Lisa Murkowski

Chugach Alaska Land Exchange Oil Spill Recovery Act of 2025

This bill authorizes a land exchange between the Chugach Alaska Corporation (also known as Chugach, an Alaska Native regional corporation in southcentral Alaska) and the federal government.

Specifically, if Chugach offers to convey to the Department of the Interior all rights, title, and interest of Chugach in and to approximately 231,000 acres of subsurface estate within one year of the bill's enactment, then Interior must accept the offer and convey in exchange all rights, title, and interest of the federal government in and to approximately 65,374 acres of fee simple land located in the Chugach region. (The Chugach region includes portions of land on the Kenai Peninsula and the coast of Prince William Sound in Alaska.)

The bill directs Chugach to exclude from its conveyance to Interior all rights, title, and interest in any land, not to exceed a total of 209 acres, for which a village corporation has retained development rights (other than timber development rights) or that has been designated for a shareholder homesite program.

Alaska Native Landless Equity Act

This bill allows five Alaska Native communities in Southeast Alaska to form urban corporations and receive land entitlements.

Specifically, the bill allows the Alaska Native residents of each of the Alaska Native villages of Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Tenakee, and Wrangell, Alaska, to organize as Alaska Native urban corporations and to receive certain settlement land.

The bill directs the Department of the Interior to convey specified land to each urban corporation. Further, Interior must convey the subsurface estate for that land to the regional corporation for Southeast Alaska.

The land conveyed to each urban corporation must include any U.S. interest in all roads, trails, log transfer facilities, leases, and appurtenances on or related to the land conveyed to the urban corporation.

The bill also allows each urban corporation to establish a settlement trust to (1) promote the health, education, and welfare of the trust beneficiaries; and (2) preserve the Alaska Native heritage and culture of their communities.