Alaska Native Land Entitlement Finalized: Cape Fox Gets 180 Acres of Tongass Forest, Public Access Guaranteed

This bill, titled the Cape Fox Land Entitlement Finalization Act of 2025, is primarily an administrative measure designed to wrap up a decades-old land claim stemming from the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA). Essentially, it allows the Cape Fox Village Corporation to finalize its land entitlement by swapping out one piece of land for another. Specifically, Cape Fox is no longer required to take about 185 acres of land near the Native Village of Saxman. Instead, it gets to select approximately 180 acres of Federal land within the Tongass National Forest, a move that provides certainty for both the corporation and the federal government.

The Great Land Swap: Clearing the ANCSA Books

For those of us not fluent in ANCSA statutes, the core of this bill is a land conveyance deadline. Under Section 4, once Cape Fox submits a written notice selecting the new 180 acres of Federal land (known simply as "Federal land" in the bill), the Secretary of the Interior has a hard deadline: the surface estate must be transferred to Cape Fox within 90 days. Immediately following that, the subsurface estate—think mineral and resource rights—must be transferred to the Sealaska Corporation. The entire process, start to finish, must be complete within 180 days of the selection notice. This kind of tight timeline (90 days for surface, 180 days for everything) is designed to prevent the bureaucratic delays that often plague these complex land transfers, ensuring these corporations finally receive the land they were promised years ago.

The Catch: What the Public Gains (and Loses)

While this transfer finalizes the land entitlement for the Native corporations, it has two key real-world impacts for the general public, particularly those who use the Tongass National Forest. First, when the 180 acres of Federal land transfer to Cape Fox, that land leaves direct federal management. This means the US Forest Service loses control over the surface estate, which could affect future resource management decisions, despite the land now being owned by a private entity with a long-term interest in the region.

Second, and critically, the bill requires a reserved public access easement (Section 5). This easement must be included in the transfer to ensure the public can still get to the National Forest System land located further inland on Revillagigedo Island, originating from the George Inlet. Think of it like this: the new corporate land will have a designated, permanent road or trail cutting through it, guaranteeing that hikers, hunters, or other recreationists can still pass through to reach the deeper forest. This is a crucial detail that maintains existing public use rights, even as ownership changes hands.

Fine Print: Respecting Existing Claims

Finally, the bill includes a standard but important protection under Section 6: the land transfer must respect any "valid existing rights" held by third parties. If, for example, a local logging company or a utility provider already had a legal right-of-way or an easement across the 180 acres before this bill became law, those rights remain intact unless Cape Fox and the Secretary of Agriculture agree otherwise. This provision prevents the land transfer from suddenly invalidating existing contracts or access routes, providing a layer of stability for anyone currently operating or holding rights on that specific piece of Tongass National Forest ground.