(6) It is necessary to provide a smooth transi-
tion between Federal and State ownership and con-
trol and to resolve as many issues as possible prior
to State ownership and control.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this Act:
(1) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary
of Agriculture.
(2) The term ‘‘Tongass National Forest’’
means the Tongass National Forest, as depicted on
the map numbered ll and dated ll.
(3) The term ‘‘Federal obligation’’ means any
obligation or duty of the United States Forest Serv-
ice arising out of any lease, permit, license, contract,
and other legal instruments issued by or with the
Forest Service relating to the Tongass National For-
est. The term ‘‘Federal obligation’’ does not include
any obligation with respect to a Federal law, regula-
tion, or policy.
(4) The term ‘‘Tongass National Forest lands’’
includes all right, title, and interest of the United
States in and to all real property located in the
Tongass National Forest, and all structures (perma-
nent and temporary) owned by the United States
Forest Service located on such land.
(5) The term ‘‘transfer-transition period’’
means the period beginning when the State of Alas-
ka elects to receive the lands pursuant to this Act
and ending one year thereafter.
(6) The term ‘‘transfer date’’ means the date
on which the State of Alaska elects to receive the
lands pursuant to this Act and notifies the Secretary
of such election.
(7) The term ‘‘patent date’’ means the last day
of the transfer-transition period.
(8) Terms used in section 6(c) shall be accorded
the meaning given to such terms under the Alaska
National Interest Lands Conservation Act.
SEC. 4. TRANSFER OF TONGASS LANDS AND PROPERTY TO
THE STATE OF ALASKA.
(a) AUTOMATIC TRANSFER OF LANDS.—If, within 10
years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the State
of Alaska elects to receive all Tongass National Forest
lands in conformance with subsection (b), and so notifies
the Secretary, all Tongass National Forest lands shall be
conveyed, by operation of law, to the State of Alaska, sub-
ject only to valid existing rights. Such transfer shall occur
in accordance with this Act.
(b) FORM OF ELECTION.—The election by the State
of Alaska to receive lands pursuant to subsection (a) shall
be in the form of a bill approved by the House and Senate
of the Alaska State Legislature and signed by the Gov-
ernor of the State of Alaska. Such law shall state that—
(1) the State of Alaska elects to receive all
Tongass National Forest lands;
(2) the Tongass National Forest lands received
shall be received subject to valid existing rights;
(3) the procedures specified in this Act and the
transition provisions of this Act shall apply to the
transfer; and
(4) the rights and obligations of the United
States under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement
Act with respect to lands, rights in lands, and use
of lands transferred by the Tongass Transfer and
Transition Act shall not be infringed by the State of
Alaska.
(c) PROCEDURE.—Upon receipt by the Secretary of
Agriculture of a copy of the law specified under subsection
(b), the Secretary of Agriculture shall prepare a patent
conveying all Tongass National Forest lands to the State
of Alaska and shall deliver such patent to the State of
Alaska on the patent date. The duty of the Secretary to
prepare and deliver such patent pursuant to this Act shall
be purely ministerial and delivery of the patent on the pat-
ent date shall not be withheld or conditioned. The United
States Supreme Court shall have exclusive jurisdiction to
issue such writs and compel such actions as may be nec-
essary to accomplish the conveyance made under this Act.
(d) OTHER PROPERTY.—Upon the election pursuant
to subsection (a) and concurrent with the transfer of lands
pursuant to this Act, the Secretary shall also transfer the
right and title to and interest in all other types of property
(including real and personal property) used for purposes
of operating, administering, and managing the Tongass
National Forest. Such property shall be transferred on the
patent date and include only that which is owned by the
United States and used by the United States Forest Serv-
ice within the Tongass National Forest and that which
is directly associated with the management of such Forest.
All vehicles transferred shall be painted the official colors
of State of Alaska vehicles prior to transfer.
SEC. 5. TRANSITION PROVISIONS DURING THE TRANSITION
PERIOD.
(a) EXISTING
OBLIGATIONS
OF
THE
UNITED
STATES.—The United States shall remain obligated for
Federal obligations during the transfer-transition period.
(b) EMPLOYEES.—During the transfer-transition pe-
riod, to the extent practicable, the State of Alaska shall
interview each person employed on the date of the enact-
ment of this Act in the Tongass National Forest by the
United States Forest Service for purposes of reemploy-
ment by the State of Alaska for a comparable function
within the new State administrative system for the
Tongass Forest. Employees who do not secure employ-
ment with the State of Alaska shall be given preferential
treatment for purposes of other available positions with
the United States Government.
(c) ALASKA PULP CORPORATION CONTRACT.—The
State of Alaska shall enter into discussions with the Alas-
ka Pulp Corporation during the transition-transfer period
and conclude an agreement which reinstates the Alaska
Pulp Corporation Contract (Contract No. 12–11–010–
1545) within six months of the patent date. Such agree-
ment shall provide for dismissal with prejudice of a lawsuit
styled as Alaska Pulp Corporation against the United
States of America, No. 95–153C. Such reinstatement shall
include an additional provision which requires sale or as-
signment of such contract to a third party who agrees to
construct a manufacturing facility in Southeast Alaska
that utilizes pulp-grade logs. The State of Alaska shall as-
sume the obligations of the Forest Service under such re-
instated contract, except that the State of Alaska shall as-
sume no obligation for any claim relating to such contract
which arose from an occurrence before the transfer date.
(d) TIMBER ROAD PROGRAM FUND.—From amounts
remaining after making payments for the benefit of public
schools and roads under the Act of May 23, 1908 (16
U.S.C. 500), the Secretary shall, notwithstanding any
other provision of law, provide the gross receipts from the
Tongass National Forest derived from timber sale stump-
age fees due during the transfer-transition period to the
State of Alaska as seed money for purposes of establishing
a timber roads revolving fund.
SEC. 6. TRANSITION PROVISIONS OUTSIDE THE TRANSI-
TION PERIOD.
(a) MANAGEMENT OF TRANSFERRED LANDS.—(1)
Beginning on the patent date, the lands transferred pursu-
ant to this Act shall be administered and managed under
applicable State of Alaska law, except as otherwise pro-
vided in this Act for the period provided by this Act.
(2) During the transfer-transition period and until
the patent date, the lands subject to transfer pursuant to
this Act shall be administered and managed under Federal
law and the Tongass Land Management Plan.
(b) LAND DESIGNATIONS.—Land use designations in
effect on the date of the enactment of this Act under the
Tongass Land Management Plan shall continue in effect
for a period of up to one year after the patent date, but
shall cease to be applicable when the State of Alaska
adopts a land use designation system for the transferred
lands during such one-year period.
(c) SUBSISTENCE USE AFTER THE PATENT DATE.—
The Secretary of the Interior shall retain continuing au-
thority to manage subsistence uses of fish and wildlife on
lands transferred under this Act until such time as the
State of Alaska law is in compliance with title VIII of the
Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act.
(d) MINING CLAIMS.—(1) For a period of 15 years
after the patent date, Federal mining claims located before
the patent date pursuant to the General Mining Law of
1872 (30 U.S.C. 22 and following) in the Tongass Na-
tional Forest shall remain subject to the laws, rules, regu-
lations, and policies of the United States, but such laws,
rules, regulations, and policies shall be administered by
the State of Alaska. During such period, the right and
ability of a claimholder to patent such a mining claim shall
not be infringed. An application to patent a Federal min-
ing claim located in the area comprising the Tongass Na-
tional Forest may be made by the claimholder with the
State of Alaska and shall constitute an election by the
claim holder to be subject to Federal mining claim patent
procedures administered by the State of Alaska.
(2) At any time during the 15-year period referred
to in paragraph (1), the holder of a Federal mining claim
may elect to convert the claim into a mining claim to be
administered under the laws of the State of Alaska. An
election to convert such a claim must be in writing, include
such information as the Commissioner may request, and
be sent to the Commissioner of the Department of Natural
Resources of the State of Alaska. The State of Alaska
shall convert each Federal claim into one or more State
claims covering the area of the Federal claim.
(3) Upon the expiration of the 15-year period re-
ferred to in paragraph (1), each Federal mining claim for
which a mining patent application has not been filed and
which is located within the Tongass National Forest shall
be converted by operation of law into a mining claim or
claims to be administered under the laws of the State of
Alaska.
(4) During the transfer-transition period the Federal
Government shall maintain the right to receive fees and
revenues, if any, due on Federal mining claims. After the
patent date, the State of Alaska shall have the right to
receive any fees or revenues due on Federal claims that
are not converted under paragraph (2) or (3).
(e) LAND GRANTS TO NATIVE PEOPLE.—The State
of Alaska shall negotiate in good faith to obtain an agree-
ment with the native people of the communities of Haines,
Ketchikan, Petersburg, Tenakee, and Wrangell, Alaska
who did not receive a land claim settlement under the
Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. Under such agree-
ment, the State of Alaska shall convey not less than
23,040 acres of surface estate and not more than 46,080
acres of surface estate to each community within the
boundary of the land transferred for purposes of histori-
cal, cultural, economic (including timber, tourism, and
recreation) development and subsistence use in settlement
of such claims. Upon the conveyance of such surface es-
tate, the State of Alaska shall convey the subsurface estate
of such lands to Sealaska Corporation. Unprocessed tim-
ber (as defined in section 493 of Public Law 101–382)
may not be exported from Alaska. Negotiations shall con-
clude as soon as practicable after the patent date, but in
no case later than two years after the transfer date. If
an agreement is not reached, then the matter shall be sub-
mitted to binding arbitration.
(f) TIMBER RECEIPTS TO LOCAL GOVERNMENTS.—
In each year, beginning with the fiscal year of the State
of Alaska beginning after the transfer date and ending
with the tenth fiscal year thereafter, the State of Alaska
shall allocate 25 percent of the net timber stumpage re-
ceipts for all timber sold on the lands transferred under
authority of this Act directly to boroughs, municipalities,
and local governments for purposes of schools, educational
materials, and community roads.
(g) TIMBER RECEIPTS TO THE UNITED STATES.—
For a period of 10 calendar years, beginning with the fis-
cal year of the State of Alaska beginning after the patent
date, the State of Alaska shall pay to the United States,
25 percent of the net receipts for all timber sold on the
lands transferred under authority of this Act.
(h) KETCHIKAN PULP CONTRACT.—On the patent
date, the State of Alaska shall assume all the obligations
of the United States and be entitled to all the benefits
due to the United States under Contract No. A10fs–1042
with the Ketchikan Pulp Corporation beginning on the
patent date.
(i) TIMBER EXPORTS.—The State of Alaska shall
prohibit by law export of unprocessed saw, utility, and
pulp logs originating from lands transferred under this
Act for a minimum period of ten years.
(j) EXISTING OBLIGATIONS AFTER PATENT DATE.—
On the patent date, the State of Alaska shall assume all
Federal obligations and duties and receive all rights of the
United States Forest Service, except that the State of
Alaska shall assume no obligation for any claim for dam-
ages or specific performance relating to a contract if such
claim arose before the patent date, unless the State of
Alaska receives the benefit from such an obligation.
SEC. 7. MISCELLANEOUS DUTIES OF THE PARTIES AND
OTHER 
PROVISIONS 
RELATING 
TO 
THE
TRANSFER.
(a) MAP AND LEGAL DESCRIPTION.—The Secretary
shall provide the State of Alaska with a map and other
legal descriptions of the land to be transferred under sec-
tion 4. The map and the legal descriptions provided under
this subsection shall be on file and available for public in-
spection in the Office of the Secretary in Washington, Dis-
trict of Columbia, and in two readily accessible locations
in Alaska, at least one of which is in Southeast Alaska.
(b) HAZARDOUS MATERIALS.—As promptly as prac-
ticable after the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall
make available to the State of Alaska for review and in-
spection, all pertinent records relating to hazardous mate-
rials, if any, on lands to be transferred under this section.
The responsibility for costs of remedial action related to
such materials shall be borne by those entities responsible
under existing law.
(c) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Transfer of land pursuant to
this Act shall not be subject to judicial review in any court
of the United States, except—
(1) to the extent a right of judicial review is
conferred specifically by the United States Constitu-
tion;
(2) otherwise conferred by this Act; or
(3) when sought by the State of Alaska on mat-
ters pertaining to rights conferred by this Act.
(d) RULEMAKING.—No formal rules under section
553 of title 5, United States Code, are required to imple-
ment this Act.
(e) SURVEY.—The patent for lands conveyed pursu-
ant to this Act shall not be subject to completion of a field
survey and may be issued based on a protraction survey.
(f) REPEAL.—Sections 503, 508, 703, 704, 705, and
706 of the Alaska National Lands Interest Conservation
Act are repealed on the patent date. Title III of the
Tongass Timber Reform Act is repealed on the transfer
date.
(g) ENCUMBRANCES.—For purposes of an orderly
transfer of the Tongass National Forest to State owner-
ship and transition to State management, the Secretary
shall provide a list of encumbrances of record and other-
wise known in the Tongass National Forest to the Com-
missioner of the Department of Natural Resources of the
State of Alaska during the transfer-transition period. The
transfer under this Act shall be subject to all existing en-
cumbrances.
Æ