[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2222 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







107th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2222

    To resolve certain conveyances and provide for alternative land 
  selections under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act related to 
 Cape Fox Corporation and Sealaska Corporation, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 23, 2002

 Mr. Murkowski introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
       referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To resolve certain conveyances and provide for alternative land 
  selections under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act related to 
 Cape Fox Corporation and Sealaska Corporation, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds and declares that:
            (1) Cape Fox Corporation (Cape Fox) is an Alaska Native 
        Village Corporation organized pursuant to the Alaska Native 
        Claims Settlement Act, as amended, (ANCSA) (43 U.S.C. 1601, et 
        seq.) for the Native Village of Saxman.
            (2) As with other ANCSA village corporations in Southeast 
        Alaska, Cape Fox was limited to selecting 23,040 acres under 
        section 16 of ANCSA.
            (3) Except for Cape Fox, all other Southeast Alaska ANCSA 
        village corporations were restricted from selecting within two 
        miles of a home rule city.
            (4) To protect the watersheds in the vicinity of Ketchikan, 
        Cape Fox was restricted from selecting lands within six miles 
        from the boundary of the home rule City of Ketchikan under 
        section 22(l) of ANCSA.
            (5) The six mile restriction damaged Cape Fox by precluding 
        the corporation from selecting valuable timber lands, 
        industrial sites, and other commercial property, not only in 
        its core township but in surrounding lands far removed from 
        Ketchikan and its watershed.
            (6) As a result of the six mile restriction, only the 
        remote mountainous northeast corner of Cape Fox's core 
        township, which is nonproductive and of no economic value, was 
        available for selection by the corporation. Selection of this 
        parcel was, however, mandated by section 16(b) of ANCSA.
            (7) Cape Fox's land selections were further limited by the 
        fact that the Annette Island Indian Reservation is within its 
        selection area, and those lands were unavailable for ANCSA 
        selection. Cape Fox is the only ANCSA village corporation 
        affected by this restriction.
            (8) Adjustment of Cape Fox's selections and conveyances of 
        land under ANCSA requires adjustment of Sealaska Corporation's 
        (Sealaska) selections and conveyances to avoid creation of 
        split estate between national forest surface and Sealaska 
        subsurface lands.
            (9) There is an additional need to resolve existing areas 
        of Sealaska/Tongass National Forest split estate.
            (10) The Tongass National Forest lands identified in this 
        Act for selection by and conveyance to Cape Fox and Sealaska, 
        subject to valid existing rights, provide a means to resolve 
        certain Cape Fox and Sealaska ANCSA land entitlement issues 
        without significantly affecting Tongass National Forest 
        resources, uses or values.
            (11) Adjustment of Cape Fox's selections and conveyances of 
        land under ANCSA through the provisions of this Act, and the 
        related adjustment of Sealaska's selections and conveyances 
        hereunder, are in accordance with the purposes of ANCSA and 
        otherwise in the public interest.

SEC. 2. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Cape Fox Land Entitlement Adjustment 
Act of 2002''.

SEC. 3. WAIVER OF CORE TOWNSHIP REQUIREMENT FOR CERTAIN NON-PRODUCTIVE 
              LANDS.

    Notwithstanding the provisions of section 16(b) of ANCSA, Cape Fox 
Corporation (Cape Fox) shall not be required to select or receive 
conveyance of approximately 160 nonproductive acres, more particularly 
described as within the following described lands:
            T. 75 S., R. 91 E., C.R.M., section 1.

SEC. 4. SELECTION OUTSIDE EXTERIOR SELECTION BOUNDARY.

    (a) In addition to lands made available for selection under ANCSA 
and notwithstanding any other provision of law, within 24 months after 
the date of enactment of this Act, Cape Fox may select, and, upon 
receiving written notice of such selection, the Secretary of the 
Interior shall convey approximately 99 acres of the surface estate of 
Tongass National Forest lands outside Cape Fox's current exterior 
selection boundary, specifically that parcel described as follows:
            T. 73 S., R. 90 E., C.R.M.
            Section 33: SW portion of SE\1/4\: 38 acres.
            Section 33: NW portion of SE\1/4\: 13 acres.
            Section 33: SE\1/4\ of SE\1/4\: 40 acres.
            Section 33: SE\1/4\ of SW\1/4\: 8 acres.
    (b) Upon conveyance to Cape Fox of the surface estate to the lands 
identified in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Interior shall 
convey to Sealaska Corporation (Sealaska) the subsurface estate to said 
lands.
    (c) The Secretary of the Interior shall complete the interim 
conveyances to Cape Fox and Sealaska under this section within 180 days 
after the Secretary of the Interior receives notice of the Cape Fox 
selection under subsection (a).

SEC. 5. EXCHANGE OF LANDS BETWEEN CAPE FOX AND THE TONGASS NATIONAL 
              FOREST.

    (a) The Secretary of Agriculture shall offer, and if accepted by 
Cape Fox, shall exchange the Federal lands described in subsection (b) 
for lands and interests therein identified by Cape Fox under subsection 
(c).
    (b) The lands to be offered for exchange by the Secretary of 
Agriculture are Tongass National Forest lands comprising approximately 
2,663.9 acres in T. 36 S., R. 62 E., C.R.M. and T. 35 S., R. 62 E., 
C.R.M., as designated upon a map entitled ``Proposed Kensington Project 
Land Exchange'', dated March 18, 2002, and available for inspection in 
the Forest Service Region 10 regional office in Juneau, Alaska. The 
Secretary of Agriculture shall exclude from the lands offered all land 
from the mean high tide mark to a point five hundred feet inland of all 
marine shorelands in and adjacent to the waters of Berners Bay; 
Provided, said exclusion shall not include any lands in the Slate Creek 
Cove area within T. 36 S., R 62 E., C.R.M., section 1, W\1/2\ W\1/2\ or 
section 2, E\1/2\ E\1/2\.
    (c) Cape Fox shall be entitled, within 60 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, to identify for exchange lands that the 
Secretary of Agriculture agrees are equal in value to the Federal 
exchange lands described in subsection (b). The lands shall be 
identified from lands previously conveyed to Cape Fox comprising 
approximately 3,000 acres and designated as parcels A-1 to A-3, B-1 to 
B-3, and C upon a map entitled ``Cape Fox Corporation ANCSA Lands 
Exchange Proposal'', dated March 15, 2002, and available for inspection 
in the Forest Service Region 10 regional office in Juneau, Alaska. 
Lands identified for exchange within each parcel shall be contiguous to 
adjacent national forest lands and in reasonably compact tracts. Cape 
Fox shall notify the Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior and 
Sealaska in writing which lands and interests therein Cape Fox has 
identified for exchange. The lands identified for exchange shall 
include a public trail easement designated as D on said map, unless the 
Secretary of Agriculture agrees otherwise.
    (d) The offer and conveyance of Federal lands to Cape Fox in the 
exchange shall, notwithstanding section 14(f) of ANCSA, be of the 
surface and subsurface estate, but subject to valid existing rights and 
all other provisions of section 14(g) of ANCSA.
    (e) The Secretary of Agriculture shall attempt, within 90 days 
after the date of enactment of this Act, to enter into an agreement 
with Cape Fox to consummate the exchange. The lands identified in the 
exchange agreement shall be exchanged by conveyance at the earliest 
possible date after the exchange agreement is signed. Subject only to 
Cape Fox agreement and conveyance to the United States of all its 
right, title and interest in the Cape Fox lands included in the 
exchange, the Secretary of Agriculture shall complete the exchange. 
Subject only to said agreement and conveyance, the Secretary of the 
Interior shall complete the interim conveyance to Cape Fox of the 
Federal lands included in the exchange within 180 days after the date 
of enactment of this Act.

SEC. 6. EXCHANGE OF LANDS BETWEEN SEALASKA AND THE TONGASS NATIONAL 
              FOREST.

    (a) Upon conveyance by Cape Fox of all its right, title and 
interest in the Cape Fox lands included in the exchange under section 5 
and conveyance and relinquishment by Sealaska Corporation of all its 
right, title and interest in the lands described in subsection (c), the 
Secretary of the Interior shall convey to Sealaska the Federal lands 
identified for exchange under subsection (b). Subject only to said Cape 
Fox and Sealaska conveyances and relinquishment, the Secretary of the 
Interior shall complete the interim conveyance to Sealaska of the 
Federal lands identified for exchange within 180 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act.
    (b) The lands to be exchanged to Sealaska are to be selected by 
Sealaska from Tongass National Forest lands comprising approximately 
9,329 acres in T. 36 S., R. 62 E., C.R.M., T. 35 S., R. 62 E., C.R.M., 
and T. 34 S., Range 62 E., C.R.M., as designated upon a map entitled 
``Proposed Sealaska Corporation Land Exchange Kensington Lands 
Selection Area,'' dated April, 2002, and available for inspection in 
the Forest Service Region 10 regional office in Juneau, Alaska. 
Sealaska shall be entitled, within 60 days after receiving notice of 
the identification of Cape Fox exchange lands under section 5(c), to 
identify for exchange to Sealaska lands that the Secretary of 
Agriculture agrees are equal in value to the Sealaska exchange lands 
described in subsection (c). Lands identified for exchange to Sealaska 
shall be in no more than two contiguous and reasonably compact tracts 
that adjoin the lands described for exchange to Cape Fox in section 
5(b). Sealaska shall notify Cape Fox and the Secretaries of Agriculture 
and the Interior in writing which lands Sealaska has identified for 
exchange. The exchange conveyance to Sealaska shall be of the surface 
and subsurface estate in the lands identified, but subject to valid 
existing rights and all other provisions of section 14(g) of ANCSA.
    (c) The lands and interests therein to be exchanged by Sealaska are 
the subsurface estate underlying the Cape Fox exchange lands described 
in section 5(c), an additional approximately 2,506 acres of the 
subsurface estate underlying Tongass National Forest surface estate, 
described in Interim Conveyance No. 1673, and rights to an additional 
approximately 2,698 acres of subsurface estate of Tongass National 
Forest lands remaining to be conveyed to Sealaska from Group 1, 2, and 
3 lands set forth in the Sealaska Corporation/United States Forest 
Service Split Estate Exchange Agreement of November 26, 1991, at 
Schedule B, as modified on January 20, 1995.
    (d) The exchange under this section shall be considered a further 
modification of the Sealaska Corporation/United States Forest Service 
Split Estate Exchange Agreement, as ratified in section 17 of Public 
Law 102-415 (October 14, 1992).

SEC. 7. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS.

    (a) For the exchanges described in this Act, estimates of value for 
exchange purposes shall be completed from available information, and 
detailed appraisals of the exchange lands or additional resource 
inventories shall not be required.
    (b) Any conveyance of federal surface or subsurface lands to Cape 
Fox or Sealaska under this Act shall be considered, for all purposes, 
land conveyed pursuant to ANCSA in partial fulfillment of, 
respectively, the entitlement of Cape Fox or Sealaska. The exchanges 
described in this Act shall be considered, for all purposes, actions 
which lead to the issuance of conveyances to Native Corporations 
pursuant to ANCSA. Lands or interests therein transferred to the United 
States under this Act shall become and be administered as part of the 
Tongass National Forest.
    (c) Lands conveyed to or selected by the State of Alaska under 
Public Law 85-508 (72 Stat. 339, 48 U.S.C. note prec. 21) shall not be 
eligible for selection or conveyance under this Act without the consent 
of the State of Alaska.
    (d) The maps referred to in this Act shall be maintained on file in 
the Forest Service Region 10 regional office in Juneau, Alaska. The 
acreage cited in this section is approximate, and if there is any 
discrepancy between cited acreage and the land depicted on the 
specified maps, the maps shall control. The maps do not constitute an 
attempt by the United States to convey State or private land.

SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATION.

    There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of the 
Department of Agriculture such sums as may be necessary for any 
required surveys, value estimation and related costs of exchanging 
lands specified in this Act, and for habitat and timber stand 
improvement, including thinning and pruning, on lands acquired by the 
Department of Agriculture under this Act.
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