Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 201 / Wednesday, October 19, 2005 / Notices 60845 

Dated: October 7, 2005. 

Frank L. Davis, 

General Deputy Assistant Secretary for 

Housing, Deputy Federal Housing 

Commissioner. 

[FR Doc. E5–5741 Filed 10–18–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4210–27–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

Notice of Intent To Prepare an 

Environmental Impact Statement for a 

Proposed Land Exchange in Yukon 

Flats National Wildlife Refuge, AK 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Department of the Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of intent. 

SUMMARY: This notice advises the public 

that the Fish and Wildlife Service 

intends to prepare an Environmental 

Impact Statement, pursuant to the 

National Environmental Policy Act of 

1969 and its implementing regulations, 

for a proposed land exchange and 

acquisition of certain lands owned by 

Doyon, Limited within the Yukon Flats 

National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska. The 

Service is furnishing this notice to 

advise the public and other agencies of 

our intentions and to solicit suggestions 

and information on the scope of issues 

to be addressed in the environmental 

document. Special mailings, newspaper 

articles, and other media releases will 

announce opportunities to provide 

written and oral input. Public meetings 

will be held in the cities of Fairbanks, 

Anchorage, and in communities within 

and adjacent to the Refuge. The Draft 

Environmental Impact Statement will be 

available for viewing and downloading 

at http://alaska.fws.gov/nwr/yukonflats/ 

current.htm. 

DATES: Public scoping meetings will be 

scheduled for February in Anchorage, 

Fairbanks, and the communities of 

Arctic Village, Beaver, Birch Creek, 

Central, Chalkyitsik, Circle, Fort Yukon, 

Stevens Village, and Venetie. Meeting 

dates, times, and locations will be 

announced at least 30 days prior to the 

meeting. 

ADDRESSES: Address comments, 

questions, and requests to Cyndie 

Wolfe, Project Coordinator, U.S. Fish 

and Wildlife Service, 1011 East Tudor 

Rd., MS–231, Anchorage, AK 99503, or 

yukonflats_noi@fws.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT: 

Cyndie Wolfe, Project Coordinator, U.S. 

Fish and Wildlife Service, 1011 East 

Tudor Rd., MS–231, Anchorage, AK 

99503, phone number 907–786–3463 or 

yukonflats_noi@fws.gov. Additional 

information concerning the proposed 

land exchange can be found at http:// 

alaska.fws.gov/nwr/yukonflats/ 

current.htm. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Doyon, 

Limited (Doyon) is an Alaska Native 

Regional Corporation established under 

the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act 

of 1971 (ANCSA; 43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) 

Under the authority of ANCSA, 

Congress granted to Doyon land 

entitlements within an area that became 

the Yukon Flats National Wildlife 

Refuge (Refuge) in 1980. Doyon has 

ownership interests in approximately 

2.14 million acres within the boundaries 

of the Refuge, including the surface and 

subsurface estates of 1.25 million acres 

of land, and the subsurface estate of 

another 890,000 acres. An additional 

56,517 acres remain to be allocated by 

Doyon to Village Corporations located 

in the Refuge; Doyon would own the 

subsurface to these lands. Doyon is 

owned by over 14,000 Alaska Natives 

(Native Americans) with ties to a large 

portion of interior Alaska. 

Approximately 1,000 people reside in 

several communities in the Yukon Flats. 

Most residents are Alaska Natives and 

many are Doyon shareholders. 

The Yukon Flats Refuge is located in 

eastern interior Alaska. The exterior 

boundaries include about 11 million 

acres, of which about 2.14 million acres 

are owned by ANCSA Native 

corporations, including Doyon. The 

Refuge includes the Yukon Flats, a vast 

wetland basin bisected by the Yukon 

River. The basin is underlain by 

permafrost and includes a complex 

network of lakes, streams, and rivers. 

The Refuge supports the highest density 

of breeding ducks in Alaska, and 

includes one of the greatest waterfowl 

breeding areas in North America. 

Negotiators for Doyon and the Fish 

and Wildlife Service (Service), Alaska 

Region, have agreed in principle to 

provide Doyon title to some Refuge 

lands that may hold developable oil and 

gas resources. In exchange, the United 

States (U.S.) would receive lands 

currently owned by Doyon within the 

Refuge boundary. These lands include 

wetlands previously identified by the 

Service as quality fish and wildlife 

habitat. In addition, both parties have 

agreed to exchange nearly six townships 

(264,000 acres) to consolidate 

ownerships and facilitate land 

management. All lands acquired by the 

U.S. would be managed as part of the 

Yukon Flats Refuge. Activities on Doyon 

lands are not subject to regulation by the 

Service. 

To evaluate the exchange, the Service 

will prepare an Environmental Impact 

Statement (EIS) in accordance with 

procedures for implementing the 

National Environmental Policy Act of 

1969 (NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321–4370d). 

Appropriate agencies will be invited to 

participate as cooperating or reviewing 

agencies. National Environmental Policy 

Act compliance is not legally required 

for land exchanges conducted under the 

provisions of ANCSA and the Alaska 

National Interest Lands Conservation 

Act (ANILCA; 16 U.S.C. 410hh–410hh–

5, 460 mm–460mm–4, 539–539e, and 

3101–3233; also 43 U.S.C. 1631–1642). 

However, at the request of Doyon and 

the public, the Department of the 

Interior has agreed to evaluate the 

proposed land exchange through the 

process of an EIS. 

The EIS will evaluate a range of 

reasonable alternatives, including the 

following four alternatives. All these 

alternatives, including the ‘‘no action’’

alternative, could result in oil and/or 

gas development on Doyon-owned 

lands. Because access to Doyon lands 

would cross federally-owned lands, 

Doyon would be required to apply for a 

right-of-way permit under Title XI of 

ANILCA. At that time, a separate NEPA 

process would evaluate various 

transportation/pipeline corridor 

alternatives. 

(1) Equal-value land exchange (based 

on fair market appraisals) as described 

in the Agreement in Principle (for the 

full text of the Agreement, see http:// 

alaska.fws.gov/nwr/yukonflats/ 

current.htm). Under Phase 1 of this 

agreement, Doyon would receive about 

110,000 acres of Refuge lands with oil/ 

gas potential and 97,000 acres of oil and 

gas interests (no surface occupancy). In 

exchange, the U.S. would receive from 

Doyon an equal-value amount of lands 

(tentatively estimated at 150,000 acres), 

with quality fish and wildlife habitats. 

In addition, Doyon would reallocate 

56,517 acres of its remaining land 

entitlement outside the Refuge. Both 

parties would pursue additional 

township-level exchanges to consolidate 

ownerships. If Doyon discovers and 

produces oil or gas on the lands it 

acquires in the exchange, the Service 

would receive production payments to 

be used to: (1) Purchase from Doyon 

certain additional lands or interests 

therein, within the Refuge, (2) purchase 

land or interests therein, from other 

willing sellers in other national wildlife 

refuges in Alaska, or (3) to construct 

facilities in Alaska Refuges. 

(2) No action. The U.S. would not 

enter into a land exchange with Doyon. 

Any oil or gas exploration/development 

by Doyon within the Refuge would be 

confined to Doyon’s current land 

holdings. Under the provisions of 

60846 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 201 / Wednesday, October 19, 2005 / Notices 

ANILCA, the Service would be required 

to provide Doyon with adequate and 

feasible access to its holdings, which 

could include a road and/or pipeline 

across Refuge lands, if warranted by 

production. 

(3) Modified land exchange with 

conservation easements. The land 

exchange would proceed as described in 

Phase 1 under Alternative 1 above. In 

addition, at the time of the initial 

exchange, Doyon would donate to the 

U.S. conservation easements that 

preclude development on those Doyon 

lands identified in Phase II of the 

Agreement in Principle (whether or not 

oil/gas is produced from the exchange 

lands). If Doyon were to produce oil/gas, 

the U.S. would receive reduced 

‘‘production payments.’’

(4) Modified land exchange excluding 

White-Crazy Mountains. The Yukon 

Flats Comprehensive Conservation Plan 

and Environmental Impact Statement 

recommended Wilderness designation 

for a 658,000 acre area in the WhiteCrazy Mountains. Under Alternatives 1 

and 3, Doyon would receive title to 

about 26,270 acres of this land; under 

Atlternative 4, these 26,270 acres would 

be excluded from the exchange. In 

Phase I of the exchange, Doyon would 

receive approximately 84,000 acres of 

Refuge lands, surface and subsurface. 

From Doyon, the U.S. would receive an 

equal-value amount of land. Doyon 

would receive some oil and gas rights at 

the northern edge of the recommended 

Wilderness area, but only off-site 

drilling would be allowed; there would 

be no surface occupancy by Doyon. 

There would be no access corridor 

through the Service-recommended 

Wilderness area. The land consolidation 

exchange and 12(b) reallocation 

provisions of Phase I would proceed as 

detailed in the Agreement in Principle. 

Phase II of the exchange, would proceed 

as detailed in the Agreement, however 

Doyon’s commitment to sell the U.S. 

additional lands would be reduced from 

about 120,000 acres to about 80,000 

acres. 

The Fish and Wildlife Service 

released an Evaluation and Review of a 

Proposed Land Exchange and 

Acquisition of Native Lands on 

February 3, 2005, and accepted public 

comments until July 30, 2005. The 

Evaluation and Review, along with the 

comments received to date will be used 

in the scoping of a more detailed 

analysis through the EIS process. The 

Summary of Public Comments on a 

Proposed Land Exchange, Yukon Flats 

National Wildlife Refuge, 2005 is posted 

at http://alaska.fws.gov/nwr/yukonflats/ 

current.htm. Issues of concern 

repeatedly identified during the public 

comment period that will be addressed 

in the EIS may include, but are not 

limited to: 

(1) Refuge Purposes. The potential 

conflict between the proposed land 

exchange and the purposes of the 

Refuge; 

(2) Environmental Impacts. The 

potential for environmental degradation 

and contamination of air, water, and 

fish and wildlife resources; 

(3) Subsistence Impacts. The potential 

for negative effects on subsistence 

resources and increased user conflicts; 

(4) Impacts to Special Designation 

Areas. The potential for the exchange to 

jeopardize the wilderness character of 

the Service-recommended White-Crazy 

Mountains Wilderness Area and to 

degrade the ‘‘wild’’ quality of the Beaver 

Creek Wild River; 

(5) Insufficient Information. The 

potential that available biological, 

environmental, and socio-economic data 

may be insufficient to analyze the 

impacts of the exchange; 

(6) Impacts to Rural Communities. 

The potential for both positive and 

negative impacts on rural communities 

within the Yukon Flats region; 

(7) Loss of Native-owned Lands. There 

is opposition to the divestiture of Native 

lands within the Yukon Flats region; 

(8) Socio-economic Benefits. The 

potential for oil development to provide 

high-paying jobs to local residents and 

strengthen the regional economy; and 

(9) Refuge Benefits. The proposed 

exchange would increase the amount of 

land protected in the Refuge and would 

facilitate management by consolidating 

both Refuge and private ownerships. 

Dated: September 8, 2005. 

Rowan Gould, 

Regional Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service, Anchorage, Alaska. 

[FR Doc. 05–20883 Filed 10–18–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–JA–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Indian Affairs 

Notice of Revised Instructions for 

Preparing and Prioritizing Water 

Program Funding Requests 

AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Bureau of Indian Affairs 

(BIA) will implement revised 

procedures for preparing and 

prioritizing funding requests in order to 

improve the management of two water 

programs with non-recurring annual 

appropriations. The two programs are 

the Water Rights Negotiation/Litigation 

Program (Water Rights Program) and the 

Water Resources Management, Planning 

and Pre-development Program (Water 

Resources Program). These water 

programs support the long-term goals of 

assisting Indian tribes in confirming and 

defining water rights, resolving claims 

through negotiation or litigation, and 

promoting the prudent conservation, 

management and use of natural 

resources. 

All of the BIA’s water program 

managers and many water rights and 

water resources program managers 

employed by Indian tribes request these 

appropriations to support numerous 

Indian water rights litigation and 

negotiation efforts, to conduct water 

resources management, and to develop 

associated plans for tribal water 

resources. Typically, the BIA’s Office of 

Trust Services receives more than 400 

funding requests annually for water 

rights and water resources managementrelated activities. Funding requests are 

submitted by all 12 of the BIA’s 

Regional Offices and approximately 150 

to 175 Indian tribes each year. 

The current system for preparing and 

prioritizing water program funding 

requests needs improvement in order to 

provide BIA decision makers with more 

clear demarcations of priority. These 

revised procedures will allow for more 

effective prioritization and thus enable 

BIA decision makers to distribute more 

efficiently the available water program 

funds. 

DATES: The revised procedures for 

preparing and prioritizing water 

program funding requests will be used 

to distribute funding in Fiscal Year 

2006. 

ADDRESSES: Jeffery Loman, Chief, 

Natural Resources, Office of Trust 

Services, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Mail 

Stop 4655–MIB, Code 210, 1849 C 

Street, NW., Washington, DC 20240, 

Telephone (202) 208–7373. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jeffery Loman, (202) 208–7373. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Water Rights Program 

The BIA manages the Water Rights 

Program for the purpose of confirming 

and defining Indian water rights 

through litigation and court decree or 

through negotiated settlement. The first 

priority for program funds is to provide 

all documentation and other materials 

deemed necessary to further the United 

States’ water rights claims on behalf of 

Indian tribes or individuals. These 

materials may include preparing 

hydrographic survey reports; 

determining surface and ground water