WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen.
Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, has introduced legislation that would allow Southeast
Alaska’s Sealaska Native Regional Corp. to complete the land selection promised
to its shareholders nearly 40 years ago under the Alaska Native Claims
Settlement Act (ANCSA).
The Sealaska bill, originally
introduced in 2007 and again in 2009, has undergone major revisions over the
past year to reflect public comments gathered at town-hall meetings in
Southeast communities, and from hundreds of e-mails and letters sent to Murkowski’s
office. Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska, is a co-sponsor of the bill.
The measure introduced
Tuesday seeks to complete the aboriginal land selections by Southeast Alaska
Natives, while also protecting the rights of other Alaskans who have grown to
depend on Southeast lands for their livelihoods. The Sealaska bill is intended
to reduce environmental impacts to Southeast Alaska and does not provide
additional acreage beyond initial obligation of ANCSA.
“This legislation is
important not only to keep the legal promise the federal government made in ANCSA,
but also to ensure the survival of the remaining timber operations in
Southeast,” Murkowski said. “Without access to private timber, the remaining
mills will disappear and an important part of the region’s economy will be
forever lost.”
Under the bill, Sealaska
would select from among 79,000 acres on Prince of Wales and Koscuisko islands
to complete its land entitlement. While a large portion of Sealaska’s land
selections will be designated for timber harvesting, some 4,000 acres will be
set aside for tourism and other non-timber economic development. Another 3,600
acres of Sealaska’s selection will be preserved as sacred, cultural, historic
and educational sites.
“I appreciate all the
constructive comments that have been submitted concerning the bill,” Murkowski
said. “We took great care to fulfill the promises made to Sealaska
shareholders, while at the same time protecting the concerns of all Southeast
residents who utilize the Tongass for everything from subsistence to fisheries
to recreation.”
The bill allows Sealaska to
select about 7 percent of the second-growth timber in the Tongass, or about
39,000 fewer acres of old-growth timber than it otherwise could have selected
under ANCSA.
“I knew that reaching a
consensus on this bill would be difficult since every acre in the Tongass is
subject to competing demands,” Murkowski said. “Despite these challenges, these
revisions address the vast majority of the concerns expressed by Prince of
Wales Island and other Southeast communities.”
The bill will be referred to
the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, of which Murkowski is the
ranking member, where it will be subject to a formal review process.
Background
Congress approved ANCSA
nearly four decades ago to settle the aboriginal land claims of Alaska Natives.
Under a complicated land conveyance formula, Sealaska was entitled to about
375,000 acres of the 16.9-million acre Tongass National Forest to help improve
the livelihoods of their 20,000 shareholders. That promise has never been
fulfilled.
In contrast to every other
Native corporation, Sealaska’s original selection areas were limited because much
of Southeast Alaska was under contract to the pulp mills and unavailable when ANCSA
passed. While there are 327,000 acres in those original areas still available
for selection, 44 percent of that are water and much of the rest is in village
watersheds.
Of the 112,000 acres of
old-growth timber still available within those areas, 61,000 of those acres are
in old-growth reserve areas – areas considered unacceptable for development on
environmental grounds – and much of the land is located in the 277,000 acres
currently designated as “roadless” areas by the U.S. Forest Service.
An fact sheet on the bill is
attached.
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