Search Results for agency_names:"Interior Department"

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the City of Imperial Beach plan to create a draft Environmental Impact Statement/Report for the Bayside Community Resiliency project. This project aims to transform a section of the Bayshore Bikeway corridor into a coastal resilience corridor to protect against flooding, improve public access, and enhance habitat areas around San Diego Bay. The proposal includes various alternatives such as constructing a "living levee" and creating a tidal channel to improve stormwater management and provide additional habitat space. Community input is being sought during the scoping period, which closes on February 24, 2025.

The Buffalo Society of Natural Sciences is planning to return a cultural item, a ceramic vessel known as catalog number C478, to its rightful owners in compliance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). This item was originally part of a burial site at Moundville in Alabama and is linked to the Muskogean-speaking tribes. The item is set for repatriation on or after May 19, 2025. Requests for repatriation must be submitted in writing to Kathryn H. Leacock at the Buffalo Museum of Science.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has announced a proposal to renew an information collection activity under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). This activity gathers bird count data for over 600 North American bird species, which helps in assessing bird populations and trends. Public comments on this collection are invited until March 10, 2025, and individuals who choose to participate in submitting data do so voluntarily. The USGS protects any proprietary information provided and estimates that responding will take about 11 hours on average per submission.

The Secretary of the Interior has announced the renewal of the Gateway National Recreation Area Fort Hancock 21st Century Advisory Committee. This committee advises on the development of a reuse plan and future uses of the Fort Hancock Historic Landmark District within the Gateway National Recreation Area. The notice complies with the Federal Advisory Committee Act and affirms that the committee's work is in the public interest. Secretary Deb Haaland is responsible for this decision.

The Department of the Interior, through the Bureau of Indian Affairs, announced a decision related to land acquisitions under the Navajo-Hopi Land Dispute Settlement Act of 1996. The decision permits the Hopi Tribe to acquire and place in trust up to 500,000 acres of land in northern Arizona. The Hopi Tribe has already purchased over 161,000 acres of private land, and together with the state of Arizona, they have identified another 110,759.17 acres of state trust lands for acquisition. The Department of Justice has started the process of condemning these state trust lands to facilitate the transfer into trust for the Hopi Tribe.

Vanderbilt University has completed an inventory of human remains under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) and found no lineal descendants or cultural affiliations with Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations. The remains, representing 86 Native American individuals, were discovered at the Ganier site near Nashville, Tennessee. Consultations with several Indian Tribes took place, but no tribe was connected to the remains, although the site is within traditional Cherokee territory. Requests for repatriation can be made, and the process is set to begin on or after January 17, 2025, with Vanderbilt University handling requests and determining the most suitable recipient.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs announced that the 2024 amendments to the Gaming Compact between the Ho Chunk Nation and the State of Wisconsin have been automatically approved by law. These amendments allow for new forms of gaming, such as event wagering and geofenced remote wagering, and introduce updated internal control standards and changes in payment deduction rules. This approval occurred because the Secretary of the Interior did not act within the required 45-day period, making the amendments effective starting January 8, 2025, as long as they comply with the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.

The U.S. Department of the Interior has announced the completion of an inventory of human remains and funerary objects by the Bureau of Reclamation, Oklahoma-Texas Area Office, under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). The remains and objects have been linked to the Mescalero Apache Tribe of the Mescalero Reservation in New Mexico. This notice allows for these items to be returned or repatriated to the tribe starting on or after April 18, 2025. The public can make written requests for repatriation, and in cases of multiple claims, the Bureau will decide the most suitable requestor.

The Illinois State Museum plans to return certain cultural items to Native American tribes, following the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). These items, which include objects like cuprous coils and leather wraps, were collected in the early 20th century from sites in North Dakota and are believed to be related to the Arikara people, now part of the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation. Repatriation may occur after April 16, 2025, if no competing claims from other tribes or descendants emerge. The Museum is responsible for determining the rightful recipient if multiple eligible requests are made.

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), after consulting with certain Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations, has decided that some cultural items found in Alabama are unassociated funerary objects. These items, linked to Native American burials, are subject to repatriation under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). Tribes or Native Hawaiian groups not already identified in the notice can claim these items by sending a written request by March 1, 2021. After this date, if no new claims are made, the TVA will transfer the items to the specified Tribes.