[Senate Report 105-119]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                                       Calendar No. 232
105th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE

 1st Session                                                    105-119
_______________________________________________________________________


 
             ALASKA NATIVE CLAIMS SETTLEMENT ACT AMENDMENT

                                _______
                                

                October 29, 1997.--Ordered to be printed

_______________________________________________________________________


  Mr. Murkowski, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                             together with

                             MINORITY VIEWS

                         [To accompany S. 967]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the bill (S. 967) to amend the Alaska Claims 
Settlement Act and the Alaska National Interest Lands 
Conservation Act to benefit Alaska natives and rural residents, 
and for other purposes, having considered the same, reports 
favorably thereon with an amendment and recommends that the 
bill as amended, do pass.
    The amendment is as follows:
    Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert in lieu 
thereof the following:

SECTION 1. AUTOMATIC LAND BANK PROTECTION.

    (a) Lands Received in Exchange From Certain Federal Agencies.--The 
matter preceding clause (i) of section 907(d)(1)(A) of the Alaska 
National Interest Lands Conservation Act (43 U.S.C. 1636(d)(1)(A)) is 
amended by inserting ``or conveyed to a Native Corporation pursuant to 
an exchange authorized by section 22(f) of Alaska Native Claims 
Settlement Act or section 1302(h) of this Act or other applicable law'' 
after ``Settlement Trust''.
    (b) Lands Exchanged Among Native Corporations.--Section 
907(d)(2)(B) of such Act (43 U.S.C. 1636(d)(2) is amended by striking 
``and'' at the end of clause (ii), by striking the period at the end of 
clause (iii) and inserting ``; and'', and by adding at the end the 
following:
                  ``(iv) lands or interest in lands shall not be 
                considered developed or leased or sold to a third party 
                as a result of an exchange or conveyance of such land 
                or interest in land between or among Native 
                Corporations and trusts partnerships, corporations, or 
                joint ventures, whose beneficiaries, partners, 
                shareholders, or joint venturers are Native 
                Corporations.''.
    (c) Actions by Trustee Serving Pursuant to Agreement of Native 
Corporations.--Section 907(d)(3)(B) of such Act (43 U.S.C. 
1636(d)(3)(B)) is amended by striking ``or'' at the end of clause(i), 
by striking the period at the end of clause (ii) and inserting ``; 
or'', and by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(iii) to actions by any trustee whose right, 
                title, or interest in land or interests in land arises 
                pursuant to an agreement between or among Native 
                Corporations and trusts, partnerships, or joint 
                venturers whose beneficiaries, partners, shareholders, 
                or joint ventures are Native Corporations.''.

SEC. 2. RETAINED MINERAL ESTATE.

    Section 12(c)(4) of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 
U.S.C. 1611(c)(4)) is amended--
          (1) by redesignating subparagraphs (C) and (D) as 
        subparagraphs (E) and (F), respectively, and by inserting after 
        subparagraph (B) the following new subparagraphs:
                  ``(C) Where such public lands are surrounded by or 
                contiguous to subsurface lands obtained by a Regional 
                Corporation under subsections (a) or (b), the 
                Corporation may, upon request, have such public land 
                conveyed to it.
                  ``(D)(i) A Regional Corporation which elects to 
                obtain public lands under subparagraph (C) shall be 
                limited to a total of not more than 12,000 acres. 
                Selection by a Regional Corporation of in lieu surface 
                acres under subparagraph (E) pursuant to an election 
                under subparagraph (C) shall not be made from any lands 
                within a conservation system unit (as that term is 
                defined by section 102(4) of the Alaska National 
                Interest Lands Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 3102(4)).
                  ``(ii) An election to obtain the public lands 
                described in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) shall 
                include all available parcels within the township in 
                which the public lands are located.
                  ``(iii) For purposes of this subparagraph and 
                subparagraph (C), the term `Regional Corporation' shall 
                refer only to Doyon, Limited.''; and
          ``(2) in subparagraph (E) (as so redesignated), by striking 
        ``(A) or (B)'' and inserting ``(A), (B), or (C)''.

SEC. 3. CLARIFICATION ON TREATMENT OF BONDS FROM A NATIVE CORPORATION.

    Section 29(c) of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 
1626(c)) is amended--
          (1) in subparagraph (3)(A), by inserting ``and on bonds 
        received from a Native Corporation'' after ``from a Native 
        Corporation''; and
          (2) in subparagraph (3)(B), by inserting ``or bonds issued by 
        a Native Corporation which Bonds shall be subject to the 
        protection of section 7(h) until voluntarily and expressly sold 
        or pledged by the shareholder subsequent to the date of 
        distribution'' before the semicolon.

SEC. 4. PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO PUBLIC LAW 102-415.

    Section 20 of the Alaska Land Status Technical Corrections Act of 
1992 (106 Stat. 2129) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
subsection:
    ``(h) Establishment of the account under subsection (b) and 
conveyance of land under subsection (c), if any, shall be treated as 
though 3,520 acres of land had been conveyed to Gold Creek under 
section 14(h)(2) of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act for which 
rights to in-lieu subsurface estate are hereby provided to CIRL. Within 
1 year from the date of enactment of this subsection, CIRI shall select 
3,520 acres of land from the area designated for in-lieu selection by 
paragraph I.B.(2)(b) of the document identified in section 12(b) of the 
Act of January 2, 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1611 note).''.

SEC. 5. CALISTA CORPORATION LAND EXCHANGE.

    (a) Congressional Findings.--Congress finds and declares that--
          (1) the land exchange authorized by section 8126 of Public 
        Law 102-172 should be implemented without further delay;
          (2) the Calista Corporation, the Native Regional Corporation 
        organized under the authority of the Alaska Native Claims 
        Settlement Act (ANCSA) for the Yupik Eskimos of Southwestern 
        Alaska, which includes the entire Yukon Delta National Wildlife 
        Refuge--
                  (A) has responsibilities provided for by the 
                Settlement Act to help address social, cultural, 
                economic, health, subsistence, and related issues 
                within the Region and among its villages, including the 
                viability of the villages themselves, many of which are 
                remote and isolated; and
                  (B) has been unable to fully carry out such 
                responsibilities, and the implementation of this 
                exchange is essential to helping Calista utilize its 
                assets to carry out those responsibilities to realize 
                the benefits of ANCSA;
          (3) the parties to the exchange have been unable to reach 
        agreement on the valuation of the lands and interests in lands 
        to be conveyed to the United States under section 8126 of 
        Public Law 102-171; and
          (4) in light of the foregoing, it is appropriate and 
        necessary in this unique situation that Congress authorize and 
        direct the implementation of this exchange as set forth in this 
        section in furtherance of the purposes and underlying goals of 
        the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act and the Alaska National 
        Interest Lands Conservation Act.
    (b) Land Exchange Implementation.--Section 8126(a) of Public Law 
102-172 (105 Stat. 1206) is amended--
          (1) by inserting ``(1)'' after ``(a)'';
          (1) by striking ``October 1, 1996'' and inserting ``October 
        1, 2002'';
          (3) by inserting after ``October 28, 1991'' the following: 
        ``(hereinafter referred to as `CCRD') and in the document 
        entitled, `The Calista Conveyance and Relinquishment Document 
        Addendum', dated September 15, 1996 (hereinafter referred to as 
        `CCRD Addendum')'';
          (4) by striking ``The value'' and all that follows through 
        ``Provided, That the'' and inserting in lieu thereof the 
        following:
    ``(2) Unless prior to December 31, 1997, the parties mutually agree 
on a value of the lands and interests in lands to be exchanged as 
contained in the CCRD and the CCRD Addendum, the aggregate values of 
such lands and interests in lands shall be established as of January 1, 
1998, as provided in paragraph (6) of the CCRD Addendum. The'';
          (5) in the last sentence, by inserting a period after 
        ``1642'' and striking all that follows in that sentence; and
          (6) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
    ``(3) The amount credited to the property account is not subject to 
adjustment for minor changes in acreage resulting from preparation or 
correction of the land descriptions in the CCRD or CCRD Addendum or the 
exclusion of any small tracts of lands as a result of hazardous 
materials surveys.''.
    (c) Extension of Restriction on Certain Property Transfers.--
Section 8126(b) of Public Law 102-172 (105 Stat. 1206) is amended by 
striking ``October 1, 1996'' and inserting ``October 1, 2002''.
    (d) Exchange Administration.--Section 8126(c) of Public Law 102-172 
(105 Stat. 1207) is amended--
          (1) by inserting ``(1)'' after ``(c)'';
          (2) by striking the sentence beginning ``On October 1, 
        1996,'' and inserting in lieu thereof the following: ``To the 
        extent such lands and interests have not been exchanged with 
        the United States, on January 1, 1998, the Secretary of the 
        Treasury shall establish a property account on behalf of 
        Calista Corporation. If the parties have mutually agreed to a 
        value as provided in subsection (a)(2), the Secretary of the 
        Treasury shall credit the account accordingly. In the absence 
        of such an agreement the Secretary of the Treasury shall credit 
        the account with an amount equal to 66 percent of the total 
        amount determined by paragraph (6) of the CCRD Addendum. The 
        account shall be available for use as provided in subsection 
        (c)(3), as follows:
          ``(A) On January 1, 1998, an amount equal to one-half the 
        amount credited pursuant to this paragraph shall be available 
        for use as provided.
          ``(B) On October 1, 1998, the remaining one-half of the 
        amount credited pursuant to this paragraph shall be available 
        for use as provided.
    ``(2) On October 1, 2002, to the extent any portion of the lands 
and interests in lands have not been exchanged pursuant to subsection 
(a) or conveyed or relinquished to the United States pursuant to 
paragraph (1), the account established by paragraph (1) shall be 
credited with an amount equal to any remainder of the value pursuant to 
paragraph (1).'';
          (3) by inserting ``(3)'' before ``Subject to'';
          (4) by striking ``on or after October 1, 1996,'' and by 
        inserting after ``subsection (a) of this section,'' the 
        following: ``upon conveyance or relinquishment of equivalent 
        portions of the lands referenced in the CCRD and the CCRD 
        Addendum,''; and
          (5) by adding at the end the following new paragraphs:
    ``(4) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, Calista 
Corporation or the villagecorporations identified in the CCRD Addendum 
may assign, without restriction, any or all of the account upon written 
notification to the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of the 
Interior.
    ``(5) Calista will provide to the Bureau of Land Management, Alaska 
State Office, appropriate documentation, including maps of the parcels 
to be exchanged to enable that office to perform the accounting 
required by paragraph (1) and to forward such information, if requested 
by Calista, to the Secretary of the Treasury as authorized by such 
paragraph, Minor boundary adjustments shall be made between Calista and 
the Department to reflect the acreage figures reflected in the CCRD and 
the CCRD Addendum.
    ``(6) For the purpose of the determination of the applicability of 
section 7(i) of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 
1606(i)) to revenues generated pursuant to this section, such revenues 
shall be calculated in accordance with paragraph (4) of the CCRD 
Addendum.''.

SEC. 6. MINING CLAIMS.

    Paragraph (3) of section 22(c) of the Alaska Native Claims 
Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1621(c)) is amended--
          (1) by striking out ``regional corporation'' each place it 
        appears and inserting in lieu thereof ``Regional Corporation''; 
        and
          (2) by adding at the end the following: ``The provisions of 
        this section shall apply to Haida Corporation and the Haida 
        Traditional Use Sites, which shall be treated as a Regional 
        Corporation for the purposes of this paragraph, except that any 
        revenues remitted to Haida Corporation under this section shall 
        not be subject to distribution pursuant to section 7(i) of this 
        Act.''.

SEC. 7. SALE, DISPOSITION, OR OTHER USE OF COMMON VARIETIES OF SAND, 
                    GRAVEL, STONE, PUMICE, PEAT, CLAY, OR CINDER 
                    RESOURCES.

    Subsection (i) of section 7 of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement 
Act (43 U.S.C. 1606(i)) is amended--
          (1) by striking ``Seventy per centum'' and inserting ``(A) 
        Except as provided by subparagraph (B), seventy percent''; and
          (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(B) In the case of the sale, disposition, or other use of common 
varieties of sand, gravel, stone, pumice, peat, clay, or cinder 
resources made after the date of enactment of this subparagraph, the 
revenues received by a Regional Corporation shall not be subject to 
division under subparagraph (A). Nothing in this subparagraph is 
intended to or shall be construed to alter the ownership of such sand, 
gravel, stone, pumice, peat, clay, or cinder resources.''.

SEC. 8. ESTABLISHMENT OF ADDITIONAL NATIVE CORPORATIONS IN SOUTHEAST 
                    ALASKA.

    (a) Section 16 of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, as 
amended (Pub. L. No. 92-293, 85 Stat. 688, 43 U.S.C. Sec. 1601, 
hereinafter referred to as ``the Act'') is amended by adding at the end 
thereof the following new subsection:
    ``(e)(1) The Native residents of each of the Native Villages of 
Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg, and Wrangell, Alaska, may organize as an 
Urban Corporation.
    ``(2) The Native residents of the Native Village of Tenakee, 
Alaska, may organize as a Group Corporation.
    ``(3) Nothing in this subsection shall affect any existing 
entitlement to land of any Native Corporation pursuant to this Act or 
any other provision of law.''
    (b) Section 8 of the Act is amended by adding at the end the 
following new subsection:
    ``(d) Enrollment in the Additional Corporations in Southeast 
Alaska.--
          ``(1) The Secretary shall enroll to each of the Urban 
        Corporations for Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg, or Wrangell 
        those individual natives who enrolled under this Act to Haines, 
        Ketchikan, Petersburg, or Wrangell, and shall enroll to the 
        Group Corporation for Tenakee those individual natives who 
        enrolled under this Act to Tenakee: Provided, That nothing in 
        this subsection shall affect existing entitlement to land of 
        any Regional Corporation pursuant to section 12(b) or section 
        14(h)(8) of this Act.
          ``(2) Those Natives who, pursuant to paragraph (1), are 
        enrolled to an Urban Corporation for Haines, Ketchikan, 
        Petersburg, or Wrangell, or to a Group Corporation for Tenakee, 
        and who were enrolled as shareholders of the Regional 
        Corporation for southeast Alaska on or before March 30, 1973, 
        shall receive 100 shares of Settlement Common Stock in such 
        Urban or Group Corporation.
          ``(3) A Native who has received shares of stock in the 
        Regional Corporation for southeast Alaska through inheritance 
        from a decedent Native who originally enrolled to Haines, 
        Ketchikan, Petersburg, Tenakee, or Wrangell, which decedent 
        Native was not a shareholder in a Village, Group or Urban 
        Corporation, shall receive the identical number of shares of 
        Settlement Common Stock in the Urban Corporation for Haines, 
        Ketchikan, Petersburg, or Wrangell, or in the Group Corporation 
        for Tenakee, as the number of shares inherited by that Native 
        from the decedent Native who would have been eligible to be 
        enrolled to such Urban or Group Corporation.''
    (c) Section 7 of the Act is amended as follows:
          (1) by adding at the end of subsection 7(j) the following new 
        sentence: ``Native members of the communities of Haines, 
        Ketchikan, Petersburg, Tenakee, and Wrangell who become 
        shareholders in an Urban or Group Corporation for such a 
        community shall continue to be eligible to receive 
        distributions under this subsection as at-large shareholders of 
        Sealaska Corporation.''
          (2) by adding at the end of section 7 the following new 
        subsection:
    ``(r) No provision of Section 8 of the 1997 Act amending the Alaska 
Native Claims Settlement Act and the Alaska National Interest Lands 
Conservation Act to benefit Alaska natives and rural residents, and for 
other purposes, shall affect the ratio for determination of 
distribution of revenues among Native Corporations under this section 
of the Act and the 1982 Section 7(i) Settlement Agreement among the 
Regional Corporations or among Village Corporations under section 7(j) 
of the Act.''.
    (d) Not later than December 31, 1998, the Secretary of the 
Interior, in consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture, and in 
consultation with representatives of the Urban and Group Corporations 
established pursuant to this section, as well as Sealaska Corporation, 
shall submit to the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 
and the House Committee on Resources a report making recommendations to 
the Congress regarding lands and other appropriate compensation to be 
provided to the Urban and Group Corporations established pursuant to 
this section, including:
          (1) local areas of historical, cultural, and traditional 
        importance to Alaska Natives from the Villages of Haines, 
        Ketchikan, Petersburg, Tenakee, or Wrangell, that should be 
        conveyed to such Urban or Group Corporation, together with any 
        recommended limitations or stipulations regarding the use of 
        such lands, including possible restrictions on the harvest of 
        timber from such lands; and
          (2) such additional forms of compensation as the Secretary 
        may recommend.
    (e) Planning Grants.--There are authorized to be appropriated such 
sums as are necessary toprovide the Native Corporations for the 
communities of Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Tenakee, and Wrangell 
with grants in the amount of $250,000 each, to be used for planning, 
development and other purposes for which Native Corporations are 
organized under this section.
    (f) Notwithstanding any other provision of Pub. L. No. 92-203, as 
amended, nothing in this section shall create any entitlement to 
federal lands for an Urban or Group Corporation established pursuant to 
this section without further Congressional action.

SEC. 9. ALASKA NATIVE ALLOTMENT APPLICATIONS.

    Section 905(a) of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation 
Act (43 U.S.C. 1634(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
          ``(7) Paragraph (1) of this subsection and section (d) shall 
        apply, and paragraph (5) of this subsection shall cease to 
        apply, to an application--
                  ``(A) that is open and pending on the date of 
                enactment of subsection (a)(7),
                  ``(B) if the lands described in the application are 
                Federal ownership other than as a result of 
                reacquisition by the United States after January 3, 
                1959, and
                  ``(C) if any protest which was filed by the State of 
                Alaska pursuant to subsection (5)(b) with respect to 
                the application is withdrawn or dismissed whether 
                before or after the date of enactment of subsection 
                (a)(7).
                  ``(D) any allotment application which is open and 
                pending and which is legislatively approved by 
                enactment of subsection (a)(7) shall, when allotted, be 
                subject to any easement, trail or right-of-way in 
                existence on the date of the native allotment 
                applicant's actual commencement of use and occupancy. 
                The jurisdiction of the Department is hereby extended 
                to make the factual determination required by this 
                subsection.''

SEC. 10. VISITOR SERVICES.

    Paragraph (1) of section 1307(b) of the Alaska National Interest 
Lands Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 3197(b)) is amended--
          (1) by striking ``Native Corporation'' and inserting ``Native 
        Corporations''; and
          (2) by striking ``is most directly affected'' and inserting 
        ``are most directly affected''.

SEC. 11. TRAINING OF FEDERAL LAND MANAGERS.

    The Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (P.L. 96-487 94 
Stat. 2371) is amended as follows:
          (1) Section 101 is amended by the addition of a new 
        subsection (e) as follows:
    ``(e) In order to comply with this Act all federal public land 
managers in Alaska, or a region that includes Alaska, shall participate 
in all ANILCA and ANCSA training class to be completed within 120 days 
after comment. All future appointed federal public land managers in 
Alaska, or a region containing Alaska, are required to complete the 
aforementioned training within 60 days of appointment.''.

SEC. 12. SUBSISTENCE USES IN GLACIER BAY NATIONAL PARK.

    The Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (P.L. 96-487 94 
Stat. 2371) is amended as follows:
          (1) Section 202(1) is amended by adding the following at the 
        end thereof: ``Subsistence uses of fish by local residents 
        shall be permitted in the park where such uses are traditional 
        in accordance with the provisions of Title VIII.''.

SEC. 13. ACCESS RIGHTS.

    The Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (P.L. 96-487 94 
Stat. 2371 is amended as follows:
          (1) Section 1105 is amended by designating the existing 
        language as subsection (a) and inserting a new subsection (b) 
        as follows:
    ``(b) any alternative route that may be identified by the head of 
the federal agency shall not be less economically feasible and prudent 
than the route for the system being sought by the applicant.''.
          (2) The second sentence in Section 1110(a) is amended by 
        striking ``area'' and inserting in lieu thereof: ``area: 
        Provided, That reasonable regulations shall not include any 
        requirements for the demonstration of pre-existing use and 
        Provided further, That the Secretary shall limit any 
        prohibitions to the smallest area practicable, to the smallest 
        period of time or both. No prohibition shall occur prior to 
        formal consultation with the State of Alaska.''.
          (3) The last sentence of section 1110(b) is amended by 
        inserting ``may include easements, right-of-way, or other 
        interests in land or permits and'' immediately after ``such 
        rights''.
          (4) The last sentence of section 1110(b), strike ``lands'' 
        and insert in lieu thereof the following: ``lands: Provided, 
        That the Secretary shall not impose any unreasonable fees or 
        charges on those seeking to secure their rights under this 
        subsection. Individuals or entities possessing rights under 
        this subsection shall not be subject to the requirement of 
        sections 1104, 1105, 1106, and 1107 herein.''.
          (5) Section 1315 is amended by adding a new subparagraph 
        ``(g)'' as follows:
    ``(g) Within National Forest Wilderness Areas and National Forest 
Monument areas as designated in this and subsequent Acts, the Secretary 
of Agriculture may permit or otherwise regulate helicopter use and 
landings, except that he shall allow for helicopter use and landings in 
emergency situations where human life or health are in danger.''.

SEC. 14. USE OF CABINS AND ALLOWED USES.

    The Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (P.L. 96-487 94 
Stat. 2371) is amended as follows:
          (1) Section 1303 (a)(1)(D) is amended by striking ``located'' 
        and inserting in lieu thereof: the following: ``located, 
        Provided, That the applicant may not be required to waive, 
        forfeit, or relinquish its possessory or personalty interests 
        in a cabin or structure.''.
          (2) Section 1303(a)(2)(D) is amended by striking ``located'' 
        and inserting in lieu thereof: the following: ``located, 
        Provided, That the applicant may not be required to waive, 
        forfeit, or relinquish its possessory or personalty interest in 
        a cabin or structure.''.
          (3) Section 1303(b)(3)(D) is amended by striking ``located'' 
        and inserting in lieu thereof the following: ``located, 
        Provided, That the applicant may not be required to waive, 
        forfeit, or relinquish its possessory or personalty interests 
        in a cabin or structure.''.
          (4) Section 1303 is amended by adding a new subsection (e) as 
        follows:
    ``(e) All permits, permit renewals, or renewal or continuation of 
valid leases issued pursuant to this section shall provide for repair, 
maintenance, and replacement activities and may authorize alterations 
to cabins and similar structure that do not constitute a significant 
impairment of unit purposes.''.
          (5) Section 1316(a) is amended by striking ``permittee'' in 
        the last sentence and inserting in lieu thereof the following: 
        ``permittee Provided, That structures and facilities may be 
        allowed to stand from season to season.''.
          (6) Section 1316(a) is amended in the first sentence by 
        deleting ``equipment'' and inserting in lieu thereof: 
        ``equipment, including motorized and mechanical equipment,''.

SEC. 15. REPORT.

    Within nine months after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Secretary of the Interior shall submit to Congress a report which 
includes the following:
          (1) Local hire.--(A) The report shall--
                  (i) indicate the actions taken in carrying out 
                subsection (b) of section 1308 of the Alaska National 
                Interest Lands Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 3198); and
                  (ii) also address the recruitment processes that may 
                restrict employees hired under subsection (a) of such 
                section from successfully obtaining positions in the 
                competitive service.
          (B) The Secretary of Agriculture shall cooperate with the 
        Secretary of the Interior in carrying out this paragraph with 
        respect to the Forest Service.
          (2) Local contracts.--The report shall describe the actions 
        of the Secretary of the Interior in contracting with Alaska 
        Native Corporations to provide services with respect to public 
        lands in Alaska.

                         Purpose of the Measure

    S. 967 makes a number of technical changes to the Alaska 
Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) and the Alaska National 
Interest Lands Conservation Act.

                          Background and Need

    ANCSA helped settle the aboriginal land claims of Alaska 
Natives. The goals of ANCSA were twofold: (1) to establish 
property rights of Native Alaskans in their aboriginal land, 
and (2) to secure an economic base for their long-term survival 
as a people. ANCSA created thirteen regional corporations, 200 
village corporations and granted these entities 44 million 
acres and $962.5 million to implement these goals. ANCSA has 
been amended numerous times with technical and other changes in 
order to make it a more effective piece of legislation.
    In addition to changes to ANCSA, this legislation addresses 
changes that need to be made to ANILCA to ensure that the 
Federal agencies are implementing this legislation consistent 
with statutory provisions and understandings reached by some 
when the bill was enacted.
    Seventeen years ago, Congress enacted the ANILCA. Despite 
the opposition of many Alaskans, over 100 million acres of land 
was set aside in a series of vast Parks, Wildlife Refuges, and 
wilderness units. Much of the concern about the Act was the 
impact of these Federal units, and related management 
restrictions, on traditional activities and lifestyles.
    To allay these concerns, ANILCA included a series of unique 
provisions designed to ensure that traditional activities and 
lifestyles would continue, that Alaskans would not be subjected 
to a ``permit lifestyle'', and that the agencies would be 
required to recognize the crucial distinction between managing 
small units surrounded by millions of people in the lower 48 
and vast multi-million acre units encompassing a relative 
handful of individuals and communities in Alaska. The sponsors 
of ANILCA issued repeated assurances that the establishment of 
these units would in fact protect traditional activities and 
lifestyles and not place them in jeopardy.
    Early implementation of the Act closely reflected these 
promises. However, as the years have passed, there is a growing 
feeling among many Alaskans that many of the Federal managers 
seem to have lost sight of these important representations to 
the people of Alaska and that agency personnel, trained 
primarily in lower 48 circumstances, have brought the mentality 
of restriction and regulation to Alaska. The critical 
distinctions between management of parks, refuges and 
wilderness areas in the 49th State and the lower 48 have 
blurred. The result is the spread of restriction and regulation 
and the creation of the exact ``permit lifestyle'' which some 
feel was not supposed to happen.

                          Legislative History

    S. 967 was introduced June 26, 1997 by Senator Murkowski on 
behalf of himself and Senator Stevens. A Full Committee hearing 
was held on July 29, 1997. At the business meeting on September 
24, 1997 the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources ordered 
S. 967, as amended, favorably reported.

           Committee Recommendations and Tabulation of Votes

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open 
business session on September 24, 1997, by a majority vote of a 
quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 967, if 
amended as described herein.
    The rollcall vote on reporting the measure was 12 yeas, 8 
nays, as follows:
        YEAS                          NAYS
Murkowski                           Bumpers
Domenici                            Ford
Nickles \1\                         Bingaman \1\
Craig                               Dorgan
Campbell                            Graham \1\
Thomas \1\                          Wyden \1\
Kyl                                 Johnson
Grams                               Landrieu
Smith
Gorton
Burns \1\
Akaka

    \1\ Voted by proxy.

                          Committee Amendments

    During the consideration of S. 967, the Committee adopted 
an amendment in the nature of a substitute offered by Senator 
Murkowski. The amendment made three minor changes to the bill 
as introduced. First, it mandates that training of federal 
employees should include ANCSA training as well as ANILCA 
training. Second, the substitute clarifies that Section 12 of 
the legislation refers to subsistence uses ``of fish'' in 
Glacier Bay, and not other uses such as game or timber 
harvesting. Finally, the amendment makes technical changes to 
Section 9, regarding Native Allotments, to reflect an agreement 
between the Alaska Federation of natives, the State of Alaska, 
and the Department of the Interior.

                      Section-by-Section Analysis

    Section 1 would amend ANILCA to extend the automatic land 
bank protections to land trades between village corporations, 
intra-regional corporation land trades and Native Corporation 
land trades with Federal or state governments.
    Sec. 2. Retained mineral estimate.--Section 2 would allow a 
Native Regional Corporation, Doyon Ltd., the option of 
obtaining the retained mineral estate of the Native Allotments 
that are totally surrounded by ANCSA 12(a) and 12(b) land 
selections of the village corporations. If Doyon exercises its 
rights gained through this amendment it must do so on a 
township-by-township basis. The subsurface estate obtained by 
Doyon under this authority will be charged against its total 
12(c) entitlements.
    Sec. 3. Clarification on treatment of bonds from a Native 
corporation.--This section amends section 1626(c)(B) of ANCSA 
to authorize Native Corporations to issue bonds or other debt 
instruments as a dividend for distribution to its shareholders. 
Such a bond would be a form of collateral (similar to U.S. 
Treasury Bonds or corporate sales or distribution of bonds).
    Sec. 4. Proposed amendment to Public Law 102-415.--This 
section proposes to correct an oversight in Section 20(f) of 
P.L. 102-415 regarding the subsurface estate entitlement due 
Cook Inlet Region, Inc. (CIRI). It directs that the subsurface 
of the Gold Creek Native Groups (GCNG) 14(h)(2) entitlements be 
fulfilled from the Talkeetna pool. This section clarifies that 
CIRI's subsurface estate is 3,520 acres, equaling GCNG's 
14(h)(2) surface entitlements.
    Sec. 5. Calista Corporation land exchange.--This section 
would direct the Secretary of the Interior to implement a land 
exchange authorized by section 8126 of P.L. 102-172 between 
Calista Corporation and a number of Village Corporations from 
the Yukon/Kuskokwim Delta without delay. This section also 
directs the Federal Government to ensure the value of the lands 
Calista is offering for exchange is determined in accordance to 
the Congressionally mandated values stated in this legislation.
    Sec. 6. Mining claims.--This section would amend section 
22(c) of ANCSA to include the Haida Corporation in the transfer 
of the administration of certain mining claims and clarifies 
that the subsurface estate obtained by the Haida Corporation is 
not subject to the 7(i) provisions of ANCSA.
    Sec. 7. Sale, disposition, or other use of common varieties 
of sand, gravel, stone, pumice, peat, clay or cinder 
resources.--This section amends section 7(i) of ANCSA such that 
revenues derived by the Regional Corporations from the sale, 
disposition, or other use of common sand, gravel, stone, 
pumice, peat, clay or cinder resources will not be subject to 
the sharing provisions of section 7(i) of ANCSA. The ownership 
of these resources shall not be affected by this legislation. 
This provision codifies an agreement that was reached between 
the ANCSA Regional Corporations in June of 1980 after years of 
litigation.
    Sec. 8. Establishment of additional Native corporations in 
southeast Alaska.--This section amends section 16 of ANCSA by 
authorizing the Native residents of the Native Villages of 
Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg and Wrangell, Alaska to organize 
as Urban ANCSA Corporations. Likewise, the Native residents of 
the Native Village of Tenakee, Alaska are authorized to 
organize as a Group ANCSA Corporation. By this action, Congress 
recognizes the Native residents of these villages are eligible 
to form ANCSA corporations. This section shall not affect the 
land entitlements of the existing ANCSA Corporations. This 
section further directs the Secretary of Agriculture, Sealaska 
Corporation and the Urban and Group Corporations established 
pursuant to this section, to report to Congress regarding lands 
and other appropriate compensation to be provided to these 
corporations. This section does not grant land entitlements to 
the above mentioned corporations unless further authorized by 
Congress. Additionally, this section will authorize planning 
grants of $250,000 to each of the Native Corporations for the 
communities of Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Tenakee and 
Wrangell. This section will not impact the 7(i) entitlement of 
the regional corporations.
    Sec. 9. Alaska Native allotment applications.--This section 
will amend section 905(a) of ANILCA such that the Native 
allotments that were protested by the State of Alaska will be 
considered legislatively approved pursuant to ANILCA in those 
instances where the State lifted its protest of the same. The 
intent of this section is to make sure that in those instances 
where the State of Alaska protested certain Native allotments 
but later lifted its protest, the affected Native allotments 
will be considered legislatively approved pursuant to section 
905 of ANILCA.
    Sec. 10. Visitor services.--Section 10 would allow the 
Secretary of the Interior the flexibility of working with 
affected Native Corporations rather than just one Native 
Corporation on the implementation of section 1307 of ANILCA for 
the contracting for visitor services, except sport fishing and 
hunting guiding activities, within any conservation unit. 
Currently, section 1307(b)(1) requires the Secretary of the 
Interior to give preference to the Native Corporation which the 
Secretary determines is not directly affected by the 
establishment or expansion of a conservation unit.
    Sec. 11. Amends section 101--Purposes.--This section would 
require that public land managers in Alaska or in a region 
containingAlaska take a training course in implementation 
prescriptions to ANCSA and ANILCA. Currently, public land managers in 
Alaska are not required to receive any formal training/education in the 
management prescriptions of ANILCA or ANCS upon being assigned to 
manage lands under the jurisdiction of these Acts.
    Sec. 12. Amends section 202--Subsistence fishing in Glacier 
Bay.--This section amends ANILCA to allow subsistence uses of 
fish by local residents in the park where such uses are 
traditional in accordance with the provisions of Title VIII of 
ANILCA.
    Sec. 13(1). Amends section 1105--Access rights.--One of the 
features of title XI and ANILCA was a provision that if a 
transportation or utility system application was denied, the 
Federal agency had to identify an economically feasible and 
prudent alternative route. The original language was unclear 
about the relative feasibility of the applied-for-route 
compared to the identified alternative route. This amendment 
changes section 1105 by adding a subsection (b) that specifies 
that any alternative route identified by the Federal Government 
must not be more costly than the initially proposed route. It 
is not the intent of this section that economic feasibility be 
the sole determining factor, however.
    Sec. 13(2). Amends section 1110(A)--Protection of 
traditional access.--This section changes the traditional 
access provision which would require that any closures or 
restrictions be limited to the smallest area practicable and to 
the smallest period of time necessary to conserve unit 
resources. This would ensure that the agencies can impose 
closures that may be needed but cannot extend restrictions 
beyond the areas affected by any imminent resource impact. In 
addition, the amendment requires formal consultation with the 
State of Alaska during the period when the Federal agency is 
considering imposing and access closure or limitation.
    Sec. 13(3). Amends section 1110(B)--Protection of inholder 
access.--The second half of section 1110--subsection (b)--
assures guaranteed access to land inholdings within the 
conservation system units. Congress made it clear that 
inholders were to be able to obtain permanent access rights 
that would include interests in land (see House Report No. 96-
97, Part I, pps. 239-240, April 18, 1997). However, as the 
provision has been administered, the Federal agencies are 
informing applicants that only limited term permits are 
available. The first amendment to section 1110(b) expressly 
provides that the ``rights'' which may be granted by this 
provision include easements, rights-of-way, or other 
appropriate interests in land.
    Sec. 13(4). Amends section 1110B)--Protection of inholder 
access.--The second addition to section 1110(b) relates to 
application fees. Land management agencies could effectively 
thwart the access grant to inholders by erecting insurmountable 
fee barriers. Consequently, the language provides that the 
agencies cannot impose unreasonable fees.
    Sec. 13(5). Amends section 1315--Wilderness management--
helicopters.--This section will allow the Secretary of 
Agriculture to permit helicopter use and landings in wilderness 
units of the National Forest System and directs him to allow 
such use and landings in emergency situations. Helicopter use 
has long been used in these units as well as other conservation 
units in Alaska, but recent attempts have been made to disallow 
them as a mode of traditional access. This provision would add 
that in some of the remote areas of Alaska use of helicopters 
in protected as a traditional use under ANILCA. The Secretary 
would retain authority to regulate their use under this 
provision.
    Sec. 14(1,2,3). Amends section 1303--Use of cabins.--In 
1980, Congress crafted a comprehensive compromise regarding 
cabins constructed on Federal lands. Simply stated, individuals 
could continue to use and occupy traditional use cabins if they 
were prepared to waive any and all claims to the underlying 
Federal lands. Sections 14(1),(2), and (3) provide that an 
applicant for a cabin permit may not be required to waive his 
or her ownership interests in a cabin or its contents.
    Sec. 14(4). Amends section 1303--Use of cabins.--A second 
change to section 1303 specifies that cabin permits issued by 
the Federal agencies must allow for repair, maintenance and 
replacement activities as well as alterations. The only basis 
for disallowing such activities is if they would significantly 
impair the purposes, or the resources, of the affected 
conservation unit.
    Sec. 14(5,6). Amends section 1316--Allowed uses.--Section 
1316 was added to ANILCA to ensure that traditional camps could 
continue to be operated in the newly established parks, 
preserves, refuges, wilderness areas, etc. The first change to 
section 1316 would allow tent platforms to remain over the 
winter months. The agencies have interpreted the word 
``temporary'' in the present section to mean that campsites 
must be dismantled every year. Many guides now are required to 
construct their wooden tent platforms in the spring, 
disassemble them in the fall, stack and store the lumber on 
site, and repeat the cycle the next year. Considering that most 
campsites are buried under substantial snow during the long 
arctic winter, it makes sense to amend the law to allow the 
platforms (which are generally one foot high) to remain in 
place buried under the snow over the winter months.
    A second amendment would permit the use of motorized and 
mechanical equipment such as that needed to operate a battery-
operated water pump. This section is into intended to increase 
the use of motorized vehicles in these units.
    Sec. 15. Report.--Section 15 addresses section 1308 of 
ANILCA, which authorizes the Secretary of the Interiorin 
limited circumstances to hire local people who do not completely 
qualify under certain job descriptions through appointments. A problem 
has arisen under this authority, in that when these people appointed 
through this process later acquire all the necessary skills, they are 
unable to become permanent employees of the Department of the Interior, 
with all the attendant benefits. This provision will direct the 
Secretary of the Interior to complete a report within nine months of 
enactment to address the recruitment process that may restrict 
employees hired under ANILCA Section 1308 from successfully obtaining 
positions in the competitive service.

                   Cost and Budgetary Considerations

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources requested a 
cost estimate from the Congressional Budget Office for S. 967. 
This estimate had not been received at the time the report on 
S. 967 was filed. When the estimate becomes available, the 
Chairman will request that it be printed in the Congressional 
Record for the advice of the Senate.

                      Regulatory Impact Evaluation

    In compliance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee makes the following 
evaluation of the regulatory impact which would be incurred in 
carrying out S. 967. The bill is not a regulatory measure in 
the sense of imposing Government-established standards or 
significant economic responsibilities on private individuals 
and businesses.
    No personal information would be collected in administering 
the program. Therefore, there would be no impact on personal 
privacy.
    Little, if any, additional paperwork would result from the 
enactment of S. 967, as ordered reported.

                        Executive Communications

    The pertinent legislative report received by the Committee 
from the Department of the Interior setting forth Executive 
agency recommendations relating to S. 967 is set forth below. 
Additionally, on, September 25, 1997, the Committee on Energy 
and Natural Resources requested legislative reports from the 
Department of Agriculture and the Office of Management and 
Budget setting forth Executive agency recommendations on S. 
967. These reports had not been received at the time the report 
on S. 967 was filed. When the reports become available, the 
Chairman will request that they be printed in the Congressional 
Record for the advice of the Senate. The testimony provided by 
the Department of the Interior at the Committee hearing 
follows:

                        Department of the Interior,
                                   Office of the Secretary,
                                Washington, DC, September 23, 1997.
Hon. Frank Murkowski,
Chairman, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: This follows up the July 29 testimony of 
the Department to you concerning S. 967.
    With respect to that testimony, there are three changes 
necessary to the appendix to the testimony we submitted at the 
hearing, based on discussions and agreements with interested 
parties that have occurred since the hearing. These revisions 
to our positions are recommended changes to the language of S. 
967 and will also be included in the Department's position to 
the House of Representatives on H.R. 2000. Because they are 
based on agreements with interested parties, we believe they 
will be agreeable to the Committee.
    With respect to section 2, Retained Mineral Estate, we have 
agreed with Doyon to further technical language changes 
reflected in attachment 1 to this letter.
    We have agreed to several changes with the Cook Inlet 
Region concerning section 4, which deals with the CIRI/Gold 
Creek Settlement. As indicated on attachment 2, our proposed 
amendment to section 4 of the bill, the last three lines of our 
original proposal are deleted, and new language has been 
substituted.
    In addition, we have reached a consensus with the AFN and 
the State of Alaska on some changes to our proposed amendatory 
language to section 9 of the bill, concerning section 905 of 
ANILCA. These changes are indicated on attachment 3.
    As you know, the House version of the bill, H.R. 2000, is 
similar, indeed identical to yours in many respects, except 
that it does not contain the four provisions (sections 8 and 
12-14) of the Senate bill to which we so strongly object. 
Without those provisions, we are very close to a bill that 
represents a consensus of the interested parties, an approach 
we have tried so hard to achieve in recent years with ANCSA 
legislation.
    The Office of Management and Budget advises that there is 
no objection to the presentation of this letter from the 
standpoint of the Administration's program.
            Sincerely,
                                    Sylvia V. Baca,
                                Deputy Assistant Secretary,
                                      Land and Minerals Management.
    Enclosure.

    Section 2. As this provision applies only to the Native 
Regional Corporation Doyon, Limited (Doyon), the following 
changes to the language, as agreed with Doyon, are recommended 
as an amendment to the language in S. 967 (changes in bold):

``SEC. 2. RETAINED MINERAL ESTATE.

    ``Section 12(c)(4) of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement 
Act (43 U.S.C. 1611(c)(4) is amended--
          ``(1) by redesignating subparagraphs (C) and (D) as 
        subparagraphs (E) and (F), respectively, and by 
        inserting after subparagraph (B) the following new 
        subparagraphs:
          `` `(C) Where such public lands [are] were withdrawn 
        pursuant to subsection 11(a)(1), and were not available 
        for selection according to paragraph (3) of this 
        subsection, but are [surrounded by or] contiguous to 
        subsurface lands obtained by Doyon, Limited, (Doyon) 
        from the United States, [under subsections (a) or (b), 
        the Corporation] Doyon may select, and upon request, 
        have such public land conveyed to it.
          `` `(D)(i) [A Regional Corporation which] If Doyon 
        elects to obtain public lands under subparagraph (C) it 
        shall be limited to a combined total of not more than 
        12,000 acres under subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C). 
        Selection by [a Regional Corporation] Doyon of in-lieu 
        surface acres under subparagraph (E) pursuant to an 
        election under subparagraph (C) shall not be made from 
        any lands within a conservation system unit (as that 
        term is defined by section 102(4) of the Alaska 
        National Interest Lands Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 
        3102(4)).
          `` `(ii) An election by Doyon to obtain the public 
        lands described in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) shall 
        include all available parcels within the township in 
        which the public lands are located and charged to its 
        12(c) entitlement, and
          [`` `(iii) For purposes of this subparagraph and 
        subparagraph (C), the term `Regional Corporation' shall 
        refer only to Doyon, Limited.'; and]
          ``(2) in subparagraph (E) (as so redesigned), by 
        striking `(A) or (B)' and inserting `(A), (B), or 
        (C)'.''
    Rationale:
    (1) In paragraph (C), the additional language is consistent 
with statutory amendments established by 1403 of ANILCA.
    (2) It is clearer to substitute ``Doyon, Limited'' for 
``regional corporation' rather than defining what that means.
    (3) In paragraph, (C), we propose deletion of the terms 
``surrounded by''. The proposal separates the terms 
``surrounded by'' and ``contiguous to'' by the word ``or''. 
These are disparate terms. The terms ``surrounded by'' is 
ambiguous and would require difficult interpretation as to how 
close or how far. The term contiguous is clear.
    (4) Paragraph (D) mentions 12,000 acres. The new words are 
added to clarify the intent of a combined total of 12,000 
acres.
    Section 4. CIRI and the Department have agreed to the 
following proposed language changes as an amendment to the 
language in S. 967 (changes in bold):
    ``(h) Establishment of the account under subsection (b) and 
conveyance of land under subsection (c), if any, shall be 
treated as though 3,520 acres of land had been conveyed to Gold 
Creek under section 14(h)(2) of the Alaska Native Claims 
Settlement Act for which rights to [in-lieu] subsurface estate 
are hereby provided to CIRI. Within one year from the date of 
enactment of this subsection, CIRI shall select 3,520 acres of 
land from the area designed for [in-lieu] selection by 
paragraph I.B.(2)(b) (Talkeetna Mountains) of the document 
identified in section 12(b) of the Act of January 2, 1976 (43 
U.S.C. 1611 note).
    ``Not more than five selections shall be made under this 
paragraph., and each tract shall be reasonably compact and in 
whole sections except as separated by unavailable lands and 
except where the remaining entitlement is less than a whole 
section.''
    Rationale:
          (a) ``One'' is spelled out;
          (b) The term Talkeenta Mountains clarifies what is 
        referenced in I.B.(2)(b) of the Terms and Conditions 
        document;
          (c) The second paragraph is language consistent with 
        14(h)(9), added by 1406 of ANILCA;
          (d) The term ``in-lieu'' is deleted because this is a 
        new entitlement, not in-lieu of a previous entitlement.
    Section 9. The wording below, agreed to by the AFN and the 
State, is offered as an amendment to the language in H.R. 2000. 
The language offers an alternative that (1) allows for 
legislative approval of Native allotment applications that were 
protested by the State of Alaska and the protests were later 
withdrawn, and (2) restores DOI jurisdiction, and thus 
prospectively restores BLM's authority to protect pre-existing 
access routes across applications that would be legislatively 
approved pursuant to this amendment. (Changes in bold).
    Proposed amendatory language:
    Section 905(a) of the Alaska National Interest Lands 
Conservation Act (43 U.S.C. 1634(a)) is amended by adding at 
the end the following:
          ``(7) Paragraph (1) of this subsection and section 
        (d) shall apply, and paragraph (5) of this subsection 
        shall cease to apply, to an application--
                  ``(A) that is open and pending on the date of 
                enactment of subsection (a)(7),
                  ``(B) if the lands described in the 
                application are in Federal ownership other than 
                as a result of reacquisition by the United 
                States after January 3, 1959, and
                  ``(C) if any protest which was filed by the 
                State of Alaska pursuant to subsection (5)(B) 
                with respect to the application is withdrawn or 
                dismissed either before or after the date of 
                enactment of subsection (a)(7).
                  ``(C) Any allotment application which is open 
                and pending and which is legislatively approved 
                by enactment of subsection (a)(7) shall, when 
                allotted, be made subject to any easement, 
                trail, or right-of-way in existence on the date 
                of the Native allotment applicant's 
                commencement of use and occupancy. The 
                jurisdiction of the Department is hereby 
                extended to make the factual determination 
                required by this subsection.''
    Note: the parties have agreed that the following sentence 
should be entered into the record as legislative history to 
reflect the intended meaning of the phrase ``open and 
pending'': ``The phrase `open and pending' means that the 
application has not been closed by a relinquishment, a final 
decision of rejection, or a conveyance.''
                                ------                                


 Statement of Deborah L. Williams, Special Assistant to the Secretary 
              for Alaska, U.S. Department of the Interior

    Mr. Chairman and members of the Committee, thank you for 
the opportunity to testify on S. 967, which would amend the 
Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) and the Alaska 
National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA).
    While there are a number of provisions in S. 967 with which 
we agree, there are also several provisions which we strongly 
oppose, and that would be grounds for the Secretary of the 
Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to recommend a veto 
if they remain in the bill. We could support a bill if certain 
important deletions and modifications were made.
    This Administration has worked closely with Congress over 
the past four years to develop and support needed and 
appropriate technical changes to ANCSA. A package of ANCSA 
technical amendments (Public Law 104-42) was signed by the 
President in 1995. Last year, H.R. 2505, which was supported in 
its final form by the Administration, passed the House but 
failed to pass the Senate. Many of the provisions of that bill 
are included in S. 967. As you know, we spent hundreds of hours 
during the last two years working with the AFN, the State and 
other interested parties to achieve that consensus-based ANCSA 
technical amendments package last year. If needed, we would 
gladly participate in further discussions with the parties and 
this Committee to achieve a consensus bill again.
    However, a number of the additional sections in S. 967 
propose amendments to ANILCA and ANCSA to which the 
Administration strongly objected in the last Congress. For 
instance, as you know, last year the Secretaries of Interior 
and Agriculture threatened to recommend a veto of the 
``landless Natives'' provisions proposed but not included in 
H.R. 2505 and now included as section 8 of S. 967. The same 
position and rationale applies this year.
    Last year, both Secretaries also threatened to recommend a 
veto of legislation (S. 1920), which would have upset ANILCA's 
balances between conservation and development, resource 
protection and resource use, and subsistence uses and 
recreational activities. Some of those provisions are included 
in S. 967. The Administration continues to believe that ANILCA 
provides the tools necessary for successful implementation 
without the proposed statutory changes. We believe we can 
resolve issues administratively working together with our 
Alaska land managers.
    Sections 1 through 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, and 15 are amendments to 
ANCSA and ANILCA which have been developed with the 
participation of the Department of the Interior, the Alaska 
Federation of Natives (AFN), the State of Alaska, and others. 
Most of these we support or do not oppose; we recommend some 
further revision of sections 4 and 9 and need further 
information on 5 before we can render a position. We strongly 
oppose Section 8 amending ANCSA, and several sections (12-14) 
amending ANILCA, which are unacceptable to the Administration.
    To facilitate presentation of our views and to reduce the 
length of my testimony we have provided you with a written 
Appendix to this prepared testimony. The Appendix presents more 
detailed section-by-section analysis and where appropriate, 
suggestions for revisions.
    The Administration supports Section 1 of S. 967, which 
provides land bank protection for lands received from certain 
Federal agencies, lands exchanged among Native Corporations, 
and actions by a trustee serving pursuant to agreement of 
Native Corporations.
    The Administration does not oppose Section 2, which allows 
Doyon, Limited (a Native Regional Corporation), to elect to 
take reserved minerals under small parcels patented to 
individuals under the public land laws, including the 1906 
Native Allotment Act, within lands conveyed to Doyon villages. 
The provision only affects Doyon. The Department of the 
Interior and Doyon have worked closely since the last Congress 
to achieve an acceptable revision to broader language in 
earlier bills which we did not support.
    Authority already exists for Doyon to elect conveyance of 
certain reserved mineral estate from small parcels located 
within lands conveyed to a Regional Corporation. This amendment 
would appropriately cap Doyon's elections within 12(a) and 
12(b) areas to 12,000 acres. There is not current acreage 
limitation on the number of acres elected from areas 
surrounding conveyances under Section 12(c). We concur in this 
proposal since it is generally in the Department's interest not 
to retain small isolated tracts of mineral estate.
    The Administration supports Section 3, which excludes cash 
dividends on bonds issued to shareholders by Native 
Corporations, from resources used for determining eligibility 
for entitlement programs such as food stamps or supplemental 
security income (SSI) benefits.
    The Administration does not oppose Section 4, which 
provides 3,520 acres of subsurface estate in the Talkeetna 
Mountains to meet selections of the Cook Inlet Region under 
this amendment and the Gold Creek settlement set forth under 
P.L. 102-415. However we have proposed some amendatory language 
which we believe is more correct.
    The Administration cannot take a position on Section 5 at 
this time due to lack of necessary information. Section 5 deals 
with the Calista Land Exchange established by P.L. 102-172 and 
will provide funds for the Calista Corporation to further the 
goals of the Corporation through the purchase of Native-owned 
subsurface and surface lands within the Yukon Delta National 
Wildlife Refuge boundaries in southwest Alaska. Additional 
information is necessary, to include maps and legal 
descriptions of lands or interests in lands being offered. We 
are continuing towork closely with Calista and to obtain 
additional information on this proposal as we speak, and we are hopeful 
that the mutually agreeable solution is close at hand.
    The Administration has no objection to Section 6, which 
gives certain Regional Corporation-level provisions to the 
Haida Village Corporation and the Haida Traditional Use Sites 
lands. We have worked with Haida to obtain an acceptable 
revision of language in earlier bills.
    The Administration has no objection to Section 7, since the 
issue of sharing revenue from the sale, disposition, or other 
use of common varieties of sand, gravel, stone, pumice, peat, 
clay, or cinder resources is internal to the Native 
Corporations.
    The Administration strongly opposes Section 8, which seeks 
to establish additional Native Corporations in Southeast 
Alaska. As we have firmly stated in the past, each of the five 
communities in Southeast Alaska listed in this amendment have 
been considered for village status during the formulation of 
ANCSA and none met the general statutory criteria for 
eligibility. Changing the criteria now will start a chain of 
future exceptions and the potential unraveling of the long 
settled Alaska Native claims. There are additional comments in 
the Appendix to this testimony, and we are also providing to 
the Committee copies of the joint letter of the Departments of 
Interior and Agriculture in July of 1996 to the Congress on 
this subject, threatening to recommend a veto of similar 
legislation in the last Congress. Both the Secretaries of 
Interior and Agriculture will continue to recommend veto of 
such a provision this year.
    The Administration supports the intent of Section 9, which 
amends ANILCA Section 905 by legislatively approving about 200 
native allotment applications (400 parcels) which had 
previously been protested by the State of Alaska and for which 
the State's protests were later withdrawn. We are offering some 
revised wording which we believe will facilitate legislative 
approval of allotment applications while appropriately 
protecting the State's prior existing rights.
    The Administration supports Section 10, which amends ANILCA 
Section 1307 by providing wider latitude in determining 
affected Native Corporations in the provision of visitor 
services on Conservation System Units (CSU's). This section 
sanctions regulatory changes made last fall by bureaus of the 
Department to improve opportunities for Native participation in 
providing concession services on CSUs.
    The Administration is opposed to Section 11, which 
legislates specific federal land manager training concerning 
ANILCA. As indicated in the Appendix, we are currently 
providing annual two-day training sessions on ANILCA, ANCSA, 
and the Statehood Act. We believe that training should be an 
administrative, not legislative, matter.
    The Administration strongly opposes Sections 12 through 14 
for the reasons known to this Committee and described in 
further depth in the Appendix to this testimony. Our strong 
opposition to these provisions was described in our testimony 
last year on S. 1920, in which we announced we would recommend 
a veto of such legislation if it passed the Congress. Sections 
12-14 are unnecessary and would disrupt the extraordinary 
balances achieved in ANILCA. ANILCA is an historic compromise, 
a milestone in conservation legislation which delicately 
balances competing interests such as conservation and 
development, resource protection and resource use, and 
subsistence uses and recreational activities.
    ANILCA puts in trust for future generations extraordinary 
features of America's last frontier, largely as additions to 
our National Parks, National Wildlife Refuges, National Wild 
and Scenic Rivers, National Forest, and National Wilderness 
Preservation systems. In the words of this Committee's 1979 
report, the conservation system units in Alaska protect, among 
other things, ``a full range of nature and history-- * * *, 
mighty landforms and entire ecosystems of naturally occurring * 
* * processes, intricate waterforms and spectacular shorelines, 
majestic peaks and gentle valleys, diverse plant communities 
and equally diverse fish and wildlife.''
    Heeding the advice of the 96th Congress, this 
Administration has continued to move forward with 
implementation of the existing law. Where controversy or 
conflict has arisen, we have tried to address the problems 
rationally and fairly. The Administration is committed to using 
the tools provided in ANILCA and working with all interested 
parties to solve problems and make progress with ANILCA's 
carefully structured balance.
    Sections 12-14 would subvert important purposes of ANILCA 
and would obstruct and further complicate viable management 
options which already exist.
    Section 12 provides for subsistence uses in the Glacier Bay 
National Park; uses which have not been authorized since the 
Park was established as a national monument more than 70 years 
ago. In the development of ANILCA, Congress specifically 
decided against allowing subsistence in the Glacier Bay 
National Park and the other ``old'' national park areas (e.g. 
Mt. McKinley and Katmai), while allowing subsistence in certain 
new parks. Although the Administration opposes the 
authorization of subsistence uses--including hunting, trapping, 
and timber harvesting--in Glacier Bay National Park, the 
Administration is working cooperatively with local residents to 
recognize and protect cultural and educational traditions.
    Section 13 amends a variety of access provisions in ANILCA 
in developing ANILCA, Congress carefully crafted provisions to 
govern the special circumstances of Alaska's large conservation 
system units concerning matters of transportation routes and 
methods, and access to inholdings. These provisions have 
protected the values and purposes of these areas while 
providing for appropriate access. Changes to these provisions 
will damage important land use values and are unwarranted for 
the many reasons further explained in the appendix.
    Section 14 inappropriately extends additional possessory 
interests to the owners of cabins or other structures in 
trespass, removes the need to dismantle seasonal structures, 
essentially making them permanent, and expands the use of 
mechanized vehicles on conservation system units, much to the 
detriment of the purposes of the units.
    Again, the Administration is strongly opposed to sections 
12-14. The Administration has no objection to the local hire 
report required by Section 15, In light of limited resources, 
18 months would be a more reasonable time to prepare such an 
in-depth report.
    Again, I thank the Committee for this opportunity to 
testify on S. 967. There is a strong tradition of initiating 
and passing consensus ANCSA technical amendment packages to 
meet specific needs. This process has worked for may years. 
This package contains a number of agreed provisions that will 
advance the public interest and were scheduled for passage last 
year. There are several other provisions on which we believe 
consensus can be readily achieved. It is unwise to subvert this 
consensus mechanism by burdening this legislation with 
controversial and unacceptable amendments. Continued inclusion 
of Sections 8, 12, 13 or 14 will cause the Secretaries of both 
the Interior and Agriculture to recommend a Presidential veto. 
Without them, we are very close to another consensus package. 
We look forward to working with you to achieve a bill we can 
all support.

Appendix to Statement of Deborah L. Williams, Special Assistant to the 
          Secretary of Alaska, U.S. Department of the Interior


                      section-by-section analysis


Section 1. Automatic land bank protection
(Amends ANILCA section 907--Alaska land bank)
    The Administration supports this section, which provides 
land bank protection for lands received from certain Federal 
agencies, lands exchanged among Native Corporations, and 
actions, by a trustee serving pursuant to agreement of Native 
Corporations.
Section 2. Retained mineral estate [Doyon]
(Amends ANCSA section 12--Native land selections)
    The Administration does not oppose Section 2 which allows 
Doyon, Limited (a Native Regional Corporation) to elect to take 
reserved minerals under small parcels patented to individuals 
under the public land laws, including the 1906 Native Allotment 
Act, within lands conveyed to Doyon villages. The provision 
only affect Doyon. The Department of the Interior and Doyon 
have worked closely since the last Congress to come up with an 
acceptable revision to broader language in earlier bills which 
we did not support.
    Authority already exists for Doyon to elect conveyance of 
certain reserved mineral estate from small parcels located 
within lands conveyed to a Regional Corporation. This amendment 
would appropriately cap Doyon's elections within 12(a) and 
12(b) areas to 12,000 acres. There is no current acreage 
limitation on the number of acres elected from areas 
surrounding conveyances under Section 12(c). We concur in this 
proposal since it is generally in the Department's interest not 
to retain small isolated tracts of mineral estate.
Section 3. Clarification on treatment of bonds from a native 
        corporation
(Amends ANCSA section 29--Relation to other programs)
    This section provides for the exclusion of the value of 
bonds issued by Native Corporations to shareholders, or income 
therefrom, in determining eligibility for food stamps or other 
federal entitlement programs such as supplemental security 
income. The Department supports this section.
Section 4. Amendment to Public Law 102-415
(Amends section 20 of the Alaska Land Status Technical Corrections Act 
        of 1992 [Gold Creek/CIRI])
    The Administration does not oppose this section. The 
language specifies that the Cook Inlet Region, Incorporation 
(CIRI) Native Regional Corporation will receive subsurface in 
the Talkeetna Mountains and not from the Kenai National 
Wildlife Refuge of the Gold Creek-Susitna, Inc. (Gold Creek ) 
settlement.
    This amendment appropriately specifies that section 
14(h)(2) entitlement will be charged. Consequently, there will 
be less entitlement for the other 11 regions under section 
14(h)(8) of ANCSA.
    The BLM recently completed a land status review and 
determined that adequate acreage in the Talkeetna Mountains is 
available for this action. The following language is offered to 
substitute for the language proposed in S. 967. The differences 
are shown in italic face type. The reason for the differences 
are:
          (a) ``one'' spelled out is more correct
          (b) the term Talkeetna Mountains clarifies what is 
        referenced in I.B.(2)(b) of the Terms and Conditions 
        document.
          (c) the second paragraph is language consistent with 
        14(h)(9), added by 1406 of ANILCA.
    Proposed Amendment:
    ``(h) Establishment of the account under subsection (b) and 
conveyance of land under subsection (c), if any, shall be 
treated as though 3,520 acres of land had been conveyed to Gold 
Creek under section 14(h)(2) of the Alaska Native Claims 
Settlement Act for which rights to in-lieu subsurface estate 
are hereby provided to CIRI. Within one year from the date of 
enactment of this subsection, CIRI shall select 3,520 acres of 
land from the area designated for in-lieu selection by 
paragraph I.B.(2)(b) (Talkeetna Mountains) of the document 
identified in section 12(b) of the Act of January 2, 1976 (43 
U.S.C. 1611 note).'.
    ``Selections made under this paragraph shall be in a single 
and reasonably compact tract except as separated by unavailable 
lands and shall be in whole sections except where the remaining 
entitlement is less than 640 acres.''
Section 5. Calista Corporation land exchange
(Amends section 8126 of Public Law 102-172)
    The Administration has no position on this section at this 
time. The amendment references the CCRD as the document 
describing the lands Calista is offering. The Department wants 
to clarify several matters; first, that the draft CCRD we now 
have is the final version.
    The Department needs additional information in order to 
assess fully the lands package. For example the Department does 
not have any language which describes the subsurface 
conservation easements which Calista proposes to convey. These 
new lands and interests were not included in the previously 
conducted appraisals for the exchange. The removal by Calista 
of the potentially gold bearing subsurface lands of the Tulusak 
River Drainage and substitution of other lands apparently 
decreases the value of the package to the United States. The 
FWS has not seen the terms of the offered conservation easement 
to know what resource protection interests are being offered in 
the easement. Also, the Department needs confirmation from the 
villages that they are in agreement with the CCRD Addendum.
    The amount of money Congress would be providing Calista, if 
based around the sum provided in paragraph 6 of the CCRD 
addendum, would include recognition of significant cultural, 
health and economic considerations set forth in the findings.
    Final comments on this proposal can only be made after 
verification of the information contained in this CCRD document 
and a review of the maps, legal descriptions and other 
information concerning the lands or interests in lands that are 
being offered. We may have further amendatory language to 
suggest to refine the proposal.
    The Department suggests a reasonable increment of time from 
filing of the final document i.e., ``6 months from the receipt 
of the final document by the DOI'' be substituted for the 
specific January 1, 1998 date. Likewise, other ``action'' dates 
in this amendment should be shown as an appropriate number of 
months after an action rather than specific calendar dates in 
the event that passage of this amendment is delayed.
    We are continuing to work closely with Calista on this 
proposal and we are hopeful that the solution is close at hand.
Section 6. Mining claims [Haida]
(Amends ANCSA section 22--Miscellaneous)
    The Administration has no objection to this proposed 
section which gives certain Regional Corporation-level 
provisions to Haida Corporation and the Haida Traditional Use 
Sites lands. The Department has worked with Haida to develop an 
acceptable revision to language in earlier bills which the 
Department opposed. Haida acquired subsurface rights in the 
lands at issue under earlier legislation; this is why Haida 
needs the same protections concerning mining claims as those 
provided to regional corporations under section 22(c) of ANCSA.
Section 7. Sale disposition, or other use of common varieties of sand, 
        gravel, stone, pumice, peat, clay, or cinder resources.
(Amends ANCSA section 7--Regional corporations)
    The Administration has no objection to this section which 
concerns not sharing revenue from certain Regional Corporation 
resources. This issue is internal to the Native Corporations.
Section 8. Establishment of additional native corporations in southeast 
        Alaska
(Amends ANCSA section 7--Regional corporations; Section 8--Village 
        corporations; and Section 16--The Tlingit-Haida settlement)
    The Administration strongly opposes this amendment. Each of 
the Native Villages of Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Wrangell, 
and Tenakee was considered during the formulation of ANCSA and 
found not eligible for village corporation status. These 
determinations were reviewed in 1994 by a congressionally-
funded study, by the University of Alaska Anchorage-Institute 
of Social and Economic Research (ISER).
    The enactment of this amendment would constitute a 
reopening of ANCSA by relaxing the well though-out eligibility 
requirements to receive village benefits, not only in southeast 
Alaska, but set a precedent for similar actions throughout the 
state. There is no equitable or legal justification for 
Congressional recognition of these communities in southeast 
Alaska, or elsewhere, as new corporations under ANCSA for some 
reasons such as the following:
    There is no inequity in ANCSA to redress. Each of the five 
communities was considered for village status during the 
formulation of ANCSA and none met the requisite statutory 
criteria for eligibility.
    Natives in the 5 communities are enrolled as ``at-large'' 
shareholders in the Sealaska Corporation. They have received 
fair and substantial financial benefits of the original ANCSA 
settlement.
    Recognition of the five communities in southeast Alaska 
would itself effect an inequity among other similar communities 
elsewhere in Alaska.
    Recognition of the five communities could reopen the entire 
settlement scheme of ANCSA and result in a never ending and 
unattainable effort to reach total equality of treatment among 
all Natives in all communities.
    Not withstanding the above, it is obvious that recognition 
would lead to increased national expense in the form of 
additional land entitlement, loss of revenue from federal 
property, or outright cash payments.
Section 9. Alaska Native allotment applications
(Amends ANILCA section 905--Alaska Native allotments)
    The Administration supports this amendment with some minor 
changes. The State of Alaska, since the last proposal (H.R. 
2505 of the 104th Congress), has told BLM they were unaware 
that when a parcel had been approved under the 1906 Native 
Allotment Act rules (including reserving a granted right-of-
way), and was also deemed legislatively approved under Section 
905 of ANILCA, that BLM could not make the allotment subject to 
the granted right-of-way. Case law from the IBLA holds that BLM 
loses jurisdiction to adjudicate the allotment (including 
reserving ROWs) when legislative approval occurred.
    The wording below is offered as an amendment to the 
language introduced in S. 967. The language offers an 
alternative that (1) allows for legislative approval of Native 
allotment applications that were protested by the State of 
Alaska later withdrawn, and (2) prospectively restores BLM's 
authority to protect pre-existing access routes across 
applications that would be legislatively approved pursuant to 
this amendment. The differences from the language in the 
current S. 967 are in italic-face type.
    Proposed amendment language:
          Section 905(a) of the Alaska National Interest Lands 
        Conservation Act (43 U.S.C. 1634(a)) is amended by 
        adding at the end the following:
          ``(7) Paragraph (1) of this subsection and section 
        (d) shall apply, and paragraph (5) of this subsection 
        shall cease to apply, to an application--
                  ``(A) this is open and pending and not 
                previously approved, either legislatively or 
                administratively, on the date of enactment of 
                subsection (a)(7), 
                  ``(B) if the lands described in the 
                application are in Federal ownership other than 
                as a result of reacquisition by the United 
                States after January 3, 1959, and
                  ``(C) if any protest which was filed by the 
                State of Alaska pursuant to subsection (5)(B) 
                with respect to the application is withdrawn or 
                dismissed either before or after the date of 
                enactment of subsection (a)(7).
                  ``(D) Any allotment application which is open 
                and pending and not previously approved, either 
                legislatively or administratively, and which is 
                legislatively approved by enactment of 
                subsection (a)(7) shall, when allotted, be made 
                subject to any easement or right of way in 
                existence on the date of the Native allotment 
                applicant's commencement of use and occupancy. 
                The United States will not be required to 
                determine the validity of any right of way 
                claimed under Revised Statue 2477.''
Section 10. Visitor services
(Amends ANILCA section 1307--Revenue producing visitor services)
    The Administration supports this proposed section which 
provides wider latitude in determining affected Native 
Corporations. Bureaus of the DOI issued regulations last fall 
that provided for this important change, which will now be 
legislatively sanctioned. The bureaus are actively seeking 
Native Corporation participation in providing concession 
services on Conservation System Units as opportunities arise. 
This amendment will allow participation of a larger number of 
corporations, leading to increased employment opportunities for 
Alaska Natives and expansion of local economies.
Section 11. Training of Federal Managers
(Amends ANILCA section 101--Purposes)
    The Administration opposes this amendment. While we agree 
that managers should be well versed in ANILCA, we believe that 
training should be an administrative, not a legislative, 
matter. Legislation is an inflexible and inappropriate way to 
outline the specifics of federal land mangers' training.
    Moreover, this legislation is unnecessary. In the past 2 
years, the Department has expanded its ANILCA training programs 
as well as its commitment to providing appropriate training 
early in an employee's Alaska experience. For example, two-day 
ANILCA training sessions were presented in January and November 
1996, and will continue to be offered annually. The Department 
produced an 80-minute training videotape, and is now requiring 
DOI managers, new to Alaska, to view this videotape shortly 
after they arrive on duty. Informational videos and a video-
based study package are in production for utilization between 
the more formally structured annual classes. Furthermore, the 
Department presented in October 1996 a comprehensive two-day 
training program on the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act 
(ANCSA) and the Alaska Statehood Act, which was taped and will 
also be required for viewing by DOI managers and employees new 
to Alaska. The next two-day ANILCA training is scheduled for 
November 18-19, 1997; the next two-day ANCSA class with the 
Alaska Statehood Act is scheduled for October 28-29, 1997.
    Section 11 contains terms whose meaning is unclear, 
including ``all Federal public land managers in Alaska.'' That 
term would presumably include representatives of any Federal 
agency in Alaska, such as Interior, Agriculture, Defense, FEMA, 
FAA, Coast Guard, and others.
    The Department is committed to providing excellent and 
timely training on ANILCA, ANCSA, and the Statehood Act to its 
managers in Alaska, and other agencies should be permitted to 
assess their own needs for training. Legislation on this issue 
is neither necessary nor appropriate.
Section 12. Subsistence uses in Glacier Bay National Park
(Amends ANILCA section 202--Additional to existing areas)
    The Administration strongly opposes this amendment. As 
written, the proposal would amend ANILCA Section 202(1) and 
allow subsistence uses by local residents in Glacier Bay 
National park pursuant to Title VIII of ANILCA. This would 
potentially allow in the park: timber harvest, hunting and 
trapping of wildlife, the collection of animal and vegetal 
materials, the use of nets, fish wheels, and other means of 
catching fish in both fresh and marine waters, and the 
establishment of camps. With few exceptions (e.g., seal hunting 
after World War II and the ample and diverse fishing 
opportunities that continue today), such consumptive uses have 
not been authorized in Glacier Bay National Park since 
designation as a monument more than seventy years ago. While 
specifically authorizing the opportunity for subsistence uses 
by local residents in several park areas in ANILCA, Congress 
decided against authorizing subsistence in Glacier Bay National 
Park. Finally, this amendment is likely to be counterproductive 
to the Department's current efforts to develop measures that 
accommodate administratively--under existing Federal and State 
law--the cultural concerns of local Native interests in Glacier 
Bay national Park. This same amendment was opposed last year by 
the Hoonah Indian Association because it was found to be overly 
broad in scope and could be inclusive of people with no 
traditional or cultural ties to the Park for use of natural 
resources.
Section 13. Access rights
(Amends ANILCA sections 1105, 1110 and 1315)
            Section 13(1) amends ANILCA Section 1105--Standards for 
                    granting certain authorizations
    The Administration strongly opposes this amendment which 
would establish economics as the sole determinative factor to 
be applied when ascertaining whether there is an ``economically 
feasible and prudent alternative route'' to a transportation or 
utility system (TUS) across a conservation system unit. This 
amendment would require that a transportation or utility system 
(e.g., highway, pipeline, railroad, airport) go through the 
conservation system unit if the alternative outside route were 
to any degree less economically feasible and prudent. Thus, 
this amendment would essentially reverse ANILCA's current 
preference for routing transportation and utility systems 
outside conservation system units if possible, and if not, for 
selecting an alternative route and method which would result in 
fewer or less severe impacts. See ANILCA Sec. 1104(g)(2)(B).
    Significantly, all the diverse parties involved in the 
Title XI litigation (Trustees for Alaska v. Dept. of the 
Interior, 9th Cir. 93-35493) have consented to a revision in 
the Department's existing regulatory definition of the term 
``economically and feasible alternative route'' that is 
essentially at odds with this proposed section. (This proposed 
revision is the only change of the 1986 Title XI regulations 
that all the parties support.) The revision would more likely 
facilitate decisions consistent with ANILCA's preference for 
routing a transportation or utility system outside a 
conservation system unit.
            Section 13(2) amends ANILCA section 1110(a)--Special access
    The Administration strongly opposes this amendment which 
would impose several restrictions on the Secretary's ability to 
protect the purposes and values of conservation system units in 
Alaska.
    ANILCA Sec. 1110(a) currently allows certain modes of 
transportation, which Congress judged less environmentally 
harmful than other modes, to be used in conservation system 
units for traditional activities and travel to and from 
homesites and villages. ANILCA Sec. 1110(a) also authorizes the 
imposition of closures to such uses, following compliance with 
procedures that assure notice and hearing in the affected area 
and a determination that the transportation uses would be 
detrimental to the conservation system unit's resource values. 
Thus, ANILCA struck a careful balance that allows traditional 
transportation uses, protects the conservation system units, 
and assures local process for decision-making. In fact, the 
land-managing agencies have used the Section 1110(a) closure 
authority sparingly. Moreover, the recent comprehensive review 
of the 1986 Title XI regulations, conducted in consultation 
with a broad spectrum of interested Alaskan parties, resulted 
in no revisions to the ANILCA Sec. 1110(a) provisions.
    This amendment would further condition the reasons for, 
scope of, and procedures prerequisite to a closure under ANILCA 
Sec. 1110(a), interfering with sound resource management and 
raising ambiguities and opportunities for litigation. The 
proviso concerning ``preexisting use'' is unnecessary, since 
the recently reaffirmed Title XI regulations do not require 
such a demonstration. On the other hand, this proviso could 
prove unduly restrictive, since some consideration of generally 
occurring prior uses could be helpful in determining the 
meaning of ``traditional activities'' under ANILCA 
Sec. 1110(a). See Sen. Rept. No. 413, 96th Cong., 1st Sess. at 
248. The proviso concerning ``smallest area practicable'' and 
``smallest period of time'' is unwarranted, lacking any 
compelling need for these restrictions. In addition, it is our 
opinion that these terms would invite costly litigation. 
Finally, the requirement for prior consultation with the State 
of Alaska is unnecessary, since the land-managing agencies--in 
addition to carrying out the notice and hearing requirements 
set forth in ANILCA Sec. 1110(a) and the Department's 
implementing regulations--routinely consult with the State 
before implementing access closures. Indeed, existing laws, 
regulations, memoranda of agreement, and policies already 
ensure coordination or consultation with the State prior to 
implementing any closure of Federal public lands to the modes 
of transportation covered by ANILCA Sec. 1110(a).
            Section 13(3) amends ANILCA section 1110(b)--Access to 
                    inholdings
    The Department strongly opposes this amendment. Since the 
Department already interprets ANILCA Sec. 1110(b) as 
guaranteeing adequate and feasible access to inholdings for 
economic and other purposes, it is unclear why this amendment 
is necessary or even what it would do. The language gives rise 
to more questions than answers. The ANILCA Sec. 1110(b) 
provisions have been carefully reviewed over the last three 
years, culminating in the reaffirmation of the 1986 regulations 
interpreting and implementing this section, without objection 
from any of the diverse parties who have been involved in the 
major litigation concerning this and other provisions of Title 
XI.
            Section 13(4) further amends ANILCA section 1110(b)
    The Administration strongly opposes this amendment which 
prohibits the Secretary from imposing unreasonable fees or 
charges, and exempts inholders under this section from the 
requirements of Sections 1104, 1105, 1106 and 1107. The 
direction to the Secretary that he cannot impose ``any 
unreasonable fees or charges'' is unnecessary, since the 
Secretary's action is subject to the rule of reason. This 
amendment would serve only to encourage litigation concerning 
the meaning of ``unreasonable.'' The Department must generally 
charge for use of lands and recover the costs of processing 
applications for rights of way. Charges are based on the fair 
market value of specific uses granted to the applicant and the 
cost to process applications.
    With respect to the applicability of Sections 1104, 1105, 
1106, and 1107, persons seeking access to their inholdings are 
not subject to the transportation and utility system approval 
standards set forth in these sections since adequate and 
feasible access to inholdings is guaranteed under Section 
1110(b).
    Nevertheless, if a transportation or utility system is 
required as part of the adequate and feasible access guaranteed 
by Section 1110(b), certain information requirements and 
analysis developed as part of Standard Form 299 for 
transportation and utility systems under Section 1104 through 
1107 may be necessary for reaching the required determinations 
under Section 1110(b). These determinations include identifying 
the method and route of access that constitutes adequate and 
feasible access to inholdings, and specifying any reasonable 
regulations necessary to protect the natural and other values 
of the potentially affected conservation system units.
            Section 13(5) amends ANILCA section 1315--Wilderness 
                    management
    The Administration strongly opposes this amendment, which 
would create a new exception to wilderness management in Alaska 
by authorizing the Secretary of Agriculture to generally permit 
helicopter use and landings in Alaska units of the National 
Wilderness Preservation System. In section 1110(a) of ANILCA, 
Congress specifically allows ``airplanes,'' but not 
helicopters, in Alaska wilderness areas. The Wilderness Act 
generally prohibits aircraft use in wilderness areas but 
contains certain specific, limited exceptions to the 
prohibition on use of aircraft, including helicopters, in 
appropriate circumstances. All of the land managing agencies in 
Alaska have prohibited general helicopter use in wilderness 
areas consistent with the ANILCA and the Wilderness Act.
    We are very concerned about the adverse precedent this 
amendment will set in the management of the National Wilderness 
Preservation System. This amendment is contrary to the intent 
of Congress in establishing wilderness areas, to be managed by 
the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior, 
to maintain the natural and primeval character of wilderness, 
as well as maintain opportunities for primitive recreation. 
This amendment would jeopardize these goals.
Section 14. Use of cabins and allowed uses
(Amends ANILCA Section 1303--Use of cabins and other sites of occupancy 
        on conservation system units, and Section 1316--Allowed uses)
            Sections 14 (1)-(4) amend ANILCA section 1303
    The Administration strongly opposes these amendments to 
ANILCA Sec. 1303, based on the considerations of fairness that 
support Section 1303's existing provisions.
    With respect to sections 14(1) and 14(2), in accordance 
with ANILCA Sec. 1303, the builders of trespass cabins on 
public land before 1973 have been given five-year renewable 
permits to allow the continued use of these structures on 
public land. The deal struck in ANILCA was to allow the 
continued use of these cabins as part of the ``Alaska 
lifestyle,'' but to terminate private, exclusive use when the 
original family stopped using the cabin. Permits were non-
transferable for this very reason. ANILCA's fair compromise 
contemplated the eventual conversion of appropriate trespass 
cabins to public use. Accordingly, ANILCA provided that when 
the cabins were vacated, ownership would remain with the 
government. Consistent with existing law, all applicants agreed 
to vacate the structure when the permit expired. This agreement 
was required by Section 1303 and occurred when the application 
for the permit was made. The application process concluded long 
ago.
    The proposed amendments could create expectations in permit 
holders that they have a compensable and perpetual interest in 
the trespass cabins. In addition, the proposed amendments could 
delay conversion to public use facilities of those cabins 
already abandoned by the original applicants, and could hinder 
the land-managing agencies' ability to remove dilapidated 
structures in the interest of public safety.
    The portion of Section 14(4) that would authorize 
alterations to cabins is unnecessary and potentially contrary 
to the public interest. We support the continuation of the 
``bush'' lifestyle, including minor alterations to trespass 
cabins, but the eventual public conversion or removal of these 
structures from public lands was an essential part of the deal 
struck in ANILCA. This amendment could allow the ``bush cabin'' 
to be converted into a commercial lodge or other uses that have 
no traditional or appropriate relationship to the conservation 
unit. Evaluating whether an alteration to a cabin constitutes a 
``significant impairment'' to the park's purpose would likely 
be a costly and time-consuming effort.
            Sections 14(5) and (6) amend ANILCA section 1316--Allowed 
                    uses
    The Administration strongly opposes these amendments. This 
proposal would add the phrase ``including motorized and 
mechanical equipment'' to describe the equipment allowed as 
directly and necessarily related to the taking of fish and 
wildlife. The proposed change is not needed; moreover, the 
language could be misinterpreted to suggest that motorized and 
mechanized equipment shall routinely be allowed in all 
conservation system units. The existing language of ANILCA 
Sec. 1316 already allows motorized and mechanized equipment in 
some management categories of conservation system units. Use of 
certain motorized and mechanical equipment, however, is 
constrained with respect to national wilderness areas by the 
Wilderness Act. The Department believes that it was Congress' 
intent to limit the use of motorized and mechanical equipment 
in designated wilderness areas, except to the extent that 
ANILCA established special exemptions for Alaska. For example, 
these carefully considered exemptions include an express 
authorization for use of airplanes, snowmobiles, and motorboats 
as set forth in ANICLA Sec. 1110(a). Indeed, this proposal 
could be construed by some to authorize the use of motorized 
vehicles other than airplanes, snowmobiles and motorboats, such 
as all terrain vehicles, which have far greater potential for 
permanent resource damage in Arctic and Subarctic regions. For 
all these reasons, this proposal would upset ANILCA's wise 
balance, to the significant detriment of wilderness values in 
Alaska.
    Currently the bureaus authorize the use of temporary 
facilities through the commercial and recreation permitting 
process. Use permits issued to guides and outfitters for 
hunting or fishing camps, generally require the permittee to 
dismantle the temporary facility at the end of the field 
season, and either cache the materials (often on site) for use 
next year, or remove the materials. The reasons for this 
requirement include: (a) so bears or other animals do not 
destroy the structures during the winter months; (b) to secure 
the materials from vandals or theft; and (c) to prevent 
permanent camps from being created at the discretion of the 
permittee. In our experience, the permittees often remove their 
materials from the site to secure them. In bush Alaska, where 
milled lumber and other camping material are at a low premium 
and expensive, many permittees choose to remove the material 
from the site so they have them in the spring. The authorized 
officer often permits structures to remain if there are no 
other problems, but the discretion should remain with the land 
manager, not with the permittee. The amendment could be 
interpreted to limit that discretion.
Section 15. Report
(Amends ANILCA section 1308--Local hire)
    The Department has no objection to the preparation of this 
report concerning local hire, except that 18 months would be a 
more reasonable time to prepare such an in-depth report. For 
clarity of purpose, we suggest renaming the title of this 
section to read ``LOCAL HIRE REPORT''.
                                ------                                

                        Department of the Interior,
                                   Office of the Secretary,
                                     Washington, DC, July 24, 1996.
Hon. Don Young,
Chairman, Committee on Resources,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: In testimony delivered at a hearing 
before the House Resources Committee on June 11, 1996, on H.R. 
2505, the Department of the Interior testified that the 
Secretaries of both Agriculture and Interior would recommend a 
Presidential veto of any legislation containing a ``Landless 
Natives'' proposal such as that formerly contained in S. 2539 
in the 103rd Congress. We reiterate this position with respect 
to any so-called ``landless'' Natives legislation which would 
either recognize additional Native corporations in Alaska or 
provide a premise for the conveyance of additional Federal 
lands or money in furtherance of such new corporations under 
the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA).
    We are concerned that such a proposal might be appended to 
the so-called ``Presidio'' legislation, containing numerous 
land use measures, or to other legislation, now being 
considered by the Congress.
    There is no equitable or legal justification for 
Congressional recognition of ``landless'' Natives in southeast 
Alaska or elsewhere as new corporations under ANCSA. We 
conclude this because:
    There is no inequity in ANCSA to redress. Each of the five 
communities of Ketchikan, Petersburg, Wrangell, Tenakee Springs 
and Haines was considered for village status during the 
formulation of ANCSA and none met the general statutory 
criteria for eligibility.
    Natives in the five ``landless'' communities are enrolled 
as ``at-large'' shareholders in Sealaska Corporation, have 
received fair and substantial equitable benefits of the 
original ANCSA settlement, and the dividends received by these 
at-large shareholders substantially exceed those paid by the 
regional corporations to village shareholders.
    There are no ``landless'' Natives in southeast Alaska since 
all Natives have a beneficial interest in lands owned by 
Sealaska, including surface and subsurface estates.
    Recognition of the five ``landless'' communities in 
southeast Alaska would itself effect an inequity among other 
``landless'' communities elsewhere in Alaska.
    Recognition of the five ``landless'' communities could 
reopen the entire settlement scheme of ANCSA and result in a 
never-ending, extremely costly, and unattainable effort to 
effect total equality of treatment among all Natives in all 
communities.
    These conclusions are not ameliorated by legislative 
proposals which would merely recognize the creation of the five 
corporations without addressing their ultimate entitlement to 
land. One proposal would amend section 14(h) of ANCSA by merely 
allowing Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg and Wrangell to organize 
as urban corporations and allowing Tenakee to organize as a 
group corporation. Creation of such shell corporations with no 
assets merely sets the stage for their potential insolvency and 
later demands that the Federal Government provide them with a 
land base and other assets.
    In 1993, Congress authorized the Secretary of the Interior 
to conduct a study of the entitlements of Natives in southeast 
Alaska with particular respect to Native populations in the 
communities of Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Wrangell and 
Tenakee. The study subsequently prepared by the Institute of 
Social and Economic Research of the University of Alaska was 
inconclusive on the issue of equitable treatment. While the 
named five communities may not have received land, their 
treatment was like that of many other communities elsewhere in 
Alaska. Further, the study did not consider adequately the 
actual distribution of regional stock dividends to ``landless'' 
Natives.
    ANCSA effected a final settlement of the aboriginal claims 
of Native Americans in Alaska through payment of over $900 
million and conveyances of 40 million acres of Federal land. 
Although it was impossible for Congress to have effected total 
parity among all villages in the state, there was a distinction 
made in ANCSA between the villages in the southeast and those 
located elsewhere. All recognized southeast villages had the 
opportunity to select timbered land, the value of which far 
exceeded the foreseeable values in the surface estate available 
to villages in the other eleven regions of Alaska. In addition, 
Natives in the southeast had received payments from the United 
States for the taking of their aboriginal lands. For these 
reasons, ANCSA specifically named the ten villages that were to 
be recognized in the southeast as opposed to subjecting the 
villages to a determination by the Secretary of the Interior of 
their eligibility prior to the receipt of any lands.
    The proposed five ``landless'' communities meet none of the 
criteria for corporate recognition, that is, having a majority 
Native population, and not being modern or urban in character. 
None of the five has a Native majority and four out of the five 
are modern and urban in character. Tenakee has no actual Native 
residents and the enrollees only represent seven percent of the 
population of the community. Three of the communities appealed 
their status through the administrative processes prescribed by 
the Secretary of the Interior and were denied. Recognition of 
any of these five communities would substantially lower the 
standards set out in ANCSA for village recognition with 
implications elsewhere.
    There are many ``landless' villages in Alaska which do not 
meet the Act's criteria for eligibility to select land. In 
section 11(b)(1) of ANCSA, Congress listed more than two 
hundred villages which were presumed to be eligible villages 
unless the Secretary of the Interior determined otherwise under 
criteria set out in section 11(b)(2). Under section 11(b)(3), 
communities not named in section 11(b)(1) were provided with 
the opportunity to petition for an eligibility determination, 
but were presumed ineligible unless the Secretary found them 
eligible. Twenty-three named villages were found ineligible, 
and a number of unnamed villages could not prove their 
eligibility.
    Once recognition of heretofore ineligible communities in 
the southeast is commenced, pressure will mount for similar 
treatment by other communities. For example, Anchorage and 
Fairbanks have larger Native enrollments than any of the 
communities now seeking recognition. There is no land available 
in either of those communities for granting a new corporation a 
land base.
    An ANCSA is currently structured, recognition of the five 
communities as villages, urban or group corporations could also 
have a substantial impact on section 14(h)(8) entitlements of 
all twelve regional corporations. The land conveyed to urban 
and group corporations must be subtracted from the amount of 
land divided among the twelve regional corporations under 
section 14(h)(8). Consequently, the amount of land held by the 
regional corporations as a land-base for economic development 
and benefit to all the stockholders of the regional corporation 
will be reduced. Two of the regional corporations, Cook Inlet 
Region, Inc. (CIRI) and Chugach Alaska Corporation, have 
settled with the Department in agreements ratified by the 
Congress for their section 14(h)(8) entitlements by receiving 
specified quantities of land in particular places. Therefore, 
the burden of the reduction will be borne by the remaining ten 
regions.
    Additionally, we have also seen proposals which would 
recognize these communities as villages. If this approach is 
taken, the amount of land available for distribution under 
section 12(c) would be substantially reduced.
    Some ``landless'' legislative proposals would exempt 
existing entitlements of regional corporations under section 
14(h)(8). The result of such an exemption would be to 
substantially raise the cost of the overall ANCSA settlement 
beyond the original settlement package of 40 million acres. We 
oppose more public land being used to increase the size of the 
original settlement.
    It is unclear how various recognition proposals would be 
affected by State selections. When ANCSA was originally passed, 
the State of Alaska and Congress knew that many villages would 
be without a land base unless lands selected by the State were 
made available for selection by the new village corporations. 
If landless Natives are provided land on a statewide bases, 
this cooperation will again become necessary. However, because 
the period of State selection is over, the State of Alaska may 
be unable or unwilling to cooperate with a new round of 
selections by newly created Native corporations.
    Notwithstanding the ineligibility of some communities for 
corporate status under ANCSA, all Natives receive benefits from 
the ANCSA settlement. Natives enrolled in eligible village 
communities received one hundred shares of regional corporation 
stock, and one hundred shares in the village corporation 
organized for their community. Natives not enrolled in a 
village or a group are ``at-large'' stockholders in the 
regional corporation.
    The regional corporations were instructed on how to divide 
any dividends they would declare. Natives who are members of 
villages are sent regional dividends for fifty percent of the 
per capita share of dividends to be divided. The other half of 
the dividend is sent to the village corporation. The village 
corporation subtracts part of the per capita dividend to be 
used for running the village corporation, and then declares a 
dividend on the remainder of the money received from the 
region.
    Individual Natives who are enrolled in communities that 
were not eligible to the village corporations receive one 
hundred percent of the per capita dividend declared by the 
regional corporation. As a result, ``landless'' Natives receive 
much larger dividends than Natives enrolled in villages. No 
realistic assessment of true equity among affected Natives can 
be made without consideration of the distribution of regional 
dividends, a subject not adequately considered in the Landless 
Native Study. The extra benefits received over the last twenty-
five years by at-large stockholders compared to those received 
by village stockholders is a factor heretofore not considered 
in this debate.
    Were additional corporations recognized by Congress, equity 
with other regional shareholders should require the potential 
members of those corporations to turn back their ``at-large'' 
stock in exchange for stock in the new corporations. Since this 
would have a substantial impact on the family economy of at-
large stockholders, we believe that these people should be 
given time to consider these impacts before Congress considers 
any action to recognize new corporations and before these 
Natives are forced into a new corporate alliance.
    Some current proposals which would allow the members of 
newly created corporations to continue to receive distributions 
as ``at-large'' shareholders create inequities among 
shareholders. Members of the new communities would get all the 
benefits of ``at-large'' membership, including receiving one 
hundred percent of per capita dividends, in addition to the 
potential benefits afforded as stockholders in land based 
Native corporations, thus creating new inequities.
    No additional corporate recognitions should occur because 
of the substantial unknown land and fiscal liabilities which 
would be created by this new round of corporate recognitions. 
Every regional corporation has ``at-large'' stockholders who 
are ``landless'' Natives, and even if Congress recognizes the 
five communities in the southeast, Sealaska Corporation will 
continue to have ``landless'' at-large stockholders. Therefore, 
recognition of these five communities will become a precedent 
for other unrecognized communities in all twelve regions all 
demanding recognition along with more land and financial 
resources.
    The recognition of additional Native corporations under the 
landless Natives rationale will also have substantial and 
unacceptable fiscal impacts on the Federal budget. Unlike 
village corporations, urban and group corporations are 
subjected to additional financial stresses because those 
corporations do not receive a share of regional dividends. All 
stockholders of urban and group corporations retain their 
status as at-large regional stockholders. It has been up to the 
Congress to infuse these financially strapped corporations with 
``start up'' money, but these infusions have been insufficient 
to prevent the corporations from entering into hasty financial 
arrangements.
    A subject unrelated to ANCSA concerns legislative proposals 
which would not only recognize Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg, 
and Wrangell as urban corporations, and Tenakee as a group 
corporation, but would also give these communities and Sealaska 
the power to make recommendations for the Tongass Land 
Management Plan. Under the National Forest Management Act, 
affected state and local governments, Indian tribes and native 
corporations, and the public are consulted in the preparation 
of land and resource management plans for the National Forests. 
All have a voice and an opinion which the Forest Service must 
consider, but none have deference over others. In southeast 
Alaska, the five communities and Sealaska already have a voice 
in the land management planning process. The Secretary of 
Agriculture advises that any legislation proposing to give 
outside parties power independently to impose recommendations 
on the Tongass Land Management Plan will subvert the land 
management planning process, delay adoption of the plan, and 
further unsettle the economy and stability of southeast Alaska.
    In summary, efforts to reopen ANCSA settlements under the 
guise of equity will be costly to the American public and 
unsettling to public and private land allocations in Alaska. 
The proposed recognition of landless Native corporations will 
upset the entire settlement regime of ANCSA which has been so 
carefully and laboriously implemented over the last two 
decades. Recognition would not redress inequities but result in 
new ones among Native shareholders and among groups, villages 
and communities throughout Alaska.
    The Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture will 
recommend that the President not approve any legislation 
recognizing so-called landless Native corporations, or which 
grant Native corporations authority to impose recommendations 
on the Tongass Land Management Plan.
    The Office of Management and Budget advises that the 
presentation of this report is in accord with the 
Administration's program.
            Sincerely,
                                   Sylvia V. Baca,
                                           Acting Assistant Secretary, 
                                               Department of the 
                                               Interior.
                                   James Lyon,
                                           Under Secretary, Department 
                                               of Agriculture.

                             MINORITY VIEWS

    I voted against reporting S. 967 because it contains 
several provisions which are very controversial and, in my 
view, not in the public interest. At the same time, there are 
other parts of the bill that are not objectionable and should 
be enacted. Many of the bill's provisions making changes to the 
Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act fall into this category. In 
fact, during the Committee business meeting, I proposed that 
these relatively non-controversial provisions be considered 
separately and reported unanimously. Unfortunately, my proposal 
was not agreed to and all these proposals remain linked 
together.
    I am particularly concerned about the following provisions.

                            landless natives

    This provision would establish 5 new Native Corporations in 
Southeast Alaska. The Native residents of Haines, Ketchikan, 
Petersburg and Wrangell would be allowed to organize as Urban 
Corporations while the village of Tenakee would be authorized 
to organize as a Group corporation.
    The bill is silent concerning what lands or other 
compensation these village corporations would receive as a 
result of their designation as Native corporations under ANSCA. 
Instead, the bill sets up a process whereby, not later than 
December 31, 1998, the Secretary of the Interior is to make 
recommendations concerning what compensation he thinks is 
appropriate. The bill also states that there is no entitlement 
to any federal lands for these new corporations without further 
congressional action. However, once these new corporations are 
recognized under ANSCA, there is no question that they will 
expect to be compensated in some fashion at some point in the 
future.
    The Administration and others strongly oppose this 
provision. The Interior Department opposes it because of fears 
that it will re-open the entire settlement scheme of ANSCA and 
will be a precedent for other villages in southeast Alaska or 
elsewhere to seek legislative recognition of new corporations 
and the subsequent expectations of land or other compensation.
    The Department also does not believe that there is any 
inequity in ANSCA to redress. These villages were not included 
in ANSCA in 1971 because they did not meet the requirements of 
the Act, namely that the village not be of a modern and urban 
character and that a majority of the residents be Natives. 
Others oppose the provision because of fears that the Natives 
will ultimately receive lands in the Tongass National Forest 
and will harvest the timber to raise revenue for the corporate 
shareholders. This is certainly what many other Native 
corporations in southeast Alaska have done with the lands they 
received under ANSCA.
    The fact that the bill does not immediately convey lands 
really begs the question. Once the corporations are recognized 
under ANSCA they are entitled to compensation. It will be up to 
another Congress to decide what that compensation will be, but 
the enactment of this provision will all but guarantee that 
compensation will be forthcoming.

                          amendments to anilca

    In addition to the ANSCA amendments, S. 967 includes 
several proposed changes to the Alaska National Interest Lands 
Conservation Act (ANILCA). Passed in 1980, ANILCA set aside 
over 100 million acres of parks wilderness areas, wildlife 
refuges and other protected lands in Alaska. Because of the 
sweeping scope of the bill and the grand scale of Alaska, the 
bill also included numerous special management provisions 
concerning access, the use of motorized equipment such as 
airplanes and snowmobiles, the use of cabins and other allowed 
uses.
    The proponents of this legislation argue that the law is 
not being interpreted correctly by the current Administration 
and that some ``technical'' amendments are necessary. Several 
of the amendments, such as the one requiring federal land 
management personnel to undergo special training before working 
in Alaska, are not necessary but, neither are they highly 
objectionable. Other amendments, however, are not ``technical'' 
and would make many significant changes in the existing law.
    For example, the language in section 13(1) would establish 
economics as the sole determinative factor to be applied when 
ascertaining whether there is an ``economically feasible and 
prudent alternative route'' to a transportation or utility 
system across a conservation system unit. This amendment would 
require that a highway or pipeline, for example, go through a 
conservation system unit if the alternative route outside the 
unit were to any degree less economically feasible.
    This amendment would essentially reverse ANILCA's current 
preference for routing transportation and utility systems 
outside conservation units if possible, and if not, for 
selecting an alternative route and method which would result 
fewer or less severe impacts.
    Another proposed change would create a new exception to 
wilderness management in Alaska (and perhaps prospectively to 
other states as well) by authorizing the Secretary of 
Agriculture to generally permit helicopter use and landings in 
national forest wilderness areas and national forest monuments 
designated in ANILCA and any subsequent Act. The Secretary is 
required to allow such use and landings in ``emergency'' 
situations.
    Giving the Secretary of Agriculture the discretion to 
permit the use of helicopters in wilderness areas in some 
situations, and requiring him to do so in others, is a major 
policy issue * * * not a technical amendment to ANILCA.
    Still another provision of S. 967 would significantly 
expand the provisions in ANILCA relating to trespass cabins 
located in units of the national park system in Alaska. The 
bill would allow significant expansion of these cabins beyond 
what was contemplated in the 1980 Act. It would also create the 
expectation that the permit holders who occupy these cabins 
have a compensable and perpetual interest in these trespass 
cabins which is not the case.
    Taken together, these and other provisions of S. 967 would 
make significant substantive changes to the Alaska Lands Act 
that would significantly weaken the protections for the federal 
lands originally agreed to by Congress when the bill was 
enacted.

                                                    Dale Bumpers.  

                        Changes in Existing Law

    In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by 
the bill S. 967, as ordered, are shown as follows (existing law 
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new 
matter is printed in italic, existing law in which no change is 
proposed is shown in roman):

                  ALASKA NATIVE CLAIMS SETTLEMENT ACT

                           Public Law 92-203

                        (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.)

Sec. 7. Regional Corporations

          * * * * * * *
    (i)(l) [Seventy per centum] (A) Except as provided by 
subparagraph (B), seventy percent of all revenues received by 
each Regional Corporation from the timber resources and 
subsurface estate patented to it pursuant to this chapter shall 
be divided annually by the Regional Corporation among all 
twelve Regional Corporations organized pursuant to this section 
according to the number of Natives enrolled in each region 
pursuant to section 5. The provisions of this subsection shall 
not apply to the thirteenth Regional Corporation it organized 
pursuant to subsection (c) hereof.
    (B) In the case of sale, disposition, or other use of 
common varieties of sand, gravel, stone, pumice, peat, clay, or 
cinder resources made after the date of enactment of this 
subparagraph, the revenues received by a Regional Corporation 
shall not be subject to division under subparagraph (A). 
Nothing in this subparagraph is entended to or shall be 
construed to alter the ownership of such sand, gravel, stone, 
pumice, peat, clay, or cinder resources.
    (2) For purposes of this subsection, the term ``revenues'' 
does not include any benefit received or realized for the use 
of losses incurred or credits earned by a Regional Corporation.
    (j) During the five years following December 18, 1971, not 
less than 10% of all corporate funds received by each of the 
twelve Regional Corporations under section 6 (Alaska Native 
Fund), and under subsection (i) (revenues from the timber 
resources and subsurface estate patented to it pursuant to this 
chapter), and all other net income, shall be distributed among 
the stockholders of the twelve Regional Corporations. Not less 
than 45% of funds from such sources during the first five-year 
period, and 50% thereafter, shall be distributed among the 
Village Corporations in the region and the class of 
stockholders who are not residents of those villages, as 
provided in subsection to it. In the case of the thirteenth 
Regional Corporation, if organized, not less than 50% of all 
corporate funds received under section 6 shall be distributed 
to the stockholders. Native members of the communities of 
Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Tenakee, and Wrangell who become 
shareholders in an Urban or Group Corporation for such a 
community shall continue to be eligible to receive 
distributions under this subsection as at-large shareholders of 
Sealaska Corporation.
          * * * * * * *
    (r) No provision of Section 8 of the 1997 Act amending the 
Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act and the Alaska National 
Interest Lands Conservation Act to benefit Alaska natives and 
rural residents, and for other purposes, shall affect the ratio 
for determination of distribution of revenues among Native 
Corporations under this section of the Act and the 1982 Section 
7(i) Settlement Agreement among the Regional Corporations or 
among Village Corporations under section 7(j) of the Act.

Sec. 8. Village Corporations

          * * * * * * *
    (c) The provisions of subsections (g), (h) (other than 
paragraph (4)), and (o) of section 5 shall apply in all 
respects to Village Corporations, Urban Corporations, and Group 
Corporations.
    (d) Enrollment in the Additional Corporations in Southeast 
Alaska.--
          (1) The Secretary shall enroll to each of the Urban 
        Corporations for Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg, or 
        Wrangell those individual Natives who enrolled under 
        this Act to Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg, or Wrangell, 
        and shall enroll to the Group Corporation for Tenakee 
        those individual Natives who enrolled under this Act to 
        Tenakee: Provided, That nothing in this subsection 
        shall affect existing entitlement to land of any 
        Regional Corporation pursuant to section 12(b) or 
        section 14(h)(8) of this Act.
          (2) Those Natives who, pursuant to paragraph (1), are 
        enrolled to an Urban Corporation for Haines, Ketchikan, 
        Petersburg, or Wrangell, or to a Group Corporation for 
        Tenakee, and who were enrolled as shareholders of the 
        Regional Corporation for southeast Alaska on or before 
        March 30, 1973, shall receive 100 shares of Settlement 
        Common Stock in such Urban or Group Corporation.
          (3) A Native who has received shares of stock in the 
        Regional Corporation for southeast Alaska through 
        inheritance from a decedent Native who originally 
        enrolled to Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Tenakee, or 
        Wrangell, which decedent Native was not a shareholder 
        in a Village, Group or Urban Corporation, shall receive 
        the identical number of shares of Settlement Common 
        Stock in the Urban Corporation for Haines, Ketchikan, 
        Petersburg, or Wrangell, or in the Group Corporation 
        for Tenakee, as the number of shares inherited by that 
        Native from the decedent Native who would have been 
        eligible to be enrolled to such Urban or Group 
        Corporation
          * * * * * * *

Sec. 12. Native land selections

          * * * * * * *
    (c) The difference between thirty-eight million acres and 
the 22 million acres selected by Village Corporations pursuant 
to subsections (a) and (b) of this section shall be allocated 
among the eleven Regional Corporations (which excludes the 
Regional Corporation for southeastern Alaska) as follows:
          * * * * * * *
          (4) Where the public lands consist only of the 
        mineral estate, or portion thereof, which is reserved 
        by the United States upon patent of the balance of the 
        estate under one of the public land laws, other than 
        this chapter, the Regional Corporations may select as 
        follows:
          * * * * * * *
                  (C) Where such public lands are surrounded by 
                or contiguous to subsurface lands obtained by a 
                Regional Corporation under subsections (a) or 
                (b), the Corporation may, upon request, have 
                such public land conveyed to it.
                  (D)(i) A Regional Corporation which elects to 
                obtain public lands under subparagraph (C) 
                shall be limited to a total of not more than 
                12,000 acres. Selection by a Regional 
                Corporation of in lieu surface acres under 
                subparagraph (E) pursuant to an election under 
                subparagraph (C) shall not be made from any 
                lands within a conservation system unit (as 
                that term is defined by section 102(4) of the 
                Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act 
                (16 U.S.C. 3102(4)).
                  (ii) An election to obtain the public lands 
                described in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) 
                shall include all available parcels within the 
                township in which the public lands are located.
                  (iii) For purposes of this subparagraph and 
                subparagraph (C), the term `Regional 
                Corporation' shall refer only to Doyon, 
                Limited.
                  [(C)] (E) Where the Regional Corporation 
                elects to obtain such public lands under 
                subparagraph [(A) or (B)] (A), (B), or (C) of 
                this paragraph, it may select, within ninety 
                days of receipt of notice from the Secretary, 
                the surface estate in an equal acreage from 
                other public lands withdrawn by the Secretary 
                for that purpose. Such selections shall be in 
                units no small than a whole section, except 
                where the remaining entitlement is less than 
                six hundred and forty acres, or where an entire 
                section is not available. Where possible, 
                selections shall be of lands from which the 
                subsurface estate was selected by that Regional 
                Corporation pursuant to subsection (a)(1) of 
                this section 14(h)(9) of this title, and, where 
                possible, all selections made under this 
                section shall be contiguous to lands already 
                selected by the Regional Corporation or a 
                Village Corporation. The Secretary is 
                authorized, as necessary, to withdraw up to two 
                times the acreage entitlement of the in lieu 
                surface estate from vacant, unappropriated, and 
                unreserved public lands from which the Regional 
                Corporation may select such in lieu surface 
                estate except that the Secretary may withdraw 
                public lands which had been previously 
                withdrawn pursuant to subsection 17(d)(1).
                  [(D)] (F) No mineral estate or in lieu 
                surface estate shall be available for 
selectionwithin the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska or within 
Wildlife Refuges as the boundaries of those refuges exist on December 
18, 1971.

Sec. 16. Withdrawal and selection of public lands; funds in lieu of 
                    acreage

          * * * * * * *
    (e)(1) The Native residents of each of the Native villages 
of Haines, Kechikan, Petersburg, and Wrangell, Alaska, may 
organize as an Urban Corporation.
    (2) The Native residents of the Native Village of Tenakee, 
Alaska, may organize as a Group Corporation.
    (3) Nothing in this subsection shall affect any existing 
entitlement to land of any Native Corporation pursuant to this 
Act or any other provision of law.

Sec. 22. Miscellaneous Provisions

          * * * * * * *
    (c)(3) this section shall apply to lands conveyed by 
interim conveyance or patent to a [regional corporation] 
Regional Corporation pursuant to this chapter which are made 
subject to a mining claim or claims located under the general 
mining laws, including lands conveyed prior to November 2, 
1995. Effective November 2, 1995, the Secretary, acting through 
the Bureau of Land Management and in a manner consistent with 
section 14(g), shall transfer to the [regional corporation] 
Regional Corporation administration of all mining claims 
determined to be entirely within lands conveyed to that 
corporation. Any person holding such mining claim or claims 
shall meet such requirements of the general mining laws and 
section 1744 of this title, except that any filings that would 
have been made with the Bureau of Land Management if the lands 
were within Federal ownership shall be timely made with the 
appropriate [regional corporation] Regional Corporation. The 
validity of any such mining claim or claims may be contested by 
the [regional corporation] Regional Corporation, in place of 
the United States. All contest proceedings and appeals by the 
mining claimants of adverse decisions made by the [regional 
corporation] Regional Corporation  shall be brought in Federal 
District Court for the District of Alaska. Neither the United 
States nor any Federal agency or official shall be named or 
joined as a party in such proceedings or appeals. All revenues 
from such mining claims received after November 2, 1995 shall 
be remitted to the [regional corporation] Regional Corporation 
subject to distribution pursuant to section 7(i) of this Act, 
except that in the event that the mining claim or claims are 
not totally within the lands conveyed to the [regional 
corporation] Regional Corporation. the [regional corporation] 
Regional Corporation shall be entitled only to that proportion 
of revenues, other than administrative fees, reasonably 
allocated to the portion of the mining claim so conveyed. The 
provisions of this section shall apply to Haida Corporation and 
the Haida Traditional Use Sites, which shall be treated as a 
Regional Corporation for the purposes of this paragraph, except 
that any revenues remitted to Haida Corporation under this 
section shall not be subject to distribution pursuant to 
section 7(i) of this Act.

Sec. 29. Relation to other programs

          * * * * * * *
    (c) In determining the eleigiblity of a household, and 
indivual Native, or a descendant of a Native (as defined in 
section 3(r) of this title) to--
          (1) participate in the Food Stamp Program,
          (2) receive aid, assistance or benefits, based on 
        need, under the Social Security Act, or
          (3) receive financial assistance or benefits, based 
        on need, under any other Federal program or federally-
        assisted program,
none of the following received from a Native Corporation, shall 
be considered or taken into account as an asset or resource:
          (A) cash (including cash dividends on stock received 
        from a Native Corporation and on bonds received from a 
        Native Corpoartion) to the extent that it does not, in 
        the aggregate, exceed $2,000 per individual per annum;
          (B) stock (including stock issued or distributed by a 
        Native Corporation as a dividend or distribution on 
        stock) or bonds issued by a Native Corporation which 
        Bonds shall be subject to the protection of section 
        7(h) until voluntarily and expressly sold or pledged by 
        the shareholder subsequent to the date of distribution;
          (C) a partnership interest;
          (D) land or an interest in land (including land or an 
        interest in land received from a Native Corporation as 
        a dividend or distribution on stock); and
          (E) an interest in a settlement trust.

            ALASKA NATIONAL INTEREST LANDS CONSERVATION ACT

                           Public Law 96-487

Sec. 101. Congressional statement of purpose

          * * * * * * *
    (e) In order to comply with this Act all federal public 
land managers in Alaska, or a region that includes Alaska, 
shall participate in an ANILCA and ANCSA training class to be 
completed within 120 days after enactment. All future appointed 
federal public land managers in Alaska, or a region containing 
Alaska, are required to complete the aforementioned training 
within 60 days of appointment.

Sec. 202. Additions to existing areas

    The following units of the National Park System are hereby 
expanded:
          (1) Glacier Bay National Monument, by addition of an 
        area containing approximately five hundred and twenty-
        three thousand acres of Federal land. Approximately 
        fifty-seven thousand acres of additional public land is 
        hereby established as Glacier Bay National Preserve, 
        both as generally depicted on map numbered GLBA-90,004, 
        and dated October 1978; furthermore, the monument is 
        hereby redesignated as ``Glacier Bay National Park''. 
        The monument addition and preserve shall be managed for 
        the following purposes, among others; To protect a 
        segment of the Alsek River, fish and wildlife habitats 
        and migration routes, and a portion of the Fairweather 
        Range including the northwest slope of Mount 
        Fairweather. Lands, waters, and interests therein 
        within the boundary of the park and preserve which were 
        within the boundary of any national forest are hereby 
        excluded from such national forest and the boundary of 
        such national forest is hereby revised accordingly. 
        Subsistence uses of fish by local residents shall be 
        permitted in the park where such uses are traditional 
        in accordance with the provisions of Title VIII.

Sec. 905. Alaska Native allotments

          * * * * * * *
    (a)(7) Paragraph (1) of this subsection and section (d) 
shall apply, and paragraph (5) of this subsection shall cease 
to apply, to an application--
          (A) that is open and pending on the date of enactment 
        of subsection (a)(7),
          (B) if the lands described in the application are in 
        Federal ownership other than as a result of 
        reacquisition by the United States after January 3, 
        1959, and
          (C) if any protest which was filed by the State of 
        Alaska pursuant to subsection (5)(b) with respect to 
        the application is withdrawn or dismissed whether 
        before or after the date of enactment of subsection 
        (a)(7).
          (D) any allotment application which is open and 
        pending and which is legislatively approved by 
        enactment of subsection (a)(7) shall, when allotted, be 
        subject to any easement, trail or right-of-way in 
        existence on the date of the Native allotment 
        applicant's actual commencement of use and occupancy. 
        The jurisdiction of the Department is hereby extended 
        to make the factual determination required by this 
        subsection.

Sec. 907. Alaska Land Bank

          * * * * * * *
    (d)(1)(A) Notwithstanding any other provision of law or 
doctrine of equity, all land and interests in land in Alaska 
conveyed by the Federal Government pursuant to the Alaska 
Native Claims Settlement Act to a Native individual or Native 
Corporation or subsequently reconveyed by a Native Corporation 
pursuant to section 39 of that Act to a Settlement Trust or 
conveyed to a Native Corporation pursuant to an exchange 
authorized by section 22(f) of Alaska Native Claims Settlement 
Act or section 1302(h) of this Act or other applicable law 
shall be exempt, so long as such land and interest are not 
developed or leased or sold to third parties from--
          * * * * * * *
    (B) Except as otherwise provide specifically provided, the 
exemptions described in subparagraph (A) shall apply to any 
claim or judgment existing on or arising after February 3, 
1988.
    (2) Definitions.--
          * * * * * * *
    (B) For purposes of this subsection--
          (i) land shall not be considered developed solely as 
        a result of--
                  (I) the construction, installation, or 
                placement upon such land of any structure, 
                fixture, device, or other improvement intended 
                to enable, assist, or otherwise further 
                subsistence uses or other customary or 
                traditional uses of such land, or
                  (II) the receipt of fees related to hunting, 
                fishing, and guiding activities conducted on 
                such land;
          (ii) land upon which timber resources are being 
        harvested shall be considered developed only during the 
        period of such harvest and only to the extent that such 
        land is integrally related to the timber harvesting 
        operation; [and]
          (iii) land subdivided by a State or local platting 
        authority on the basis of a subdivision plat submitted 
        by the holder of the land or its agent, shall be 
        considered developed on the date an approved 
        subdivision plat is recorded by such holder or agent 
        unless the subdivided property is a remainder 
        parcel[.]; and
        (iv) lands or interest in lands shall not be considered 
        developed or leased or sold to a third party as a 
        result of an exchange or conveyance of such land or 
        interest in land between or among Native Corporations 
        and trusts partnerships, corporations, or joint 
        ventures, whose beneficiaries, partners, shareholders, 
        or joint venturers are Native Corporations.
          * * * * * * *
    (3)(B) The prohibitions of subparagraph (A) shall not 
apply--
          (i) when the actions of such trustee, receiver, or 
        custodian are the purposes of exploration or pursuant 
        to a judgment in law or in equity (or arbitration 
        award) arising out of any claim made pursuant to 
        section 7(i) or section 14(c) of the Alaska Native 
        Claims Settlement Act; [or]
          (ii) to any land, or interest in land, which has 
        been--
                  (I) developed or leased prior to the vesting 
                of the trustee, receiver, or custodian with the 
                right, title, or interest of the Native 
                Corporation; or
                  (II) expressly pledged as security for any 
                loan or expressly committed to any commercial 
                transaction in a valid agreement[.]; or
          (iii) to actions by any trustee whose right, title, 
        or interest in land or interests in land arises 
        pursuant to an agreement between or among Native 
        Corporations and trusts, partnerships, or joint 
        ventures whose beneficiaries, partners, shareholders, 
        or joint venturers are Native Corporations.

Sec. 1105. Standards for granting certain authorizations

    (a) In any case in which there is no applicable law with 
respect to a transportation or utility system, the head of the 
Federal agency concerned shall, within four months after the 
date of filing of any final Environmental Impact Statement, 
make recommendations, for purposes of section 1106(b) of this 
title, to grant such authorizations as may be necessary to 
establish such system, in whole or in part, within the 
conservation system unit concerned if he determines that--
          (1) such system would be compatible with the purposes 
        for which the unit was established; and
          (2) there is no economically feasible and prudent 
        alternative route for the system.
    (b) Any alternative route that may be identified by the 
head of the Federal agency shall not be less economically 
feasible and prudent than the route for the system being sought 
by the applicant.

Sec. 1110. Special access and access to inholdings

    (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act or 
other law, the Secretary shall permit, on conservation system 
units, national recreation areas, and national conservation 
areas, and those public lands designated as wilderness study, 
the use of snowmachines (during periods of adequate snow cover, 
or frozen river conditions in the case of wild and scenic 
rivers), motorboats, airplanes, and nonmotorized surface 
transportation methods for traditional activities (where such 
activities are permitted by this Act or other law) and for 
travel to and from villages and homesites. Such use shall be 
subject to reasonable regulations by the Secretary to protect 
the natural and other values of the conservation system units, 
national recreation areas, and national conservation areas, and 
shall not be prohibited unless, after notice and hearing in the 
vicinity of the affected unit or area the Secretary finds that 
such use would be detrimental to the resource values of the 
unit or [area] area: Provided, That reasonable regulations 
shall not include any requirements for the demonstration of 
pre-existing use and Provided further, that the Secretary shall 
limit any prohibitions to be smallest area practicable, to the 
smallest period of time or both. No prohibition shall occur 
prior to formal consultation with the State of Alaska. Nothing 
in this section shall be construed as prohibiting the use of 
other methods of transportation for such travel and activities 
on conservation system lands where such use is permitted by 
this Act or other law.
    (b) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Act or 
other law, in any case in which State owned or privately owned 
land, including subsurface rights of such owners underlying 
public lands, or a valid mining claim or other valid occupancy 
is within or is effectively surrounded by one or more 
conservation system units, national recreation areas, national 
conservation areas, or those public lands designated as 
wilderness study, the State or private owner or occupier shall 
be given by the Secretary such rights as may be necessary to 
assure adequate and feasible access for economic and other 
purposes to the concerned land by such State or private owner 
or occupier successors in interest. Such rights may include 
easements, right-of-way, or other interests in land or permits 
and shall be subject to reasonable regulations issued by the 
Secretary to protect the natural and other values of such 
[lands] lands: Provided, That the Secretary shall not impose 
any unreasonable fees or charges on those seeking to secure 
their rights under this subsection. Individuals or entities 
possessing rights under this subsection shall not be subject to 
the requirement of sections 1104, 1105, 1106 and 1107 herein.

Sec. 1303. Use of cabins and other sites of occupancy on conservation 
                    system units

    (a)(1) On public lands within the boundaries of any unit of 
the National Park System created or enlarged by this Act, 
cabins or other structures existing prior to December 18, 1973, 
may be occupied and used by the claimant to these structures 
pursuant to a renewable, nontransferable permit. Such use and 
occupancy shall be for terms of five years each Provided, That 
the claimant of the structure by application:
          * * * * * * *
          (D) Acknowledges in the permit that the applicant has 
        no interest in the real property on which the cabin or 
        structure is [located] located, Provided, That the 
        applicant may not be required to waive, forfeit, or 
        relinquish, its possessory or personalty interests in a 
        cabin or structure.
    (2) On public lands within the boundaries of any unit of 
the National Park System created or enlarged by this Act, 
cabins or other structures, the occupancy or use of which 
commenced between December 18, 1973, and December 1, 1978, may 
be used and occupied by the claimant of such structure pursuant 
to a nontransferable, nonrenewable permit. Such use and 
occupancy shall be for a maximum term of one year Provided, 
however, That the claimant, by application:
          * * * * * * *
          (D) Acknowledges in the permit that the applicant has 
        no legal interest in the real property on which the 
        cabin or structure is [located] located, Provided That 
        the applicant may not be required to waive, forfeit, or 
        relinquish its possessory or personalty interests in a 
        cabin or structure.
          * * * * * * *
    (b) The following conditions shall apply regarding the 
construction, use and occupancy of cabins and related 
structures on Federal lands within conservation system units or 
areas not provided for in subsection (a) of this section:
          * * * * * * *
          (3) No special use permit shall be issued under 
        paragraphs (1) or (2) of this subsection unless the 
        permit applicant:
          * * * * * * *
                  (D) Acknowledges in the permit application 
                that the applicant has no interest in a real 
                property on which the cabin or structure is 
                [located] located, Provided, That the applicant 
                may not be required to waive, forfeit, or 
                relinquish its possessory or personalty 
                interests in a cabin structure, or will be 
                constructed.
          * * * * * * *
    (e) All permits, permit renewals, or renewal or 
continuation of valid leases issued pursuant to this section 
shall provide for repair, maintenance, and replacement 
activities and may authorize alterations to cabins and similar 
structure that do not constitute a significant impairment of 
unit purposes.

Sec. 1307. Revenue-producing visitor services

          * * * * * * *
    (b) Preference.--Notwithstanding provisions of law other 
than those contained in subsection (a) of this section, in 
selecting persons to provide (and in contracting for the 
provisions of ) any type of visitor service for any 
conservation system unit, except sport fishing and hunting 
guiding activities, the Secretary--
          (1) shall give preference to the [Native Corporation] 
        Native Corporations which the Secretary determines [is 
        most directly affected] are most directly affected by 
        the establishment or expansion of such unit by or under 
        the provisions of this Act;
          * * * * * * *

Sec. 1315. Wilderness management

          * * * * * * *
    (g) Within National Forest Wilderness Areas and National 
Forest Monument areas as designated in this and subsequent 
Acts, the Secretary of Agriculture may permit or otherwise 
regulate helicopter use and landings, except that he shall 
allow for helicopter use and landings in emergency situations 
where human life or health are in danger.

Sec. 1316. Allowed uses

    (a) On all public lands where the taking of fish and 
wildlife is permitted in accordance with the provisions of this 
Act or other applicable State and Federal law the Secretary 
shall permit, subject to reasonable regulation to insure 
compatibility, the continuance of existing uses, and the future 
establishment, and use, of temporary campsites, tent platforms, 
shelters, and other temporary facilities and [equipment] 
equipment, including motorized and mechanical equipment, 
directly and necessarily related to such activities. Such 
facilities and equipment shall be constructed, used, and 
maintained in a manner consistent with the protection of the 
area in which they are located. All new facilities shall be 
constructed of materials which blend with, and are compatible 
with, the immediately surrounding landscape. Upon termination 
of such activities and uses (but not upon regular or seasonal 
cessation), such structures or facilities shall, upon written 
request, be removed from the area by the [permittee.] 
permittee: Provided structures and facilities may be allowed to 
stand from season to season.

          ALASKA LAND STATUS TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS ACT OF 1992

                           Public Law 102-415

SEC. 20. GOLD CREEK SUSITNA ASSOCIATION, INCORPORATED ACCOUNT

          * * * * * * *
    (g) Treatment of Amounts From Account.--(1) The Secretary 
of the Treasury shall deem as cash receipts any amount tendered 
from the account established pursuant to subsection (b) and 
received by agencies as proceeds from a public sale of 
property, and shall make any transfers necessary to allow an 
agency to use the proceeds in the event an agency is authorized 
by law to use the proceeds for a specific purpose.
    (2)(A) Subject to subparagraph (B), the Secretary of the 
Treasury and the heads of agencies shall administer sales 
pursuant to this section in the same manner as is provided for 
any other Alaska Native corporation authorized by law as of the 
date of enactment of this section (including the use of similar 
accounts for bidding on and purchasing property sold for public 
sale).
    (B) Amounts in an account created for the benefit of a 
specific Alaska Native corporation may not be used to satisfy 
the property purchase obligations of any other Alaska Native 
corporation.
    (h) Establishment of the account under subsection (b) and 
conveyance of land under subsection (c), if any, shall be 
treated as though 3,520 acres of land had been conveyed to Gold 
Creek under section 14(h)(2) of the Alaska Native Claims 
Settlement Act for which rights to in-lieu subsurface estate 
are hereby provided to CIRI. Within 1 year from the date of 
enactment of this subsection, CIRI shall select 3,520 acres of 
land from the area designated for in-lieu selection by 
paragraph I.B.(2)(b) of the document identified in section 
12(b) of the Act of January 2, 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1611 note).