Alaska National Preserves Hunting and Trapping - Extension of Comment Period

Content

ACTION:

Proposed rule; extension of public comment period.

SUMMARY:

The National Park Service is extending the public comment period on our recently published proposed rule to improve guidance
for unit managers and the public and to restore opportunities for protected activities by returning to the Alaska-specific
regulations that were in effect for over three decades, prior to a series of amendments starting in 2015 that will be rescinded
under the proposal. This action will provide interested parties additional time and opportunity to comment on the proposed
restoration of the pre-2015 regulations and other modifications. Comments previously submitted need not be resubmitted and
will be fully considered in preparation of the final rule.

DATES:

The comment period on the proposed rule that published March 10, 2026 (91 FR 11483) is being extended by 15 days. We will
accept comments received or postmarked on or before Friday, April 24, 2026. Please note that comments submitted electronically
using the Federal eRulemaking Portal (see
ADDRESSES
, below) must be received by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (7:59 p.m. Alaska Time) on the closing date, and comments submitted by
U.S. mail must be postmarked by that date to ensure timely consideration.

ADDRESSES:

You can obtain copies of the March 10, 2026, proposed rule and associated documents at http://www.regulations.gov by entering “NPS-2026-0034” in the search box, selecting the “Dockets” tab, and clicking on the title of the rule. You can
submit written comments by one of the following methods:

(1) Electronically:

Go to the Federal Register website: https://www.federalregister.gov. In the search box, enter “1024-AE96”, the regulation identifier number (RIN) for this rulemaking. Click on the “Submit a Public
Comment” button at the top of the page and follow the instructions, or

Go to the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. In the search box, enter “NPS-2026-0034”, the docket number for the proposed rule. Click on the “Comment” button at the top
of the page and follow the instructions.

Please ensure you have found the correct document before submitting your comments electronically.

(2) By hard copy: Submit by U.S. mail or hand-delivery to: National Park Service, Regional Director, Alaska Regional Office, 240 West 5th Avenue,
Anchorage, AK 99501. Comments delivered on external storage devices (e.g., flash drives, compact discs) will not be accepted.

We request that comments be submitted only by the methods described above; comments are not accepted via fax or email. Please
ensure the words “National Park Service” or “NPS” and the docket number (“NPS-2026-0034”) or RIN (“1024-AE96”) are included
in the submission. Comments received may be posted without change on https://www.regulations.gov. This generally means we will post any personal information you provide us (see Public Comments, below, for more information).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Don Striker, Regional Director (Acting), Alaska Regional Office, 240 West 5th Ave., Anchorage, AK 99501; phone (907) 227-6163;
email: AKR_Regulations@nps.gov. Individuals in the United States who are deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability may dial 711 (TTY,
TDD, or TeleBraille) to access telecommunications relay services; individuals outside the United States should use the relay
services offered within their country to make international calls to the point-of-contact in the United States.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The management of National Park System units in Alaska is governed by federal laws such as the 1916 Organic Act (System-wide)
and the 1980 Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (Alaska-specific); by regulations implementing these laws; by
treaties; by Service policy; and by principles of sound resource management that may lead to standards or limits to the range
of potential activities that may be allowed.

On March 10, 2026, we published a proposed rule to revise the Alaska-specific regulations at 36 CFR part 13 to restore both
the procedures used to restrict public uses and opportunities to engage in those uses in Alaska park areas. These changes
restore Service interpretations of law, policies, and regulations adopted to implement statutory provisions for these areas.
This proposed rule addresses interests and input from the State of Alaska, Alaska Congressional Delegation, Alaska Federation
of Natives, and others during previous rulemaking efforts. The purpose of the proposed rule is to realign state and federal
regulations, restore the robust public engagement process Alaskans relied on to stay involved and informed on park management
actions, enhance regulatory consistency across all lands and waters, and increase access to federal public lands in furtherance
of Executive and Secretarial orders. The proposed rule would have no effect on the U.S. Department of the Interior and U.S.
Department of Agriculture regulations governing subsistence harvest of fish and wildlife resources in Alaska park areas.

The March 10, 2026, proposed rule had a 30-day public comment period, ending April 9, 2026. During the comment period for
the proposed rule, we received multiple requests for additional time to submit comments. We are extending the comment period
by 15 days, to end April 24, 2026 (see
DATES
), to accommodate requests for additional time to review and provide comments on our proposal.

Public Comments

We will accept comments and information during this extended comment period on our March 10, 2026, proposed rule to revise
the public use regulations for Alaska park areas. It is the policy of the Department of the Interior, whenever practicable,
to afford the public an opportunity to participate in the rulemaking process. Accordingly, we will accept written comments
and information from all interested parties during the extended comment period (see
DATES
) on the proposed rule. We are also soliciting public input and supporting data to gain additional information for the draft
environmental assessment and the Service's regulatory impacts analysis, such as costs and benefits and trade-offs associated
with the proposed rescission and restoration. As a specific example, we are soliciting information or data that would help
the Service quantify the effects of restoring available harvest opportunities, including any economic impacts which might
result.

Please see
DATES
and
ADDRESSES
in this document for information on providing comments and materials by one of the listed methods. We will consider information
and recommendations received during the original and extended comment periods in our final determination on the March 10,
2026, proposed rule. If you already submitted comments or information on the proposed rule, please do not resubmit them. Any
such comments are incorporated as part of the public record for the rulemaking and we will fully consider them in the preparation
of our final determination.

If you submit information via http://www.regulations.gov, your entire submission—including your personal identifying information—may be posted on the website. If your submission is
made via a hardcopy that includes personal identifying information, you may request at the top of your document that we withhold
this information from public review. However, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. We will post all hardcopy
submissions on http://www.regulations.gov where they will be available for public inspection.

Our final determination concerning the March 10, 2026, proposed action will take into consideration all comments and materials
received during the open comment period. Submissions will be included in the public record for this rulemaking and we will
fully consider them in the preparation of a final determination.

Authors

The primary authors of this document are Department of the Interior and National Park System staff of the Alaska regional
offices.

Kevin Lilly, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks, Exercising the Delegated Authority of the Assistant
Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks. [FR Doc. 2026-07006 Filed 4-9-26; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4312-52-P

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