(a) In designating, de-designating, or otherwise changing boundaries or management of Special Areas, the authorized officer must:

(1) Rely on the best available scientific information, including Indigenous Knowledge, as well as the best available information concerning subsistence uses and resources within the Reserve;

(2) Provide the public and interested stakeholders with notice of, and meaningful opportunities to participate in, the evaluation process;

(3) Consult with any federally recognized Tribes and Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act corporations that use the affected Special Area for subsistence purposes or have historic, cultural, or economic ties to the Special Area; and

(4) In designating, de-designating, or otherwise changing boundaries of Special Areas, base their decisions solely on the presence or absence of significant resource values and not the existence of measures that have been or may be adopted to protect or otherwise administer those values.

(b) The Bureau must evaluate lands within the Reserve for the presence of significant subsistence, recreational, fish and wildlife, historical, or scenic values and shall designate lands as Special Areas containing such values in accordance with the following procedures:

(1) Every 10 years, or sooner if the authorized officer determines that changing conditions warrant, the authorized officer must evaluate and determine whether to:

(i) Designate new Special Areas;

(ii) Expand existing Special Areas;

(iii) Recognize the presence of additional significant resource values in existing Special Areas; or

(iv) Require additional measures or strengthen existing measures to assure maximum protection of significant resource values within existing Special Areas.

(2) The authorized officer may, but is not required to, conduct the evaluation and otherwise designate and amend Special Areas through amendment of the IAP.

(3) The authorized officer must provide the public and interested stakeholders with the opportunity to recommend lands that should be considered for designation as a Special Area, significant resource values that the authorized officer should consider recognizing for existing Special Areas, and measures that the authorized officer should consider requiring to assure maximum protection of significant resource values within Special Areas. The authorized officer will evaluate and respond to recommendations that are made in completing its evaluation. Such recommendations should identify and describe:

(i) The size and location of the recommended lands;

(ii) The significant resource values that are present within or supported by the recommended lands;

(iii) Measures that may be necessary to assure maximum protection of those values; and

(iv) Any other pertinent information.

(4) If, at any point after receipt of an internal or external recommendation, the authorized officer determines that interim measures are required to assure maximum protection of significant resource values in lands under consideration for designation as a new or modified Special Area, the authorized officer may implement such measures that are consistent with the governing management prescriptions in the IAP during the period for which the lands remain under consideration; provided, however, that the authorized officer will provide public notice that interim measures are in place and such measures will be reassessed to determine if they are still needed if they remain in place for more than 5 years.

(5) When the authorized officer designates lands as Special Areas or recognizes the presence of additional significant resource values in existing Special Areas, the authorized officer must adopt measures to assure maximum protection of significant resource values. Such measures are not constrained by the provisions of the current IAP. Once adopted, these measures supersede inconsistent provisions of the IAP then in effect for the Reserve and will be incorporated into the IAP during the next revision or amendment.

(6) For any lands designated as a Special Area, the authorized officer will publish a legal description of those lands in the Federal Register, along with a concise summary of the significant resource values that support the designation. The Bureau will also maintain a map of the Special Area on its website and available for public inspection at the Arctic District Office.

(c) The Bureau may not remove lands from the Teshekpuk Lake and Utukok River Uplands Special Areas unless directed to do so by statute. The Bureau may remove lands within other Special Areas only when all of the significant resource values that support the designation are no longer present. When determining whether to remove lands from a Special Area designation, the authorized officer must:

(1) Prepare a summary of its proposed determination, including the underlying factual findings;

(2) Provide the public and interested stakeholders with the opportunity to review and comment on the proposed determination; and

(3) Issue a determination that documents how the views and information provided by the public, federally recognized Tribes, Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act corporations, federally qualified subsistence users, and other interested stakeholders have been considered.