Chugach Alaska Land Exchange Oil Spill Recovery Act of 2025

This bill sets up a land swap in Alaska to fix a conflict that started after the Exxon Valdez oil spill. The government bought surface land to protect wildlife and habitat, but the Chugach Alaska Corporation kept the underground rights. That split made it hard to both conserve land and manage possible development, and it disrupted Native communities in the region, according to a federal study.

If Chugach offers to give the government about 231,000 acres of underground (subsurface) rights beneath protected lands, the Interior Department must, within one year, trade back about 65,374 acres of federal land in the Chugach region, including parts of national forest and other federal parcels. This would let the government fully protect conservation areas while giving Chugach clear, usable land elsewhere. Existing rights on any parcel stay in place. Land the government receives is added to the nearby federal public lands and managed under the same rules; land Chugach receives is treated like other Native claims land. Home sites and certain village development areas (up to 209 acres) are excluded from the swap.

Key points

• Who is affected: Chugach Alaska Corporation; Alaska Native communities in the Chugach region; federal land managers; communities touched by the Exxon Valdez spill.
• What changes: The government would gain about 231,000 acres of underground rights to complete conservation goals, while Chugach would receive about 65,374 acres of federal land to own and use.
• When: Within one year after the bill becomes law, if Chugach makes the offer.
• Other details: Existing legal rights on these lands remain; small map or acreage errors can be fixed by agreement.