[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3560 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3560

  To provide for the completion of certain land selections under the 
      Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 18, 2007

    Mr. Young of Alaska (for himself, Mr. Pallone, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. 
Abercrombie, and Mr. Faleomavaega) introduced the following bill; which 
           was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To provide for the completion of certain land selections under the 
      Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, 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. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Southeast Alaska Native Land 
Entitlement Finalization Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) In 1971, Congress enacted the Alaska Native Claims 
        Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) (referred to in this 
        section as the ``Act'' or ``ANCSA'') to recognize and settle 
        the aboriginal claims of Alaska Natives to the lands that 
        Alaska Natives had used since time immemorial for traditional, 
        cultural, and spiritual purposes, and the Act declared that the 
        land settlement ``should be accomplished rapidly, with 
        certainty, in conformity with the real economic and social 
        needs of Natives . . .''.
            (2) The Act awarded approximately $1,000,000,000 and 
        44,000,000 acres of land to Alaska Natives and provided for the 
        establishment of Native Corporations to receive and manage such 
        funds and land to meet cultural, social, and economic needs of 
        the Native shareholders.
            (3) Under section 12 of ANCSA (43 U.S.C. 1611), each of the 
        Regional Corporations, except Sealaska Corporation 
        (``Sealaska''), received a share of land proportionate to the 
        number of Native shareholders residing in its Region, in 
        relation to the total number of Native shareholders, or 
        proportionate to the relative size of the area to which it had 
        an aboriginal land claim.
            (4) Sealaska, the Regional Corporation for Southeast 
        Alaska, one of the Regional Corporations with the largest 
        number of Native shareholders, with more than 21 percent of all 
        original Native shareholders, did not receive land under 
        section 12 of ANCSA. Sealaska did not receive land in 
        proportion to its Native population base or in proportion to 
        the size of the area to which it had an aboriginal land claim, 
        in part because of a United States Court of Claims cash 
        settlement to the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes in 1968 for 
        lands previously taken to create the Tongass National Forest 
        and Glacier Bay National Monument.
            (5) The Court of Claims cash settlement of $7,500,000 did 
        not adequately compensate the Native people of Southeast Alaska 
        for the significant amount of land and resources lost as a 
        result of the creation of the National Forest and the National 
        Monument or other losses of land and resources, and the small 
        1968 settlement did not warrant the significant disparate 
        treatment under ANCSA.
            (6) While each of the other 11 Regional Corporations 
        received significant amounts of land under section 12 and 
        section 14 of ANCSA, Sealaska only received land under section 
        14(h) of the Act, which provided a 2,000,000 acre pool from 
        which Native selections could be made for historic sites, 
        cemetery sites, Urban Corporation land, Native group land, and 
        Native Allotments; section 14(h)(8) provides that after 
        selections are made under paragraphs 14(h)(1) through (7), 
        whatever is remaining from the 2,000,000 acre pool shall be 
        allocated on the basis of Native shareholder population to all 
        of the Regional Corporations; in sum, Sealaska's sole land 
        entitlement derives from a proportion of ``leftover'' land 
        remaining from the 2,000,000 acre pool, currently estimated at 
        1,200,000 acres.
            (7) Despite the small land base in comparison to all other 
        Regional Corporations (less than 1 percent of the total of all 
        ANCSA lands), the Native Regional Corporation for Southeast 
        Alaska--Sealaska--has provided considerable benefits to its 
        shareholders and has been a significant economic force in 
        Southeast Alaska.
            (8) Pursuant to the revenue-sharing provisions contained in 
        section 7(i) of ANCSA (43 U.S.C. 1606(i)), Sealaska has also 
        distributed to the other Native Corporations throughout Alaska 
        considerable revenues derived from its development of its 
        natural resources--more than $300,000,000 between 1971 and 
        2005, which is 42 percent of the total revenues shared under 
        section 7(i) during that time period, from less than 1 percent 
        of total ANCSA lands.
            (9) As a result of its small land entitlement, it is 
        critical that Sealaska complete its remaining land entitlement 
        conveyances under the Act, in order to continue to meet the 
        economic, social, and cultural needs of its Alaska Native 
        shareholders of Southeast Alaska, and of the Native community 
        throughout Alaska.
            (10) ANCSA's conveyance requirements for Southeast Alaska 
        limit the land eligible for conveyance to Sealaska to the 
        original withdrawal areas surrounding 10 Alaska Native villages 
        in Southeast Alaska, prohibiting Sealaska from selecting lands 
        from withdrawal areas established for the Urban Corporations 
        for Sitka and Juneau, Alaska, or from outside the 10 village 
        withdrawal areas. Unlike other Regional Corporations, Sealaska 
        did not have the right to request lands outside of the 
        withdrawal areas if the withdrawal areas were insufficient to 
        complete its ANCSA land entitlement.
            (11) Within the 10 village withdrawals that were created in 
        ANCSA, 44 percent of the area, or 820,000 acres, is salt water 
        and is, therefore, not available for selection.
            (12) Of Sealaska's selection rights, 110,000 acres are 
        encumbered by Gubernatorial Consent provisions added in 
        subsequent amendments to the Act.
            (13) The United States Forest Service and the Bureau of 
        Land Management grossly underestimated Sealaska's land 
        entitlement under ANCSA, resulting in an insufficient land pool 
        from which Sealaska could select lands suitable for its 
        traditional, cultural, or socioeconomic purposes, and to 
        accomplish a settlement ``in conformity with the real economic 
        and social needs of Natives, . . .''. (43 U.S.C. 1601(b)).
            (14) In each of the 10 village withdrawal areas, there are 
        factors that limit Sealaska's ability to select sufficient 
        land, and, in particular, economically viable land, to complete 
        its entitlement--
                    (A) in the Yakutat withdrawal, 46 percent of the 
                area is salt water, 10 sections (6,400 acres) around 
                the Situk Lake were restricted from selection and no 
                consideration was given for this restriction, and 
                70,000 acres are subject to the Governor's consent 
                prior to selection, and Sealaska received no 
                consideration for this consent restriction;
                    (B) in the Hoonah withdrawal, 51 percent of the 
                area is salt water;
                    (C) in the Angoon withdrawal, 120,000 acres of the 
                area is salt water and Sealaska received no 
                consideration for the 1977 amendment to the Act 
                prohibiting selection of lands from the 80,000 acres 
                within the Angoon withdrawal included in the Admiralty 
                Island National Monument; moreover, the Village 
                Corporation for Angoon was allowed to select out-of-
                withdrawal lands on Prince of Wales Island in return 
                for not selecting on Admiralty Island, but no 
                alternative lands were made available for Sealaska to 
                select next to the Village Corporation's out-of-
                withdrawal land;
                    (D) in the Kake withdrawal, 64 percent of the area 
                is salt water and extensive United States Forest 
                Service timber harvest occurred in the area prior to 
                1971 that significantly reduced the value of land 
                available for selection by and conveyance to Sealaska;
                    (E) in the Kasaan withdrawal, 54 percent of the 
                area is salt water and the United States Forest Service 
                previously harvested in the area;
                    (F) in the Klawock withdrawal, the withdrawal area 
                is only 5 townships, as compared to the usual 9 
                township withdrawal area, because of its proximity to 
                the Village of Craig, which reduces the selection area 
                by 92,160 acres, and combined with the Craig 
                withdrawal, this area is 35 percent salt water;
                    (G) in the Craig withdrawal, the withdrawal area is 
                only 6 townships, as compared to the usual 9 township 
                withdrawal area, because of its proximity to the 
                Village of Klawock, which reduces the selection area by 
                69,120 acres, and combined with the Klawock withdrawal 
                area, this area is 35 percent salt water;
                    (H) in the Hydaburg withdrawal, 36 percent of the 
                area is salt water and Sealaska received no 
                consideration in the Haida Land Exchange Act of 1986 
                (Public Law No. 99-664, 100 Stat. 4303) for 
                relinquishing selection rights to land within the 
                withdrawal that Haida Corporation exchanged to the 
                United States Forest Service;
                    (I) in the Klukwan withdrawal, 27 percent of the 
                area is salt water and the withdrawal area is only 
                70,000 acres, as compared to the usual 207,360 acres in 
                a 9 township withdrawal area, which reduces the 
                selection area by 137,360 acres; and
                    (J) in the Saxman withdrawal, 29 percent of the 
                area is salt water, Sealaska received no consideration 
                for the 50,576 acres of land within this area that were 
                excluded from selection around the First-Class City of 
                Ketchikan, and Sealaska received no consideration for 
                the 1977 amendment to the Act that required the 
                Governor's consent for selection of 58,000 acres in 
                this area; moreover, 23,888 acres are within the 
                Annette Island Indian Reservation for the Metlakatla 
                Indian Tribe and, therefore, are not available for 
                selection.
            (15) With the passage of time, it has become clear that the 
        selection limitations and guidelines in ANCSA, as they relate 
        to Sealaska, are inequitable and inconsistent with the intent 
        of ANCSA because there is insufficient land remaining in the 
        withdrawal areas to meet the traditional, cultural, or 
        socioeconomic needs of the shareholders of the Regional 
        Corporation for Southeast Alaska.
            (16) The selection limitations also make it difficult for 
        the Regional Corporation for Southeast Alaska to use a portion 
        of its remaining ANCSA land entitlement to select places of 
        sacred, cultural, traditional, and historic significance, and 
        enterprise sites located outside of the withdrawal areas.
            (17) While section 14(h)(1) of ANCSA allowed Sealaska to 
        select cemetery sites and historic places outside of the ANCSA 
        withdrawals, the selection applications had to be submitted by 
        July 1, 1976. At that time, the Bureau of Land Management 
        informed Sealaska that its total entitlement would be around 
        200,000 acres, so Sealaska made entitlement allocation 
        decisions for cultural sites and economic development sites 
        based on those estimates. It is now clear that Sealaska will 
        receive pursuant to ANCSA significantly more than 200,000 
        acres; therefore, Sealaska would like to allocate more of its 
        entitlement to the acquisition of places of sacred, cultural, 
        traditional, and historic significance.
            (18) The cemetery sites and historic places that have been 
        conveyed to Sealaska through section 14(h)(1) are subject to a 
        restrictive covenant--not required by law--that does not allow 
        any type of management or use if it would in any way alter the 
        historic nature of the site, even for cultural education or 
        research purposes; Forest Service-owned historic sites are not 
        subject to the same limitations. These restrictions hinder 
        Sealaska's ability to use these sites for cultural, 
        educational, or research purposes, for Natives and non-Natives 
        alike.
            (19) Unless it is allowed to select land outside of the 
        designated withdrawal areas in Southeast Alaska, Sealaska will 
        not be able to complete its entitlement; secure ownership of 
        places of sacred, cultural, traditional, and historic 
        importance; maintain its existing resource development and 
        management operations; or provide continued economic 
        opportunities for the Native people of Southeast Alaska.
            (20) In order to actualize its cultural preservation goals, 
        while also diversifying its economic opportunities, Sealaska 
        should receive its sacred, cultural, traditional, and historic 
        sites, and other places of traditional cultural significance, 
        including traditional and customary trade and migration routes, 
        that will facilitate the perpetuation and preservation of 
        Alaska Native culture and history, as well as Native enterprise 
        sites that will facilitate appropriate tourism and outdoor 
        recreation enterprises.
            (21) If Sealaska's resource development operations cease on 
        those lands appropriate for such development, there will be a 
        significant negative impact on the Southeast Alaska Native 
        shareholders, the cultural preservation activities of Sealaska, 
        the economy of Southeast Alaska, and the broader Alaska Native 
        community that benefits from the revenue-sharing requirements 
        under ANCSA.
            (22) Upon completion of the conveyance of lands to Sealaska 
        pursuant to ANCSA, as amended by this Act, the following would 
        occur:
                    (A) The United States Government would complete and 
                finalize the ANCSA land entitlement owed to the 
                Regional Corporation for Southeast Alaska.
                    (B) The encumbrances on 327,000 acres of Federal 
                lands, created by the withdrawal of lands for selection 
                by Native Corporations in Southeast Alaska, would be 
                removed, thereby facilitating thorough and complete 
                planning and efficient management related to national 
                forest lands in Southeast Alaska by the United States 
                Forest Service.
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to redress the inequitable 
treatment of the Regional Corporation for Southeast Alaska by allowing 
Sealaska to select its remaining land entitlement under section 14 of 
the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1613) from 
designated Federal land in Southeast Alaska outside of the 10 Southeast 
Alaska village withdrawal areas, and through additional related 
provisions.

SEC. 3. OUT-OF-WITHDRAWAL SELECTIONS IN SOUTHEAST ALASKA.

    (a) In General.--Notwithstanding the limitations set forth in 
section 14(h)(8)(B) of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 
U.S.C. 1613(h)(8)(B)), Sealaska is authorized to select and receive 
conveyance of its remaining Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act land 
entitlement from Federal lands in Southeast Alaska from each of the 
categories listed in subsection (b).
    (b) Categories.--The categories referred to in subsection (a) are 
as follows:
            (1) Economic development land from within the pool of lands 
        identified on the map entitled ``Sealaska ANCSA Land 
        Entitlement Rationalization Pool'', dated May 17, 2007, and 
        labeled Attachment A.
            (2) Sites with sacred, cultural, traditional, or historic 
        significance, including traditional and customary trade and 
        migration routes, archeological sites, cultural landscapes, and 
        natural features having cultural significance, provided that:
                    (A) No more than 2,400 acres shall be selected for 
                this purpose, from within the lands identified on the 
                maps titled as follows:
                            (i) ``Places of Sacred, Cultural, 
                        Traditional and Historic Significance'', dated 
                        May 17, 2007, and labeled Attachment B.
                            (ii) ``Traditional and Customary Trade and 
                        Migration Routes'', dated May 17, 2007, and 
                        labeled Attachment C, which includes 
                        identification of the following:
                                    (I) Yakutat to dry bay trade and 
                                migration route.--A conveyance of land 
                                25 feet in width, together with 1-acre 
                                sites at each terminus and at 8 
                                locations along the route. The route, 
                                location, and boundaries of the 
                                conveyance are described on the map 
                                entitled ``Yakutat to Dry Bay Trade and 
                                Migration Route'', dated May 17, 2007, 
                                and labeled Attachment C.
                                    (II) Bay of pillars to port camden 
                                trade and migration route.--A 
                                conveyance of land 25 feet in width, 
                                together with 1-acre sites at each 
                                terminus. The route, location, and 
                                boundaries of the conveyance are 
                                described on the map entitled ``Bay of 
                                Pillars to Port Camden Trade and 
                                Migration Route'', dated May 17, 2007, 
                                and labeled Attachment C.
                                    (III) Portage bay to duncan canal 
                                trade and migration route.--A 
                                conveyance of land 25 feet in width, 
                                together with 1-acre sites at each 
                                terminus. The route, location, and 
                                boundaries of the conveyance are 
                                described on the map entitled ``Portage 
                                Bay to Duncan Canal Trade and Migration 
                                Route'', dated May 17, 2007, and 
                                labeled Attachment C.
                    (B) An additional 1,200 acres may be used by 
                Sealaska to acquire places of sacred, cultural, 
                traditional and historic significance, archeological 
                sites, traditional, and customary trade and migration 
                routes, and other sites with scientific value that 
                further the understanding of Native culture and 
                heritage, that have not yet been discovered, 
                identified, or adequately documented for their cultural 
                significance.
            (3) Native enterprise sites with traditional and 
        recreational use value, as identified on the map titled 
        ``Native Enterprise Sites'', dated May 17, 2007, and labeled 
        Attachment D, provided that no more than 5,000 acres shall be 
        selected for this purpose.

SEC. 4. CONVEYANCES TO SEALASKA.

    (a) Timeline for Conveyance.--The Secretary of the Interior shall, 
within 180 days of selection by Sealaska of any land described in 
section 3, complete the conveyance of such land to Sealaska.
    (b) Expiration of Withdrawals.--Upon the exhaustion of Sealaska's 
remaining land entitlement under ANCSA and the completion of the 
conveyances of land selected by Sealaska pursuant to this Act, the 
original Southeast Alaska withdrawals shall expire and the lands within 
the withdrawals that are not conveyed to a Southeast Alaska Regional or 
Village Corporation shall be returned to the unencumbered management of 
the United States Forest Service as a part of the Tongass National 
Forest.
    (c) Limitation.--Sealaska shall not select or receive conveyance of 
lands pursuant to sections 3(b)(1) and (3) from within any Conservation 
System Unit, federally designated Wilderness areas, or Land Use 
Designation I or II Areas.
    (d) Certain Restrictions Not Applicable.--Conveyance to Sealaska of 
lands pursuant to section 3(b)(1) of this Act shall not be subject to 
any additional restrictive covenant, encumbrance, or easement except 
those authorized by sections 14(g) and 17(b) of ANCSA.
    (e) Conditions on Sacred, Cultural, or Historic Site Land.--
Conveyance to Sealaska of lands pursuant to section 3(b)(2)--
            (1) shall be subject to a covenant prohibiting any 
        commercial timber harvest;
            (2) shall not be subject to any additional restrictive 
        covenant based on cultural or historic values, or any other 
        restriction, encumbrance, or easement except those authorized 
        by sections 14(g) and 17(b) of ANCSA; and
            (3) shall allow the use of the property as described in 
        subsection (f) of this section.
    (f) Uses of Sacred, Cultural, or Historic Land.--The uses 
authorized for the sacred, cultural, traditional, and historic sites 
and trade and migration routes conveyed pursuant to subsection 3(b)(2) 
shall include--
            (1) historic, cultural, and anthropologic research and 
        education;
            (2) historic and cultural recreational tourism, including 
        hiking and nonmotorized travel along traditional trade and 
        migration routes;
            (3) camping, hiking, and other trail and waterway access 
        uses;
            (4) unless expressly prohibited by the Tongass National 
        Forest Land and Resources Management Plan (``Tongass Plan''), 
        provisions applicable to the management area occupied by the 
        section 3(b)(2) parcels upon the date of enactment of this Act, 
        guiding and other commercial visitor services (with the 
        exception of guiding for sport hunting), and trail improvements 
        for nonmotorized use; and
            (5) site improvement for such purposes.
    (g) Restrictive Covenants.--Any restrictive covenants regarding 
cultural or historic values that are contained in existing historic and 
cemetery site interim conveyances and patents issued to Sealaska 
pursuant to existing regulations, found at sections 2653.3 and 2653.11 
of title 43, Code of Federal Regulations, related to ANCSA section 
14(h)(1) conveyances shall terminate upon enactment of this Act. 
Sealaska shall be responsible for recording with the State land title 
recorders office the changes to its 14(h)(1) conveyances as a result of 
this Act.
    (h) Conditions on Native Enterprise Land.--Conveyance to Sealaska 
of lands pursuant to section 3(b)(3)--
            (1) shall be subject to a covenant prohibiting any 
        commercial timber harvest; and
            (2) shall not be subject to any additional restrictive 
        covenant, encumbrance, or easement except those authorized by 
        sections 14(g) and 17(b) of ANCSA.
    (i) Access and Use Right.--The conveyance to Sealaska for each site 
selected pursuant to section 3(b)(3) shall include a nonexclusive 
access and use right, described as follows:
            (1) Sealaska shall have a right of access from the site to 
        all national forest lands within 15 miles perpendicular linear 
        distance from the site exterior boundary, and a right of use on 
        all such lands, for educational and outdoor recreational 
        activities that are consistent with the Tongass Plan provisions 
        applicable to such lands upon the date of enactment of this 
        Act.
            (2) Unless expressly prohibited by the Tongass Plan 
        provisions applicable to such lands upon the date of enactment 
        of this Act, the authorized access and use rights shall include 
        guiding and other commercial visitor services (with the 
        exception of guiding for sport hunting), and trail improvements 
        for nonmotorized use.
            (3) Sealaska shall exercise its access and use rights in 
        consultation with the Forest Service.
            (4) The Forest Service shall consult with Sealaska 
        regarding any actions that it will take on those national 
        forest lands subject to the access and use rights of Sealaska.

SEC. 5. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS.

    (a) Status of Conveyed Lands.--Conveyance of Federal lands to 
Sealaska under this Act shall be considered, for all purposes, land 
conveyed pursuant to ANCSA. The actions described in this Act shall be 
considered, for all purposes, actions which lead to the issuance of 
conveyances to a Native Corporation pursuant to ANCSA.
    (b) No Material Effect on Forest Plan.--Implementation of this Act, 
including conveyance of lands to Sealaska, shall not require an 
amendment or revision of the Tongass Plan.
    (c) Technical Amendment to the National Historic Preservation 
Act.--The definition of ``Tribal Lands'' in section 301(14) of Public 
Law 89-665, (80 Stat. 915) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``and'', at the end;
            (2) subparagraph (B), by striking the period at the end and 
        inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
                    ``(C)(i) land held by incorporated Native groups, 
                regional corporations, and village corporations under 
                the provisions of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement 
                Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.).
                    ``(ii) Nothing in this section shall be construed 
                to validate or invalidate or in any way affect any 
                assertion that `Indian country' (as defined by 18 
                U.S.C. 1151 or any other authority) exists or does not 
                exist within the boundaries of the State of Alaska.''.
    (d) Technical Amendment to the Tribal Forest Protection Act.--
Section 2(a)(2) of Public Law 108-278 (118 Stat. 868), is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ``, or land conveyed 
        to an Alaska Native Corporation pursuant to the Alaska Native 
        Claims Settlement Act of 1971 (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.)'' before 
        the semicolon;
            (2) in subparagraph (B)(ii), by striking the period at the 
        end and inserting ``; or''; and
            (3) subparagraph (B), by adding at the end the following 
        new subclause:
                                    ``(III) is land owned by an Alaska 
                                Native Corporation established pursuant 
                                to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement 
                                Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) that is 
                                forest land or formerly had a forest 
                                cover or vegetative cover that is 
                                capable of restoration.''.

SEC. 6. MAPS.

    The maps referred to in this Act shall be maintained on file in the 
Office of the Chief, United States Forest Service, within the United 
States Department of Agriculture, and in the Office of the Secretary of 
the Interior, Washington, DC. Correction of clerical and typographical 
errors in such maps may be made. The maps do not constitute an attempt 
by the United States to convey State or private land.

SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATIONS OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There is authorized to be appropriated such sums as shall be 
necessary to carry out this Act and the amendments made by this Act.
                                 <all>