The purpose of this part is to provide the basis for identifying and managing significant caves on Federal lands administered by the Secretary of the Interior.

It is the policy of the Secretary that Federal lands be managed in a manner which, to the extent practical, protects and maintains significant caves and cave resources. The type and degree of protection will be determined through the agency resource management planning process with full public participation.

Section 4 of the Federal Cave Resources Protection Act of 1988 (102 Stat. 4546; 16 U.S.C. 4301) authorizes the Secretary to issue regulations providing for the identification of significant caves. Section 5 authorizes the Secretary to withhold information concerning the location of significant caves under certain circumstances.

(a) Authorized officer means the agency employee delegated the authority to perform the duties described in this part.

(b) Cave means any naturally occurring void, cavity, recess, or system of interconnected passages beneath the surface of the earth or within a cliff or ledge, including any cave resource therein, and which is large enough to permit a person to enter, whether the entrance is excavated or naturally formed. Such term shall include any natural pit, sinkhole, or other feature that is an extension of a cave entrance or which is an integral part of the cave.

(c) Cave resources means any materials or substances occurring in caves on Federal lands, including, but not limited to, biotic, cultural, mineralogic, paleontologic, geologic, and hydrologic resources.

(d) Federal lands, as defined in the Federal Cave Resources Protection Act, means lands the fee title to which is owned by the United States and administered by the Secretary of the Interior.

(e) Secretary means the Secretary of the Interior.

(f) Significant cave means a cave located on Federal lands that has been determined to meet the criteria in § 37.11(c).

(a) The collections of information contained in this part have been approved by the Office of Management and Budget under 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. and assigned clearance numbers 1004-0165 (cave nominations) and 1004-0166 (confidential information). The information provided for the cave nominations will be used to determine which caves will be listed as “significant” and the information in the requests to obtain confidential cave information will be used to decide whether to grant access to this information. Response to the call for cave nominations is voluntary. No action may be taken against a person for refusing to supply the information requested. Response to the information requirements for obtaining confidential cave information is required to obtain a benefit in accordance with Section 5 of the Federal Cave Resources Protection Act of 1988 (102 Stat. 4546; 16 U.S.C. 4301).

(b) The public reporting burden is estimated to average 3 hours per response for the cave nomination and one-half hour per response for the confidential cave information request. The estimated response time for both of the information burdens includes time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing the burden, to Bureau of Land Management Clearance Officer, WO-873, Mail Stop 401 LS, 1849 C Street NW., Washington, DC 20240; and the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project 1004-0165/6, Washington, D.C. 20503.