Alaska moves to return 40 acres it wrongly took from a Native allotment

The state of Alaska is moving to give back nearly 40 acres south of Tok that it was never supposed to have — land tied up in a Native allotment claim in the name of Emma Northway, which the state says was conveyed to it in error.

Returning the parcel to federal hands would let the Bureau of Land Management finish the allotment claim, the process by which individual Alaska Natives secured title to lands they and their families used. The 39.5-acre parcel sits about eight miles south of Tok, in the Unorganized Borough.

It's not the only such correction near Tok. A similar return, for the Alice Brean allotment five air miles northeast of town, went to public notice under the same process last year.

The public comment period closes at 3 p.m. Aug. 18.