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U.S. Code as of:
01/19/04
Section 1611. Native land selections
(a) Acreage limitation; proximity of selections and size of
sections and units; waiver
(1) During a period of three years from December 18, 1971, the
Village Corporation for each Native village identified pursuant to
section 1610 of this title shall select, in accordance with rules
established by the Secretary, all of the township or townships in
which any part of the village is located, plus an area that will
make the total selection equal to the acreage to which the village
is entitled under section 1613 of this title. The selection shall
be made from lands withdrawn by section 1610(a) of this title:
Provided, That no Village Corporation may select more than 69,120
acres from lands withdrawn by section 1610(a)(2) of this title, and
not more than 69,120 acres from the National Wildlife Refuge
System, and not more than 69,120 acres in a National Forest:
Provided further, That when a Village Corporation selects the
surface estate to lands within the National Wildlife Refuge System
or Naval Petroleum Reserve Numbered 4, the Regional Corporation,
for that region may select the subsurface estate in an equal
acreage from other lands withdrawn in section 1610(a) of this title
within the region, if possible.
(2) Selections made under this subsection (a) of this section
shall be contiguous and in reasonably compact tracts, except as
separated by bodies of water or by lands which are unavailable for
selection, and shall be in whole sections and, wherever feasible,
in units of not less than 1,280 acres: Provided, That the Secretary
in his discretion and upon the request of the concerned Village
Corporation, may waive the whole section requirement where -
(A)(i) a portion of available public lands of a section is
separated from other available public lands in the same section
by lands unavailable for selection or by a meanderable body of
water;
(ii) such waiver will not result in small isolated parcels of
available public land remaining after conveyance of selected
lands to Native Corporations; and
(iii) such waiver would result in a better land ownership
pattern or improved land or resource management opportunity; or
(B) the remaining available public lands in the section have
been selected and will be conveyed to another Native Corporation
under this chapter.
(b) Allocation; reallocation considerations
The difference between twenty-two million acres and the total
acreage selected by Village Corporations pursuant to subsection (a)
of this section shall be allocated by the Secretary among the
eleven Regional Corporations (which excludes the Regional
Corporation for southeastern Alaska) on the basis of the number of
Natives enrolled in each region. Each Regional Corporation shall
reallocate such acreage among the Native villages within the region
on an equitable basis after considering historic use, subsistence
needs, and population. The action of the Secretary or the
Corporation shall not be subject to judicial review. Each Village
Corporation shall select the acreage allocated to it from the lands
withdrawn by section 1610(a) of this title.
(c) Computation
The difference between thirty-eight million acres and the 22
million acres selected by Village Corporations pursuant to
subsections (a) and (b) of this section shall be allocated among
the eleven Regional Corporations (which excludes the Regional
Corporation for southeastern Alaska) as follows:
(1) The number of acres each Regional Corporation is entitled to
receive shall be computed (A) by determining on the basis of
available data the percentages of all land in Alaska (excluding the
southeastern region) that is within each of the eleven regions, (B)
by applying that percentage to thirty-eight million acres reduced
by the acreage in the southeastern region that is to be selected
pursuant to section 1615 of this title, and (C) by deducting from
the figure so computed the number of acres within that region
selected pursuant to subsections (a) and (b) of this section.
(2) In the event that the total number of acres selected within a
region pursuant to subsections (a) and (b) of the section exceeds
the percentage of the reduced thirty-eight million acres allotted
to that region pursuant to subsection (c)(1)(B) of this section,
that region shall not be entitled to receive any lands under this
subsection (c). For each region so affected the difference between
the acreage calculated pursuant to subsection (c)(1)(B) of this
section and the acreage selected pursuant to subsections (a) and
(b) of this section shall be deducted from the acreage calculated
under subsection (c)(1)(C) of this section for the remaining
regions which will select lands under this subsection (c). The
reductions shall be apportioned among the remaining regions so that
each region's share of the total reduction bears the same
proportion to the total reduction as the total land area in that
region (as calculated pursuant to subsection (c)(1)(A) of this
section (!1) bears to the total land area in all of the regions
whose allotments are to be reduced pursuant to this paragraph.
(3) Before the end of the fourth year after December 18, 1971,
each Regional Corporation shall select the acreage allocated to it
from the lands within the region withdrawn pursuant to section
1610(a)(1) of this title, and from the lands within the region
withdrawn pursuant to section 1610(a)(3) of this title to the
extent lands withdrawn pursuant to section 1610(a)(1) of this title
are not sufficient to satisfy its allocation: Provided, That within
the lands withdrawn by section 1610(a)(1) of this title the
Regional Corporation may select only even numbered townships in
even numbered ranges, and only odd numbered townships in odd
numbered ranges.
(4) Where the public lands consist only of the mineral estate, or
portion thereof, which is reserved by the United States upon patent
of the balance of the estate under one of the public land laws,
other than this chapter, the Regional Corporations may select as
follows:
(A) Where such public lands were not withdrawn pursuant to
section 1610(a)(3) of this title, but are surrounded by or
contiguous to lands withdrawn pursuant to section 1610(a)(3) of
this title, and filed upon for selection by a Regional
Corporation, the Corporation may, upon request, have such public
land included in its selection and considered by the Secretary to
be withdrawn and properly selected.
(B) Where such public lands were withdrawn pursuant to section
1610(a)(1) of this title and are required to be selected by
paragraph (3) of this subsection, the Regional Corporation may,
at its option, exclude such public lands from its selection.
(C) Where such public lands are surrounded by or contiguous to
subsurface lands obtained by a Regional Corporation under
subsections (!2) (a) or (b) of this section, the Corporation may,
upon request, have such public land conveyed to it.
(D)(i) A Regional Corporation which elects to obtain public
lands under subparagraph (C) shall be limited to a total of not
more than 12,000 acres. Selection by a Regional Corporation of in
lieu surface acres under subparagraph (E) pursuant to an election
under subparagraph (C) shall not be made from any lands within a
conservation system unit (as that term is defined by section
3102(4) of title 16).
(ii) An election to obtain the public lands described in
subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) shall include all available parcels
within the township in which the public lands are located.
(iii) For purposes of this subparagraph and subparagraph (C),
the term "Regional Corporation" shall refer only to Doyon,
Limited.
(E) Where the Regional Corporation elects to obtain such public
lands under subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of this paragraph, it
may select, within ninety days of receipt of notice from the
Secretary, the surface estate in an equal acreage from other
public lands withdrawn by the Secretary for that purpose. Such
selections shall be in units no smaller than a whole section,
except where the remaining entitlement is less than six hundred
and forty acres, or where an entire section is not available.
Where possible, selections shall be of lands from which the
subsurface estate was selected by that Regional Corporation
pursuant to subsection (a)(1) of this section or section
1613(h)(9) of this title, and, where possible, all selections
made under this section shall be contiguous to lands already
selected by the Regional Corporation or a Village Corporation.
The Secretary is authorized, as necessary, to withdraw up to two
times the acreage entitlement of the in lieu surface estate from
vacant, unappropriated, and unreserved public lands from which
the Regional Corporation may select such in lieu surface estate
except that the Secretary may withdraw public lands which had
been previously withdrawn pursuant to subsection 1616(d)(1) of
this title.
(F) No mineral estate or in lieu surface estate shall be
available for selection within the National Petroleum Reserve -
Alaska or within Wildlife Refuges as the boundaries of those
refuges exist on December 18, 1971.
(5) Subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) of paragraph (4) shall apply,
notwithstanding the failure of the Regional Corporation to have
appealed the rejection of a selection during the conveyance of the
relevant surface estate.
(d) Village Corporation for Native village at Dutch Harbor; lands
and improvements and patent for Village Corporation
To insure that the Village Corporation for the Native village at
Dutch Harbor, if found eligible for land grants under this chapter,
has a full opportunity to select lands within and near the village,
no federally owned lands, whether improved or not, shall be
disposed of pursuant to the Federal surplus property disposal laws
for a period of two years from December 18, 1971. The Village
Corporation may select such lands and improvements and receive
patent to them pursuant to section 1613(a) of this title.
(e) Disputes over land selection rights and boundaries; arbitration
Any dispute over the land selection rights and the boundaries of
Village Corporations shall be resolved by a board of arbitrators
consisting of one person selected by each of the Village
Corporations involved, and an additional one or two persons,
whichever is needed to make an odd number of arbitrators, such
additional person or persons to be selected by the arbitrators
selected by the Village Corporations.
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