Cite as: 521 U. S. 1 (1997)
Opinion of Thomas, J.
n. 1 (" 'The purpose of this withdrawal is to establish an Arctic Wildlife Range within all or such portion of the described lands as may be finally determined to be necessary for the preservation of the wildlife and wilderness resources of that region of northeastern Alaska' " (quoting Alaska Exhibit 81, p. 1) (emphasis added)). Not only was it unknown whether the lands (or any of them) would ultimately become a refuge or reservation, but also, during the pendency of the application, the "administrative jurisdiction" over the lands remained with the Bureau of Land Management. See 43 CFR § 295.11(a) (1958). The Fish and Wildlife Service did not begin to administer the Refuge until the application for it was finally adopted after Alaska's statehood. See Report 464. As of the time of the Alaska Statehood Act, the lands within the application had no certainty of ever becoming a refuge or reservation, and were not then administered as one.
This is not to say that the application and regulation did not have any effect on the lands described in the application. The lands within the application were, by operation of the regulation, free from certain "forms of disposal" during the pendency of the application. 43 CFR § 295.11(a) (1958). I am willing to agree with the Master and the majority that, under the regulation, the lands were "set apart." But, they were "set apart" temporarily and merely to preserve the status quo pending the Secretary's decision on the application in order that a decision by the Secretary that such lands should become a refuge or reservation would not be a nullity. Contrary to the suggestion of the United States that the regulation "was the legal mechanism by which the Interior Department at that time 'set apart' public lands for the creation of a wildlife refuge," Brief for United States 41, that regulation applied to all applications for withdrawals or reservations of land, not merely those to create wildlife refuges. See, e. g., 43 CFR § 295.9 (1958) (listing who may apply for withdrawals or reservation without limitation to agencies
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