Chugach Alaska Land Exchange Oil Spill Recovery Act of 2025
Chugach Alaska Land Exchange Oil Spill Recovery Act of 2025 would authorize a targeted land swap between Chugach Alaska Corporation (an Alaska Native Regional Corporation) and the United States to address ownership conflicts created by the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill restoration program. The bill directs a one-time exchange: Chugach Alaska would convey about 231,000 acres of subsurface estate (underlying surface lands already conserved or otherwise affected by the Exxon Valdez program) to the federal government, while the Secretary of the Interior would convey about 65,374 acres of federal land (roughly 63,414 acres of National Forest System land and 1,960 acres of BLM/NPS land) to Chugach Alaska. The exchange is designed to consolidate surface and subsurface ownership within the Chugach Region, facilitate more efficient land management for the Exxon Valdez program, and address historical split-estate issues stemming from Alaska Native land entitlements and program acquisitions. A provision limits the conveyance to no more than 209 acres of land with village corporation development rights or shareholder home sites retained by the village corporations.
Key Points
- 1Purpose and framework: The bill authorizes a land exchange to consolidate the surface and subsurface estates in the Chugach Region, aiming to resolve long-standing split ownership issues created by the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Habitat Protection and Acquisition Program (EVOSTC) and to streamline federal land management.
- 2Lands involved:
- 3- Federal side to Chugach Alaska: about 65,374 acres (63,414 acres National Forest System land and 1,960 acres Federal land administered by BLM/NPS).
- 4- Chugach Alaska to the Secretary (non-Federal land): about 231,000 acres of subsurface rights underlying various parcels, including lands previously acquired or under conservation easements, plus lands where the State holds surface title with US conservation easements in place.
- 5Specific parcel lists: The bill provides detailed parcel-by-parcel descriptions (by township/range and section) for both the Federal lands to be conveyed to Chugach Alaska and the subsurface lands to be conveyed to the Secretary, ensuring precise mapping in the exchange.
- 6Timeline and process: Not later than one year after enactment, if Chugach Alaska offers to convey the non-Federal land, the Secretary must accept and complete the exchange, with title in a form acceptable to the Secretary.
- 7Protections and exclusions: Up to 209 acres of land that may include village corporation development rights or shareholder homesites can be excluded from the conveyance to protect development rights.
- 8Administration and measurement: The exchange would involve standard land-management practices, with corrections to maps and acreages allowed by mutual agreement; in case of any conflict, the map controls.