Sponsors (2)
Official title: Exchange non-Federal land held by the Chugach Alaska Corporation for certain Federal Land in the Chugach Region, and for other purposes.
Introduced June 10, 2025 by Lisa Murkowski · Last progress June 10, 2025
The bill trades clearer, more consistent titles and improved federal conservation and administrative clarity for a substantial transfer of subsurface rights to the federal government—strengthening stewardship and reducing legal uncertainty but reducing tribal subsurface control and creating administrative costs and some legal risks.
Chugach Alaska shareholders and regional Native communities get clearer, more secure surface title and reduced legal uncertainty about ownership, lowering the risk of future disputes over roughly 65,374 acres conveyed and related lands.
Consolidating federal surface and subsurface ownership and adding conveyed lands to adjacent federal units simplifies management and strengthens federal conservation and stewardship of these lands.
The bill clarifies legal status under ANCSA and formally adopts ANCSA definitions, creating consistency with existing Alaska Native governance and providing statutory protections for Alaska Native corporations.
Chugach Alaska (and thus its shareholders) will surrender about 231,000 acres of subsurface estate to the federal government, reducing local economic development opportunities and constraining tribal control and long-term self-determination over subsurface resources.
Taxpayers and federal managers may incur costs and administrative burdens to implement the exchange, integrate acquired lands into federal units, and update management plans.
Precise acreage assignments and giving maps precedence in conflicts could create new disputes or litigation and may disadvantage parties if maps contain errors or overstate acreage.
Based on analysis of 5 sections of legislative text.
Authorizes a land exchange consolidating federal surface/subsurface ownership by swapping ~231,000 acres of subsurface interests for ~65,374 acres of federal fee land in the Chugach region.
Authorizes a targeted land exchange between the Chugach Alaska Native Regional Corporation and the United States to resolve split-estate conflicts created after lands were acquired with Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council (EVOSTC) funds. The exchange would have Chugach Alaska convey roughly 231,000 acres of subsurface (subsurface/dominant) interests underlying federal surface or conservation-easement lands in return for about 65,374 acres of federal fee land, consolidating federal surface and subsurface ownership on lands acquired under the EVOSTC program and implementing recommendations from a Bureau of Land Management study. The law sets definitions, lists the specific federal and non‑federal parcels to be exchanged, requires the Secretary of the Interior to accept an offer from Chugach Alaska within one year of enactment (subject to acceptable title and existing third-party rights), treats acquired lands as conveyed under ANCSA, and allows mutual technical corrections to maps or acreage descriptions.