Alycon T. Pierce, Acting Director, Office 

of Federal Acknowledgment, (202) 513– 

7650. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Department declines to acknowledge 

‘‘Central Band of Cherokee’’ (CBC), 

Petitioner #227, c/o Mr. Johnny L. 

Corbin, P.O. Box 331, Lawrenceburg, 

Tennessee 38464, as an Indian tribe 

within the meaning of Federal law. This 

notice is based on a determination that 

the petitioner does not meet one of the 

seven mandatory criteria set forth in 25 

CFR 83.7, specifically criterion 83.7(e). 

The Department issued a proposed 

finding (PF) on August 6, 2010, 

proposing to deny acknowledgment of 

the petitioner under one criterion as 

permitted by § 83.10(e)(1). The PF found 

the CBC petitioner was not an Indian 

tribe within the meaning of Federal law 

because the petitioner did not meet 

criterion 83.7(e). This criterion requires 

that the petitioner’s membership 

consists of individuals who descend 

from a historical Indian tribe or from 

historical Indian tribes that combined 

and functioned as a single autonomous 

political entity. The review of the 

evidence for the PF clearly established 

that the petitioner did not meet criterion 

83.7(e) because none of the 407 

members demonstrated descent from a 

historical Indian tribe. 

The Department published a notice of 

the PF in the Federal Register on 

August 18, 2010 (75 FR 51105). 

Publishing the notice initiated a 180-day 

comment period during which time the 

petitioner, interested and informed 

parties, and the general public could 

submit arguments and evidence to 

support or rebut the PF. In response to 

the PF, the petitioner or third parties 

needed to provide evidence for the FD 

that the petitioner meets the criterion in 

question under the reasonable 

likelihood standard in § 83.6(d). The 

CBC’s comment period ended on 

February 14, 2011. The Assistant 

Secretary—Indian Affairs (AS–IA) found 

good cause to reopen the comment 

period and extend it for an additional 

180 days to August 15, 2011. The period 

for the petitioner to respond to third 

party comments ended on January 7, 

2012. 

On January 4, 2012, the petitioner 

requested to withdraw from the 

acknowledgment process. The 

regulations provide that once active 

consideration of the documented 

petition has begun, the AS–IA shall 

continue the review and publish 

proposed findings and a final 

determination, notwithstanding any 

request to cease consideration 

(§ 83.10(g)). The CBC petitioner went on 

active consideration on August 6, 2010, 

when the AS–IA issued the PF. 

Therefore, the OFA notified Petitioner 

#227 and interested and informed 

parties that the Department would begin 

work on a FD on January 23, 2012. 

In order to meet criterion 83.7(e), a 

petitioner must demonstrate that its 

current members descend from a 

historical Indian tribe or historical 

Indian tribes that combined and 

functioned as an autonomous political 

entity. Thus, the petitioner must: (1) 

Identify its current members; (2) 

document the historical Indian tribe and 

the individuals in that historical Indian 

tribe from whom the petitioner’s current 

members descend; and (3) document, 

generation-to-generation, the members’ 

descent from the historical Indian tribe. 

The membership list used for the FD 

is the November 20, 2007, list that was 

separately certified by the group’s 

governing body and used for the PF. It 

identified 407 members of the group by 

full name, birth date, and residential 

address. Having no other certified 

membership list, the Department 

continued to use the 2007 list for the 

FD. 

The petitioner claims its members are 

descendants of Cherokee Indians who 

allegedly remained in Tennessee after 

1806 when the historical Indian tribe 

ceded its lands by treaty, or from 

Indians who returned to ‘‘their 

traditional lands’’ in the area of 

Lawrence County, Tennessee, after 

evading or escaping from the Cherokee 

removal in the late 1830s. There is no 

primary or reliable secondary evidence 

to validate these claims. 

The Department identified the 

Cherokee Indian rolls taken in the 1800s 

and early 1900s that would most likely 

include the petitioner’s ancestors if they 

were members of the historical 

Cherokee tribe at that time. However, 

the Department’s researchers did not 

find, and the CBC petitioner and third 

party commenters did not provide 

evidence, that any of the petitioner’s 

members or ancestors were on any of 

these historical rolls. 

The petitioner’s comments on the PF 

included a request that OFA review its 

members’ genealogies, but did not 

provide any new evidence for the FD 

that addresses criterion 83.7(e). 

The majority of the third party 

comments were submitted by the 

group’s former leader, Joe H. White. His 

submissions verified some facts about 

his own family. However, none of his 

submissions demonstrated his ancestors 

were Cherokee Indians or members of a 

historical Indian tribe. He and the other 

third party commenter submitted 

undocumented descent reports on 

family lines that were not named in the 

records for the PF. There is no evidence 

that any of the individuals newly 

identified in these reports are members 

of the CBC, or that the historical figures 

named in the reports are ancestors of 

CBC members. 

Genealogical charts or descent reports 

for about 53 percent (219 of 407) of the 

CBC members illustrate their claimed 

descent from historical individuals but 

their descent is not documented. This 

submission does not satisfy the 

requirements of criterion 83.7(e) for two 

reasons: (1) The petitioner has not 

demonstrated the generation-togeneration links between these members 

and their claimed ancestors; and (2) the 

claimed ancestors have not been 

demonstrated to be members or 

descendants of a historical Indian tribe. 

Even if these 219 individuals had 

documented their claimed descent from 

a historical Indian tribe, such a low 

percent of descent (53 percent) would 

not satisfy the requirements of criterion 

83.7(e). No petitioner for Federal 

acknowledgment has satisfied the 

requirements of the criterion with less 

than 80 percent of its members 

demonstrating descent from the 

historical Indian tribe. 

The petitioner’s other comments on 

the PF were a letter and two exhibits 

that it characterized as ‘‘recognition’’ by 

the Federal government and the State of 

Tennessee. The first exhibit was a 2009 

Federal District Court ruling that 

granted the CBC corporation use of a 

trademark ‘‘for purposes at its museum, 

only in the state of Tennessee.’’ The 

second exhibit was a June 2010 

certificate of recognition from the 

Tennessee Commission of Indian 

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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 62 / Friday, March 30, 2012 / Notices 19317 

Affairs, which the PF had found did not 

provide evidence of Indian descent. 

These two exhibits did not provide 

evidence applicable to criterion 83.7(e). 

Both of the third parties submitted 

articles on general Cherokee Indian 

history, DNA as evidence, and other 

non-responsive issues. These 

submissions were either the same as or 

similar to the documents analyzed for 

the PF and did not provide evidence for 

criterion 83.7(e). 

In summary, Petitioner #227 has not 

provided evidence to demonstrate that 

its ancestors who were named in the PF, 

or others identified in records submitted 

for the FD, were members of a band of 

Cherokee Indians in Lawrence County. 

The records do not demonstrate that the 

petitioner’s ancestors were members or 

descendants of an Indian tribe in any of 

the localities where those individuals 

originated prior to settling in Tennessee. 

The evidence for the FD, whether 

submitted by the petitioner or third 

parties, or gathered by the OFA in its 

verification process, does not document 

the current members’ generation-togeneration descent from their claimed 

ancestors. The evidence shows that the 

group known as the ‘‘Central Band of 

Cherokee’’ is a recently formed group of 

individuals who claim to have Indian 

ancestry from a historical Indian tribe, 

but who have not documented those 

claims. None of the 407 members of the 

group has demonstrated descent from a 

historical Indian tribe or historical 

Indian tribes that combined and 

functioned as an autonomous political 

entity. 

The Department declines to 

acknowledge the group known as the 

‘‘Central Band of Cherokee,’’ Petitioner 

#227, as an Indian tribe because the 

evidence in the record does not 

demonstrate that the petitioner’s 

members descend from a historical 

Indian tribe as required by mandatory 

criterion 83.7(e). The Department bases 

this FD on an evaluation of materials the 

petitioner and third parties submitted in 

response to the PF, and materials 

already in the record for the PF. This FD 

also incorporates evidence the 

Department researchers developed 

during the verification process. 

Therefore, this FD should be read and 

considered in conjunction with the PF. 

A copy of the FD that includes the 

summary evaluation under the criteria 

and provides the evidence, reasoning, 

and analyses for the FD will be provided 

to the petitioner and interested parties, 

and is available to other parties upon 

written request. It will be posted on the 

Bureau of Indian Affairs Web site at: 

http://www.bia.gov/WhoWeAre/AS-IA/ 

OFA/RecentCases/index.htm. Requests 

for a copy of the FD should be 

addressed to the office listed in the 

ADDRESSES section of this notice. 

After the publication of this notice of 

the FD in the Federal Register, the 

petitioner or any interested party may 

file a request for reconsideration with 

the Interior Board of Indian Appeals 

(IBIA) under the procedures in § 83.11 

of the regulations. The IBIA must 

receive this request no later than 90 

days after the publication of the FD in 

the Federal Register. The FD will 

become final and effective 90 days from 

the Federal Register publication, unless 

a request for reconsideration is received 

within that time. 

Dated: March 23, 2012. 

Larry Echo Hawk, 

Assistant Secretary—Indian Affairs. 

[FR Doc. 2012–7646 Filed 3–29–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–G1–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[LLNVS01000 L58530000 EU0000; 11–08807; 

MO# 4500022239; TAS: 14X5232] 

Notice of Availability of the Final 

Supplemental Environmental Impact 

Statement and Record of Decision for 

the Upper Las Vegas Wash 

Conservation Transfer Area, Las 

Vegas, NV 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of Availability. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

National Environmental Policy Act of 

1969 (NEPA), as amended, and the 

Federal Land Policy and Management 

Act of 1976, as amended, the Bureau of 

Land Management (BLM) has prepared 

a Final Supplemental Environmental 

Impact Statement (EIS) and a Record of 

Decision (ROD) for the Upper Las Vegas 

Wash Conservation Transfer Area, Las 

Vegas, Nevada, and by this notice is 

announcing their availability. 

DATES: The final decision on the Upper 

Las Vegas Wash Conservation Transfer 

Area will not become effective for a 

minimum of 30 days after the 

Environmental Protection Agency 

publishes its notice of availability in the 

Federal Register. 

ADDRESSES: Printed copies or a compact 

disc of the Final Supplemental EIS are 

available on request from the BLM Las 

Vegas Field Office, 4701 N. Torrey Pines 

Drive, Las Vegas, Nevada 89130, phone 

702–515–5000, or email to: 

NV_SNDO_Planning@blm.gov. 

Interested persons may also review the 

Final Supplemental EIS at the following 

Web site: http://www.blm.gov/nv/st/en/ 

fo/lvfo.html. 

Copies of the Final Supplemental EIS 

and ROD are available for public 

inspection at the following locations in 

Nevada: 

• BLM Nevada State Office, 1340 

Financial Blvd., Reno 

• BLM Southern Nevada District 

Office, 4701 North Torrey Pines Drive, 

Las Vegas 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bob 

Ross, telephone 702–515–5199; address 

Las Vegas Field Office, 4701 N. Torrey 

Pines Drive, Las Vegas, NV 89130; or 

email Bob_Ross@blm.gov. Persons who 

use a telecommunications device for the 

deaf (TDD) may call the Federal 

Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1– 

800–877–8339 to contact the above 

individual during normal business 

hours. The FIRS is available 24 hours a 

day, 7 days a week, to leave a message 

or question with the above individual. 

You will receive a reply during normal 

business hours. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Final 

Supplemental EIS describes and 

analyzes boundary adjustments to the 

Upper Las Vegas Wash Conservation 

Transfer Area (CTA). The CTA study 

area is located in the northern portion 

of the Las Vegas Valley. In 1998, the 

Southern Nevada Public Land 

Management Act (SNPLMA) authorized 

the BLM to dispose of Federal land in 

Clark County, Nevada. In 2002, the 

Clark County Conservation of Public 

Land and Natural Resources Act 

amended the SNPLMA to expand the 

disposal boundary area and added 

approximately 22,000 acres of land 

available for disposal. The BLM 

analyzed the impacts of all lands 

eligible for disposal in the Las Vegas 

Valley in the 2004 Las Vegas Disposal 

Boundary Final EIS and ROD. The Las 

Vegas Disposal Boundary Final EIS 

identified a 5,000 acre general area as 

the CTA and stipulated additional study 

be conducted to determine a final CTA 

boundary. Subsequently, due to 

extensive public input, an additional 

8,000 acres were added to the 5,000-acre 

CTA study area. This Final 

Supplemental EIS is the culmination of 

the boundary study. The BLM prepared 

a Supplemental EIS because of the 

significance of paleontological, 

botanical, hydrological, and cultural 

resources present within the CTA study 

area and the need for additional public 

input. The Final Supplemental EIS/ROD 

selects the Preferred Alternative B as the 

final boundary for the CTA, which will 

ensure protection of sensitive resources, 

including fossils, cultural resources, the 

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