§1615. Withdrawal and selection of public lands; funds in lieu of acreage — Inbound Citations
43 U.S.C. § 1615
Cited by 14 provisions in release 119-102.
Citations to 43 U.S.C. § 1615 as a whole
-
(c) “Native village” means any tribe, band, clan, group, village, community, or association in Alaska listed in sections 1610 and 1615 of this title, or which meets the requirements of this chapter, and which the Secretary determines was, on the 1970 census enumeration date (as shown by the census or other evidence satisfactory to the Secretary, who shall make findings of fact in each instance), composed of twenty-five or more Natives;
-
(1) The number of acres each Regional Corporation is entitled to receive shall be computed (A) by determining on the basis of available data the percentages of all land in Alaska (excluding the southeastern region) that is within each of the eleven regions, (B) by applying that percentage to thirty-eight million acres reduced by the acreage in the southeastern region that is to be selected pursuant to section 1615 of this title, and (C) by deducting from the figure so computed the number of acres within that region selected pursuant to subsections (a) and (b).
-
(b) Immediately after selection by any Village Corporation for a Native village listed in section 1615 of this title which the Secretary finds is qualified for land benefits under this chapter, the Secretary shall issue to the Village Corporation a patent to the surface estate to 23,040 acres. The lands patented shall be the lands within the township or townships that enclose the Native village, and any additional lands selected by the Village Corporation from the surrounding townships withdrawn for the Native village by section 1615(a) of this title.
-
(h) The Secretary is authorized to withdraw and convey 2 million acres of unreserved and unappropriated public lands located outside the areas withdrawn by sections 1610 and 1615 of this title, and1 follows:(A) The Secretary may withdraw and convey to the appropriate Regional Corporation fee title to existing cemetery sites and historical places.(B) Only title to the surface estate shall be conveyed for lands located in a Wildlife Refuge, when the cemetery or historical site is greater than 640 acres.(i) Notwithstanding acreage allocations made before December 10, 2004, the Secretary may convey any cemetery site or historical place—(I) with respect to which there is an application on record with the Secretary on December 10, 2004; and(II) that is eligible for conveyance.(ii) Clause (i) shall also apply to any of the 188 closed applications that are determined to be eligible and reinstated under Secretarial Order No. 3220 dated January 5, 2001.(D) No applications submitted for the conveyance of land under subparagraph (A) that were closed before December 10, 2004, may be reinstated other than those specified in subparagraph (C)(ii).(E) After December 10, 2004—(i) no application may be filed for the conveyance of land under subparagraph (A); and(ii) no pending application may be amended, except as necessary to conform the application to the description in the certification of eligibility of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.(F) Unless, not later than 1 year after December 10, 2004, a Regional Corporation that has filed an application for a historic place submits to the Secretary a statement on the significance of and the location of the historic place—(i) the application shall not be valid; and(ii) the Secretary shall reject the application.(G) The State and the head of the Federal agency with administrative jurisdiction over the land shall have 30 days to provide written comments to the Secretary—(i) identifying any third party interest to which a conveyance under subparagraph (A) should be made subject; and(ii) describing any easements recommended for reservation.(2) The Secretary may withdraw and convey to a Native group that does not qualify as a Native village, if it incorporates under the laws of Alaska, title to the surface estate in not more than 23,040 acres surrounding the Native group’s locality. The subsurface estate in such land shall be conveyed to the appropriate Regional Corporation unless the lands are located in a Wildlife Refuge;(3) The Secretary may withdraw and convey to the Natives residing in Sitka, Kenai, Juneau, and Kodiak, if they incorporate under the laws of Alaska, the surface estate of lands of a similar character in not more than 23,040 acres of land, which shall be located in reasonable proximity to the municipalities. The subsurface estate in such lands shall be conveyed to the appropriate Regional Corporation unless the lands are located in a Wildlife Refuge;(4) The Secretary shall withdraw only such lands surrounding the villages and municipalities as are necessary to permit the conveyance authorized by paragraphs (2) and (3) to be planned and effected;(5) The Secretary may convey to a Native, upon application within two years from December 18, 1971, the surface estate in not to exceed 160 acres of land occupied by the Native as a primary place of residence on August 31, 1971. Determination of occupancy shall be made by the Secretary, whose decision shall be final. The subsurface estate in such lands shall be conveyed to the appropriate Regional Corporations unless the lands are located on a Wildlife Refuge;(6) The Secretary shall charge against the 2 million acres authorized to be conveyed by this section all allotments approved pursuant to section 1617 of this title during the four years following December 18, 1971. Any minerals reserved by the United States pursuant to the Act of March 8, 1922 (42 Stat. 415), as amended [43 U.S.C. 270–11 to 270–13],2 in a Native Allotment approved pursuant to section 1617 of this title during the period December 18, 1971, through December 18, 1975, shall be conveyed to the appropriate Regional Corporation, unless such lands are located in a Wildlife Refuge or in the Lake Clark areas as provided in section 12 of the Act of January 2, 1976 (Public Law 94–204), as amended.(7) The Secretary may withdraw and convey lands out of the National Wildlife Refuge System and out of the National Forests, for the purposes set forth in paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (5) of this subsection; and(A) Any portion of the 2 million acres not conveyed by this subsection shall be allocated and conveyed to the Regional Corporations on the basis of population.(B) Such allocation as the Regional Corporation for southeastern Alaska shall receive under this paragraph shall be selected and conveyed from lands that were withdrawn by sections 1615(a) and 1615(d) of this title and not selected by the Village Corporations in southeastern Alaska; except lands on Admiralty Island in the Angoon withdrawal area and, without the consent of the Governor of the State of Alaska or his delegate, lands in the Saxman and Yakutat withdrawal areas are not available for selection or conveyance under this paragraph.(i) Notwithstanding any other provision of this subsection, as soon as practicable after December 10, 2004, the Secretary shall allocate to a Regional Corporation eligible for an allocation under subparagraph (A) the Regional Corporation’s share of 200,000 acres from lands withdrawn under this subsection, to be credited against acreage to be allocated to the Regional Corporation under subparagraph (A).(ii) Clause (i) shall apply to Chugach Alaska Corporation pursuant to the terms of the 1982 CNI Settlement Agreement.(I) clause (i) shall not apply; and(II) the portion of the 200,000 acres allocated to Cook Inlet Region Inc. or Koniag, Inc., shall be retained by the United States.(iv) This subparagraph shall not affect any prior agreement entered into by a Regional Corporation other than the agreements specifically referred to in this subparagraph.(9) Where the Regional Corporation is precluded from receiving the subsurface estate in lands selected and conveyed pursuant to paragraph (1), (2), (3), or (5), or the retained mineral estate, if any, pursuant to paragraph (6), it may select the subsurface estate in an equal acreage from other lands withdrawn for such selection by the Secretary, or, as to Cook Inlet Region, Incorporated, from those areas designated for in lieu selection in paragraph I.B.(2) of the document identified in section 12(b) of Public Law 94–204. Selections made under this paragraph shall be contiguous and in reasonably compact tracts except as separated by unavailable lands, and shall be in whole sections, except where the remaining entitlement is less than six hundred and forty acres. The Secretary is authorized to withdraw, up to two times the Corporation’s entitlement, from vacant, unappropriated, and unreserved public lands, including lands solely withdrawn pursuant to section 1616(d)(1) of this title, and the Regional Corporation shall select such entitlement of subsurface estate from such withdrawn lands within ninety days of receipt of notification from the Secretary.(A) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection 1621(h) of this title the Secretary, upon determining that specific lands are available for withdrawal and possible conveyance under this subsection, may withdraw such lands for selection by and conveyance to an appropriate applicant and such withdrawal shall remain until revoked by the Secretary.(B) If a Regional Corporation does not have enough valid selections on file to fulfill the remaining entitlement of the Regional Corporation under paragraph (8), the Secretary may use the withdrawal authority under subparagraph (A) to withdraw land that is vacant, unappropriated, and unreserved on December 10, 2004, for selection by, and conveyance to, the Regional Corporation to fulfill the entitlement.(11) For purposes set forth in paragraphs (1), (2), (3), (5), and (6) of this subsection, the term Wildlife Refuges refers to Wildlife Refuges as the boundaries of those refuges exist on December 18, 1971.
-
(2) The withdrawal of lands made by section 1610(a)(2) and section 1615 of this title shall terminate three years from December 18, 1971.
-
(i) Prior to a conveyance pursuant to section 1613 of this title, lands withdrawn by or pursuant to sections 1610, 1613, and 1615 of this title shall be subject to administration by the Secretary, or by the Secretary of Agriculture in the case of National Forest lands, under applicable laws and regulations, and their authority to make contracts and to grant leases, permits, rights-of-way, or easements shall not be impaired by the withdrawal.
Citations to §1615(a)
-
(b) Immediately after selection by any Village Corporation for a Native village listed in section 1615 of this title which the Secretary finds is qualified for land benefits under this chapter, the Secretary shall issue to the Village Corporation a patent to the surface estate to 23,040 acres. The lands patented shall be the lands within the township or townships that enclose the Native village, and any additional lands selected by the Village Corporation from the surrounding townships withdrawn for the Native village by section 1615(a) of this title.
-
(A) If the Secretary determines pursuant to paragraph (2) that an entitlement of a Village Corporation (other than a Village Corporation listed in section 1615(a) of this title) or a Regional Corporation may be fulfilled by conveying a specific tract of surveyed or unsurveyed land, the Secretary and the affected Village or Regional Corporation may enter into an agreement providing that all land entitlements under this chapter shall be deemed satisfied by conveyance of the specifically identified and agreed upon tract of land.
-
(B) Such allocation as the Regional Corporation for southeastern Alaska shall receive under this paragraph shall be selected and conveyed from lands that were withdrawn by sections 1615(a) and 1615(d) of this title and not selected by the Village Corporations in southeastern Alaska; except lands on Admiralty Island in the Angoon withdrawal area and, without the consent of the Governor of the State of Alaska or his delegate, lands in the Saxman and Yakutat withdrawal areas are not available for selection or conveyance under this paragraph.
-
(2) Where lands selected and conveyed, or to be conveyed to a Village Corporation are insufficient to fulfill the Corporation’s entitlement under section 1611(b), 1613(a), 1615(b), or 1615(d) of this title, the Secretary is authorized to withdraw twice the amount of unfulfilled entitlement and provide the Village Corporation ninety days from receipt of notice from the Secretary to select from the lands withdrawn the land it desires to fulfill its entitlement. In making the withdrawal, the Secretary shall first withdraw public lands that were formerly withdrawn for selection by the concerned Village Corporation by or pursuant to section 1610(a)(1), 1610(a)(3), 1615(a), or 1615(d) of this title. Should such lands no longer be available, the Secretary may withdraw public lands that are vacant, unreserved, and unappropriated, except that the Secretary may withdraw public lands which had been previously withdrawn pursuant to section 1616(d) of this title. Any subsequent selection by the Village Corporation shall be in the manner provided in this chapter for such original selections.
Citations to §1615(b)
-
(2) Where lands selected and conveyed, or to be conveyed to a Village Corporation are insufficient to fulfill the Corporation’s entitlement under section 1611(b), 1613(a), 1615(b), or 1615(d) of this title, the Secretary is authorized to withdraw twice the amount of unfulfilled entitlement and provide the Village Corporation ninety days from receipt of notice from the Secretary to select from the lands withdrawn the land it desires to fulfill its entitlement. In making the withdrawal, the Secretary shall first withdraw public lands that were formerly withdrawn for selection by the concerned Village Corporation by or pursuant to section 1610(a)(1), 1610(a)(3), 1615(a), or 1615(d) of this title. Should such lands no longer be available, the Secretary may withdraw public lands that are vacant, unreserved, and unappropriated, except that the Secretary may withdraw public lands which had been previously withdrawn pursuant to section 1616(d) of this title. Any subsequent selection by the Village Corporation shall be in the manner provided in this chapter for such original selections.
-
(2) The land conveyed to Kake Tribal Corporation and to Sealaska Corporation under this section is, for all purposes, considered to be land conveyed under this chapter. However, the conveyance of such land to Kake Tribal Corporation shall not count against or otherwise affect the Corporation’s remaining entitlement under section 1615(b) of this title.
Citations to §1615(d)
-
(B) Such allocation as the Regional Corporation for southeastern Alaska shall receive under this paragraph shall be selected and conveyed from lands that were withdrawn by sections 1615(a) and 1615(d) of this title and not selected by the Village Corporations in southeastern Alaska; except lands on Admiralty Island in the Angoon withdrawal area and, without the consent of the Governor of the State of Alaska or his delegate, lands in the Saxman and Yakutat withdrawal areas are not available for selection or conveyance under this paragraph.
-
(2) Where lands selected and conveyed, or to be conveyed to a Village Corporation are insufficient to fulfill the Corporation’s entitlement under section 1611(b), 1613(a), 1615(b), or 1615(d) of this title, the Secretary is authorized to withdraw twice the amount of unfulfilled entitlement and provide the Village Corporation ninety days from receipt of notice from the Secretary to select from the lands withdrawn the land it desires to fulfill its entitlement. In making the withdrawal, the Secretary shall first withdraw public lands that were formerly withdrawn for selection by the concerned Village Corporation by or pursuant to section 1610(a)(1), 1610(a)(3), 1615(a), or 1615(d) of this title. Should such lands no longer be available, the Secretary may withdraw public lands that are vacant, unreserved, and unappropriated, except that the Secretary may withdraw public lands which had been previously withdrawn pursuant to section 1616(d) of this title. Any subsequent selection by the Village Corporation shall be in the manner provided in this chapter for such original selections.