Union Calendar No. 260
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2547
[Report No. 106–451]
A BILL
To provide for the conveyance of land interests to
Chugach Alaska Corporation to fulfill the intent,
purpose, and promise of the Alaska Native
Claims Settlement Act.
NOVEMBER 5, 1999
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Com-
mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union,
and ordered to be printed
IB
Union Calendar No. 260
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2547
[Report No. 106–451]
To provide for the conveyance of land interests to Chugach Alaska Corpora-
tion to fulfill the intent, purpose, and promise of the Alaska Native
Claims Settlement Act.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JULY 16, 1999
Mr. YOUNG of Alaska introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Resources
NOVEMBER 5, 1999
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on July 16, 1999]
A BILL
To provide for the conveyance of land interests to Chugach
Alaska Corporation to fulfill the intent, purpose, and
promise of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Chugach Alaska Natives
Settlement Implementation Act of 1999’’.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
For the purposes of this Act, the following definitions
apply:
(1) The term ‘‘ANCSA’’ means the Alaska Native
Claims Settlement Act, as amended (43 U.S.C. 1601
et seq.).
(2) The term ‘‘ANILCA’’ means the Alaska Na-
tional Interest Lands Conservation Act of 1980, as
amended (16 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.).
TITLE I—EASEMENT FOR ACCESS
SEC. 101. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds that—
(1) 
Chugach 
Alaska 
Corporation, 
formerly
known as Chugach Natives, Inc., is the Alaska Native
Regional Corporation organized under the authority
of ANCSA for the Chugach people in the Chugach re-
gion;
(2) ANCSA promised the Chugach people a fair
and just settlement of their aboriginal claims to lands
and waters in Alaska;
(3) pursuant to section 1430 of ANILCA, the
Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Agriculture,
the State of Alaska, and Chugach Alaska Corporation
were directed to study land ownership in and around
the Chugach region for the purposes of—
(A) providing a fair and just land settle-
ment for the Chugach people and realizing the
intent, purpose, and promise of ANCSA by Chu-
gach Alaska Corporation; and
(B) identifying lands that, to the maximum
extent possible, are of the like, kind, and char-
acter of those traditionally used and occupied by
the Chugach people, and, to the maximum extent
possible, are coastal accessible and economically
viable;
(4) on September 17, 1982, the aforementioned
parties entered into the 1982 Chugach Natives, Inc.
Settlement Agreement in order to set forth a fair and
just land settlement for the Chugach people pursuant
to the study directed by Congress, which among its
many provisions—
(A) required the United States to convey to
Chugach Alaska Corporation not more than
73,308 acres of land in the vicinity of Carbon
Mountain, which tract of land contains signifi-
cant natural resources, but is inaccessible by
road;
(B) granted Chugach Alaska Corporation
rights-of-way across Chugach National Forest to
such tract of land, and required the United
States to grant to Chugach Alaska Corporation
an easement for the purpose of constructing,
using, and maintaining roads and other facili-
ties necessary for the use and development of that
tract of land;
(C) required Chugach Alaska Corporation to
apply to the Forest Supervisor for Chugach Na-
tional Forest for conveyance of the easement, and
to provide such information as may be pre-
scribed by the Forest Supervisor; and
(D) reserved in the United States the right
to prepare environmental documents in connec-
tion with the easement grant, consistent with the
provisions of section 910 of ANILCA, if deemed
desirable by the responsible Federal agency;
(5) on September 11, 1996, the Forest Supervisor
deemed preparation of environmental documents for
the easement desirable;
(6) on August 8, 1997, and January 21, 1998,
Chugach Alaska Corporation and the United States
Forest Service entered into collection agreements, pur-
suant to which Chugach Alaska Corporation was re-
quired to pay to the United States Forest Service the
costs of United States Forest Service personnel in-
volvement in the preparation and review of environ-
mental documents and processing of the easement ap-
plication;
(7) on March 13, 1998, Chugach Alaska Cor-
poration and the United States Forest Service entered
into a Memorandum of Understanding, pursuant to
which the parties reached agreement on—
(A) the information prescribed by the Forest
Supervisor, in a detailed work plan prepared
jointly by United States Forest Service and Chu-
gach Alaska Corporation representatives;
(B) the process for the preparation and ap-
proval of environmental documentation in sup-
port of the easement; and
(C) the requirement that the United States
Forest Service grant an easement to Chugach
Alaska Corporation within 45 days after receiv-
ing a complete easement application from Chu-
gach Alaska Corporation;
(8) In furtherance of providing the environ-
mental documentation prescribed by the Forest Super-
visor, Chugach Alaska Corporation, at its sole
expense—
(A) contracted for the performance of field
surveys and the preparation of resource reports
on the cultural resources, wetlands, threatened,
endangered, and sensitive plant and animal spe-
cies, vegetation, and fish and wildlife in the ease-
ment project area, as depicted on the map enti-
tled ‘‘Project Area and Corridor Carbon Moun-
tain Access Project 1–14–98’’;
(B) submitted the resource reports to the
United States Forest Service for review and com-
ment, and contracted for further field surveys
and reports as and when requested by the United
States Forest Service;
(C) in conjunction with United States For-
est Service biologists, contracted for the perform-
ance of field surveys and the preparation of re-
ports for waterfowl, goshawk, and goat kidding
areas in the easement project area;
(D) contracted for the preparation of bridge
designs and hydrological analyses for major
crossings within the easement project area, sub-
mitted such designs and analyses to the United
States Forest Service for review and comment,
and modified such designs pursuant to comments
officers, including the Forest Supervisor for the Chu-
gach National Forest, conducted a field review of the
road location and affirmed such concurrence;
(11) on January 12, 1999, the Forest Supervisor
determined that Chugach Alaska Corporation had
completed all studies and provided adequate docu-
mentation to support its easement application;
(12) on January 19, 1999, Chugach Alaska Cor-
poration submitted the complete easement applica-
tion, containing all information prescribed by the
Forest Supervisor, in a multivolume collection of the
extensive field work, reviews, reports, analyses, and
modifications performed and relied upon in support
of the easement, and entitled ‘‘Documentation in Sup-
port of an Easement Application for Road Access Via
the Martin River Valley to the Bering River Coal
Fields as Granted by the 1982 CNI Settlement Agree-
ment’’;
(13) to date, the United States Forest Service has
failed to grant Chugach Alaska Corporation an ease-
ment for access to its lands in the vicinity of Carbon
Mountain;
(14) without such easement, the lands conveyed
to Chugach Alaska Corporation in the vicinity of
Carbon Mountain cannot be utilized or developed in
a manner consistent with the intent of congress as ex-
pressed in the ANILCA and ANCSA;
(15) Chugach Alaska Corporation has incurred
considerable expense and delay in its efforts to achieve
the fair and just settlement Congress intended and
promised to the Chugach people more than 2 decades
ago pursuant to ANCSA;
(16) the easement requirement under the 1982
Chugach Natives, Inc. Settlement Agreement should be
granted without further delay.
SEC. 102. PURPOSE.
The purpose of this title is to provide Chugach Alaska
Corporation with access to and for the utilization and de-
velopment of land interests in the vicinity of Carbon Moun-
tain that were conveyed to Chugach Alaska Corporation
pursuant to ANCSA.
SEC. 103. CONVEYANCE.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, as soon
as practicable but not later than 14 days after the date of
the enactment of this title, the Secretary of Agriculture shall
grant Chugach Alaska Corporation a perpetual easement lo-
cated and having the specifications as set forth in the ‘‘Doc-
umentation in Support of an Easement Application for
Road Access Via the Martin River Valley to the Bering
River Coal Fields as Granted by the 1982 CNI Settlement
Agreement’’, for the purposes and facilities described there-
in.
SEC. 104. EASEMENT.
Unless otherwise agreed to by the Secretary of Agri-
culture and Chugach Alaska Corporation, the easement
granted under section 103 of this title shall—
(1) include sufficient lands for logistical staging
areas and construction material sites used for the con-
struction and maintenance of a single-lane forest
road; and
(2) include the right for Chugach Alaska Cor-
poration, or its assignees, to construct, operate, and
maintain related facilities and structures within the
right-of-way.
SEC. 105. TRANSFER.
If within 1 month from the date of the enactment of
this title the Secretary of Agriculture and Chugach Alaska
Corporation fail mutually to agree on the terms and condi-
tions of the use of the easement, then the easement is hereby
granted to Chugach Alaska Corporation, and such grant
shall be deemed as a conveyance pursuant to ANCSA.
TITLE II—CEMETERY SITES AND
HISTORIC PLACES
SEC. 201. DEFINITIONS.
For the purposes of this title, the following definitions
apply:
(1) The term ‘‘Federal Government’’ means any
Federal agency of the United States.
(2) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of
the Interior.
SEC. 202. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) Pursuant to section 14(h)(1) of ANCSA, the
Secretary has the authority to withdraw and convey
to the appropriate regional corporation fee title to ex-
isting cemetery sites and historical places.
(2) Pursuant to section 14(h)(7) of ANCSA,
lands located within a National Forest may be con-
veyed for the purposes set forth in section 14(h)(1) of
ANCSA.
(3) Chugach Alaska Corporation, the Alaska Na-
tive Regional Corporation for the Chugach Region,
applied to the Secretary for the conveyance of ceme-
tery sites and historical places pursuant to section
14(h)(1) of ANCSA in accordance with the regula-
tions promulgated by the Secretary.
(4) Pursuant to such regulations, Village Cor-
poration selections were given priority over Regional
Corporation selections for the same lands.
(5) 
Chugach 
Alaska 
Corporation’s 
section
14(h)(1) applications for lands that were selected by
and conveyed to Village Corporations in the Chugach
Region were either withdrawn by Chugach Alaska
Corporation or denied by the Secretary.
(6) As part of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Res-
toration Program, the Federal Government has ac-
quired and is in the process of acquiring lands from
Village Corporations in the Chugach Region that
Chugach Alaska Corporation applied for pursuant to
section 14(h)(1) of ANCSA and lands from other pri-
vate parties in the Chugach Region that contain cem-
etery sites and historical places.
(7) The fulfillment of the intent, purpose, and
promise of ANCSA requires that lands Chugach Alas-
ka Corporation selected or would have selected under
section 14(h)(1) of ANCSA and that were subse-
quently acquired by the Federal Government should
be made available for conveyance to Chugach Alaska
Corporation as cemetery sites and historical places
pursuant to section 14(h)(1) of ANCSA, subject only
to a determination that such lands meet the eligibility
criteria for historical places or cemetery sites, as ap-
propriate, set forth in the Secretary’s regulations.
SEC. 203. WITHDRAWAL OF LANDS.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Sec-
retary shall withdraw from all forms of appropriation—
(1) all public lands for which Chugach Alaska
Corporation filed an application for conveyance pur-
suant to section 14(h)(1) of ANCSA as a cemetery site
or an historical place, and such application was de-
nied because the land was selected by and conveyed to
a Village Corporation; and
(2) all lands that the Federal Government ac-
quired or hereafter acquires from Village Corporations
or other private parties in the Chugach Region in
connection with the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Restora-
tion Program.
SEC. 204. APPLICATION FOR CONVEYANCE OF WITHDRAWN
LANDS.
Chugach Alaska Corporation shall apply to the Sec-
retary for the conveyance of lands as cemetery sites or his-
torical places under section 14(h)(1) of ANCSA as follows:
(1) With respect to lands withdrawn pursuant to
subsection 203(1) of this title, by filing with the Sec-
retary a request for reinstatement of its original ap-
plication, together with any amendments authorized
under section 205 of this title.
(2) With respect to lands withdrawn pursuant to
subsection 203(2) of this title, for which Chugach
Alaska Corporation has not filed an application
under section 14(h)(1) of ANCSA with the Secretary,
by filing with the Secretary an application in accord-
ance with the regulations promulgated by the Sec-
retary as of the date of enactment of this title.
The Secretary shall accept all such requests filed within the
periods set forth in section 207 of this title.
SEC. 205. AMENDMENTS.
Chugach Alaska Corporation may amend original ap-
plications filed with the Secretary for the conveyance of
lands pursuant to section 14(h)(1) of ANCSA—
(1) to include lands withdrawn pursuant to sec-
tion 203 of this title which are adjacent to lands Chu-
gach Alaska Corporation selected in its original ap-
plication and that Chugach Alaska Corporation
deems culturally important and potentially eligible as
a cemetery site or historical place; and
(2) to cure technical defects.
SEC. 206. PROCEDURE FOR EVALUATING AND CONVEYING
SELECTED LANDS.
The lands selected by Chugach Alaska Corporation
pursuant to sections 204 and 205 of this title shall be evalu-
ated for their eligibility as cemetery sites and historical
places, as appropriate, and conveyed to Chugach Alaska
Corporation, in accordance with the criteria and procedures
set forth in the regulations promulgated by the Secretary
as of the date of the enactment of this title. To the extent
that such criteria and procedures conflict with any provi-
sion of this title, the provisions of this title shall control.
SEC. 207. REINSTATEMENT PERIOD.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, Chugach
Alaska Corporation shall have—
(1) 1 year from the date of enactment of this title
to file a request for reinstatement under subsection
204(1) of this title, together with any amendments
authorized under section 205 of this title; and
(2) 4 years from the date of recording the con-
veyance document for any Federal acquisition of
lands to file an application under subsection 204(2)
of this title.
SEC. 208. APPLICABILITY.
This title shall apply to all Federal acquisitions of the
lands described in section 203 of this title, whether occur-
ring prior to or after the date of enactment of this title.
TITLE III—FOREST SYSTEM
LAND MANAGEMENT
SEC. 301. DEFINITION.
For the purposes of this title, the term ‘‘Alaska Native
Corporation’’ means a ‘‘Native Corporation’’ as that term
is defined in section 3(m) of ANCSA, as amended (43
U.S.C. 1601 et seq.).
SEC. 302. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds that—
(1) pursuant to ANCSA and ANILCA, Alaska
Native Corporations own hundreds of thousands of
acres of land intermingled with, adjacent to, or de-
pendent for access upon National Forest System lands
in Alaska;
(2) the United States Forest Service, in a letter
dated June 30, 1998, to Chugach Alaska Corporation,
the Alaska Native Regional Corporation for the Chu-
gach Region established under ANCSA, disclaimed
any legal obligation to coordinate the revision of the
Chugach National Forest land and resource manage-
ment plan with the plans of Alaska Native Corpora-
tions for the utilization of their lands and resources;
(3) the uncoordinated development, maintenance,
or revision of land and resource management plans
for units of the National Forest System in Alaska ad-
versely affects the use, development, and value of the
lands and resources conveyed to Alaska Native Cor-
porations under ANCSA and ANILCA; and
(4) the proper management of National Forest
System lands in Alaska and the fulfillment of the in-
tent, purpose, and promise of ANCSA require coordi-
nation in the development, maintenance, and revision
of land and resource management plans for units of
the National Forest System in Alaska with the plans
of Alaska Native Corporations for the utilization of
their lands which are intermingled with, adjacent to,
or dependent upon for access National Forest System
lands.
SEC. 303. COORDINATION REQUIRED.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Sec-
retary of Agriculture shall coordinate the development,
maintenance, and revision of land and resource manage-
ment plans for units of the National Forest System in Alas-
ka with the plans of Alaska Native Corporations for the
utilization of their lands which are intermingled with, ad-
jacent to, or dependent for access upon National Forest Sys-
tem lands. At a minimum, such coordination shall
involve—
(1) notifying Alaska Native Corporations in ad-
vance of the development, maintenance, or revision of
a land and resource management plan for a unit of
the National Forest System in Alaska;
(2) meeting with Alaska Native Corporations at
the beginning of the plan preparation, maintenance,
or revision process to develop procedures for coordina-
tion;
(3) reviewing the plans of Alaska Native Cor-
porations for the utilization of their lands and re-
sources;
(4) assessing the impacts of Alaska Native Cor-
poration land use plans on National Forest land and
resource management planning, and determining how
to address those impacts; and
(5) identifying conflicts between National Forest
land and resource management plans and the land
use plans of Alaska Native Corporations, and consid-
ering alternatives for resolving those conflicts.
SEC. 304. APPLICABILITY.
This title shall apply to all land and resource manage-
ment plans for units of the National Forest System in
Alaska—
(1) in the process of being developed or revised
on the date of enactment of this title; and
(2) developed, maintained, or revised after the
date of enactment of this title.