1.This Act may be cited as the
Salmon Lake Land Selection Resolution
Act
.
2.
(a)Congress
finds that—
(1)Salmon Lake and
the water upstream and downstream from Salmon Lake contain important fisheries
resources of significance to Alaska Natives in the Bering Straits Region and
other residents of the State of Alaska;
(2)certain land
adjacent to Salmon Lake on the Seward Peninsula within the Bering Straits
Region contains archaeological and cultural resources of significance to Alaska
Natives in the Bering Straits Region, other residents of the State, and the
citizens of the United States;
(3)land adjacent to
Salmon Lake on the Seward Peninsula within the Bering Straits Region offers,
and is suitable for, a variety of recreational activities;
(4)the State of
Alaska, acting under the Act of July 7, 1958 (commonly known as the
Alaska Statehood Act
) (48 U.S.C. note prec. 21; Public Law
85–508), has selected land in the Salmon Lake area under section 6(b) of that
Act (72 Stat. 340);
(5)the Bering Straits
Native Corporation, an Alaska Native Regional Corporation formed under the
Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), has selected land
in the Salmon Lake area under section 14(h)(8) of that Act (43 U.S.C.
1613(h)(8));
(6)the Bering Straits
Native Corporation and the State of Alaska have conflicting selections to
certain land in the Salmon Lake area;
(7)the Secretary of
the Interior, the State, and the Bering Straits Native Corporation have
concluded that it is in the interest of those parties—
(A)to protect and
preserve the historical, cultural, and natural resources of the Salmon Lake
area;
(B)to equitably
resolve, without further administrative appeals or litigation, the conflicting
land selections made—
(i)by the State under
the Act of July 7, 1958 (commonly known as the Alaska Statehood
Act
) (48 U.S.C. note prec. 21; Public Law 85–508); and
(ii)by the Bering
Straits Native Corporation in the Salmon Lake area under section 14(h)(8) of
the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1613(h)(8)); and
(C)to provide
simultaneously for—
(i)continued public
ownership, management, use, and access to certain land in the Salmon Lake
area;
(ii)conveyance to the
State of certain land in the Salmon Lake area in partial satisfaction of the
entitlement of the State under section 6(a) of the Act of July 7, 1958 (48
U.S.C. note prec. 21; Public Law 85–508); and
(iii)conveyance to
the Bering Straits Native Corporation of certain land in the Salmon Lake area
and other areas of the Bering Straits Region in partial satisfaction of the
land allocation of the Corporation under section 14(h)(8) of the Alaska Native
Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1613(h)(8)); and
(8)legislation is required to ratify the
agreement among the Secretary of the Interior, the State, and the Bering
Straits Native Corporation to resolve the conflicting land selections made by
the State and the Bering Straits Native Corporation.
(b)The
purpose of this Act is to ratify the Salmon Lake Area Land Ownership and
Consolidation Agreement entered into by the Secretary, the State of Alaska, and
the Bering Straits Native Corporation.
3.In this Act:
(1)The
term Agreement means the document—
(A)entitled
Salmon Lake Area Land Ownership and Consolidation
Agreement
;
(B)executed by the
Secretary, the State, and the Bering Straits Native Corporation on July 18,
2007; and
(C)on file
with—
(i)the Department of
the Interior;
(ii)the Committee on
Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate; and
(iii)the Committee on
Natural Resources of the House of Representatives.
(2)The
term Secretary means the Secretary of the Interior.
(3)The
term State means the State of Alaska.
4.Ratification of
Agreement
(a)
(1)Congress approves, ratifies, and incorporates by
reference the Agreement.
(2)Subject
to valid existing rights, if any term of the Agreement conflicts with any other
provision of law, the terms of the Agreement shall control.
(b)The
Secretary may carry out all actions permitted or required under the
Agreement.
1.This Act may be cited as the Salmon
Lake Land Selection Resolution Act
.
2.The purpose of this Act is to ratify the
Salmon Lake Area Land Ownership Consolidation Agreement entered into by the
United States, the State of Alaska, and the Bering Straits Native
Corporation.
3.In this Act:
(1)The
term Agreement
means the document between the United States, the
State, and the Bering Straits Native Corporation that—
(A)is entitled the
Salmon Lake Area Land Ownership Consolidation Agreement
;
(B)had an initial effective
date of July 18, 2007, which was extended until January 1, 2011 by agreement of
the parties to the Agreement effective January 1, 2009; and
(C)is on file with
Department of the Interior, the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of
the Senate, and the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of
Representatives.
(2)Bering straits native
corporationThe term Bering Straits Native
Corporation
means an Alaskan Native Regional Corporation formed under
the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S. C. 1601 et. seq.) for the
Bering Straits region of the State.
(3)The
term Secretary
means the Secretary of the Interior.
(4)The
term State
means the State of Alaska.
4.Ratification and
implementation of agreement
(a)Subject to the provisions of this Act, Congress ratifies
the Agreement.
(b)The
conveyance of land to the Bering Straits Native Corporation, as specified in
the Agreement, shall include the reservation of the easements that—
(1)are identified in
Appendix E to the Agreement; and
(2)were developed by the
parties to the Agreement in accordance with section 17(b) of the Alaska Native
Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1616(b)).
(c)Beginning
on the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, with the consent of the
other parties to the Agreement, may only make typographical or clerical
corrections to the Agreement and any exhibits to the Agreement.
(d)The
Secretary shall carry out all actions required by the Agreement.
March 2, 2010
Reported with an amendment