[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 147 (Tuesday, October 28, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2108]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               INTRODUCTION OF THE KAKE LAND EXCHANGE ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. DON YOUNG

                               of alaska

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, October 28, 1997

  Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr. Speaker, today, I am introducing the Kake 
Land Exchange Act of 1997. This bill will provide for an exchange of 
land between Kake Tribal Corp. [KTC], a village corporation formed 
pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, and the U.S. 
Forest Service.
  Specifically, the legislation makes possible an exchange in which the 
corporation transfers approximately 2,427 acres of its ANCSA 
entitlement lands surrounding the municipal watershed of the city of 
Kake, for an equal acreage of land managed by the Forest Service in the 
Saginaw Bay and Hamilton Bay areas. The bill serves two important 
purposes and enjoys the support of the Governor of Alaska, the city of 
Kake, Sealaska--the Regional Native Corporation--and the Alaska 
Federation of Natives, as well as other individuals and groups in 
southeast Alaska.
  The two primary goals of the bill are to protect and preserve the 
Gunnuk Creek Watershed, which serves as Kake's supply of drinking 
water, and to enable the shareholders of KTC to realize benefit from 
its land entitlement in fulfillment of ANCSA's purposes.
  The need for the bill was illustrated in the 1970's and 1980's when 
timber harvesting of the land in the Gunnuk Creek Watershed raised 
great concern in the community of Kake. To safeguard the watershed, 
logging activity on these lands halted. However, because the lands are 
owned essentially by a for-profit corporation, residents of Kake, many 
of whom are KTC shareholders, do not have total assurance that the 
watershed can be protected over the long term.
  This legislation solves this dilemma simply by allowing KTC to 
exchange the watershed lands for other timbered lands. The lands 
transferred to the Forest Service will have long-term protection, while 
the lands conveyed to KTC can be used for the benefit of its 
shareholders.
  In furtherance of the purposes of this bill, the city of Kake is 
willing to enter into an agreement with the U.S. Forest Service to 
manage the watershed property, once the exchange is completed. I 
believe this is a prudent move, and can be pursued either as part of 
this legislation or separately.
  This exchange is an example of how economic development and 
protection of water resources can be simultaneously achieved in 
Southeast.




                          ____________________