Alaska moves to give up nearly 59,000 acres near Parks Highway for University of Alaska

Alaska is dropping its claim to nearly 59,000 acres near the Parks Highway so the land can go to the University of Alaska instead. All 13 people who commented on the proposal opposed it.

The Honolulu Pass tract, about 58,893 acres, sits roughly 6 miles east of milepost 178, within the Honolulu Creek Pass and drainage. The state holds only a selection under the Alaska Statehood Act, never title. Giving it up clears the Bureau of Land Management to convey the land to the university, which selected it in December 2024.

Federal law lets the university select up to 500,000 acres of state-selected land but receive no more than 360,000, and the program ends Dec. 29, 2026. A separate 37,055-acre selection at Watana Creek is on the same deadline and closed to comment the same day.

Alaska was granted 105 million acres at statehood and holds title to about 102 million, leaving roughly 3.2 million acres of entitlement against more than 19 million acres of selections and top filings. Federal law requires the state to shed the excess, and the Department of Natural Resources expects the relinquishment process to run another five years.

The same effort covers a separate track for Alaska Native Vietnam veterans, who can apply for allotments of up to 160 acres from state-selected land.

The decision on Honolulu Pass is not final.