109th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 6337
To provide equitable treatment for the people of the Village Corporation
established for the Native Village of Saxman, Alaska, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
November 15, 2006
Mr. YOUNG of Alaska introduced the following bill; which was referred to
the Committee on Resources
A BILL
To provide equitable treatment for the people of the Village Corporation
established for the Native Village of Saxman, Alaska, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. FINDINGS.
(1) the Cape Fox Corporation (referred to in this Act as `Cape Fox') is
a Village Corporation for the Native Village of Saxman, Alaska, organized
pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et
seq.);
(2) similar to other Village Corporations in southeast Alaska, under section
16 of that Act (43 U.S.C. 1615), Cape Fox could select only 23,040 acres
from land withdrawn for the purpose of that selection;
(3) under section 22(l) of that Act (43 U.S.C. 1621(l))--
(A) the Village Corporations in southeast Alaska, other than Cape Fox,
were restricted with respect to the selection of land within 2 miles
of a home rule city (as that term is used in that Act); and
(B) to protect the watersheds in the vicinity, Cape Fox was restricted
with respect to the selection of land within 6 miles of the boundary
of the home rule city of Ketchikan, Alaska;
(4) the 6-mile restriction described in paragraph (3)(B) precluded Cape
Fox from selecting valuable timber land, industrial sites, and other commercial
property located--
(A) within the townships in which the Native Village of Saxman is located,
more particularly described as T.75 S., T.76 S., R.91 E., Copper River
Meridian; and
(B) on surrounding land that is far removed from Ketchikan, Alaska,
and its watersheds;
(5) as a result of that 6-mile restriction, only the remote, mountainous,
northeast corner of the property described in paragraph (4)(A), which
is nonproductive and has no known economic value, was available for selection
by Cape Fox, as required under section 16(b) of the Alaska Native Claims
Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1615(b));
(6) land selections by Cape Fox under that Act were further limited by
the fact that--
(A) the Annette Island Indian Reservation is located within the applicable
selection area; and
(B) land of that reservation is unavailable for selection by Cape Fox;
(7) Cape Fox is the only Village Corporation affected by the restrictions
described in paragraphs (3)(B) and (6);
(8) the Secretary of the Interior (referred to in this Act as the `Secretary')
has advised Congress that the predicament of Cape Fox is sufficiently
unique to warrant the legislative remedy provided by this Act; and
(9) the adjustment of the selections available and conveyances of land
to Cape Fox under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601
et seq.), and the related adjustment of selections available and conveyances
of land to the Regional Corporation for Sealaska established pursuant
to that Act, are in accordance with--
(A) the purposes of that Act; and
SEC. 2. WAIVER OF CORE TOWNSHIP REQUIREMENT FOR CERTAIN LAND.
Notwithstanding section 16(b) of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act
(43 U.S.C. 1615(b)), Cape Fox shall not be required to select or receive
conveyance of the approximately 160 acres of unconveyed Federal land located
within sec. 1, T.75 S., R.91 E., Copper River Meridian.
SEC. 3. SELECTION OUTSIDE EXTERIOR SELECTION BOUNDARY.
(a) Selection and Conveyance of Surface Estate- Not later than 90 days after
the date of enactment of this Act, in addition to land made available for
selection under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601
et seq.), Cape Fox may select, and, on receiving written notice of the selection,
the Secretary shall convey, the approximately 99 acres of the surface estate
of Tongass National Forest land located outside the exterior selection boundary
of Cape Fox (as in existence on the day before the date of enactment of
this Act) and more particularly described as follows:
(1) T.73 S., R.90 E., Copper River Meridian.
(2) Of land located in sec. 33--
(A) the 38 acres located within the SW 1/4 SE 1/4 ;
(B) the 13 acres located within the NW 1/4 SE 1/4 ;
(C) the 40 acres located within the SE 1/4 SE 1/4 ; and
(D) the 8 acres located within the SE 1/4 SW 1/4 .
(b) Conveyance of Subsurface Estate- On conveyance to Cape Fox of the surface
estate to the land identified in subsection (a), the Secretary shall convey
to Sealaska Corporation the subsurface estate to the land.
(c) Timing- The Secretary shall complete the conveyances to Cape Fox and
Sealaska Corporation under this section as soon as practicable after the
date on which the Secretary receives a notice of the selection of Cape Fox
under subsection (a).
(d) Entitlement Fulfilled-
(1) DEFINITION OF APPROVED CONVEYANCE- The term `approved conveyance'
means the conveyance of the 40 acres described as the SW 1/4 NE 1/4 of
sec. 10, T.74 S., R.90 E., Copper River Meridian, selected and approved
for conveyance by the decision of the Bureau of Land Management dated
May 3, 2000.
(2) TREATMENT AS FULL ENTITLEMENT- The conveyance of land to Cape Fox
and Sealaska Corporation pursuant to subsection (a) and the approved conveyance
shall be considered to fulfill the entitlement of--
(A) Cape Fox under section 16 of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement
Act (43 U.S.C. 1615); and
(B) Sealaska Corporation to any subsurface interest in the land under
section 14(f) of that Act (43 U.S.C. 1613(f)).
END
