State proposes dropping surface selection on 480 Yukon River acres

The Alaska Department of Natural Resources is accepting public comment until 3 p.m. Sept. 8 on a proposal to relinquish its surface-estate land selection on roughly 480 acres along the Yukon River. The move would clear the way for three Dingell Act allotment applications, each covering 160 acres, to be conveyed. The applications are AA-97570, AA-98350 and F-98136. Under the federal program, eligible Alaska Native Vietnam-era veterans or their heirs may apply.

The land sits in Township 11 North, Range 12 West, sections 4, 5, 17, 20 and 21, Fairbanks Meridian, and is federally managed. The state holds only a selection right and is proposing "to relinquish the State's entitlement land selection of the surface estate while retaining oil, gas, and mineral interests," according to the public notice. That means the state would give up only its surface claim and keep its subsurface rights.

The 2019 Dingell Act lets eligible Alaska Natives who served between Aug. 5, 1964, and Dec. 31, 1971, select 2.5 to 160 acres of federal land. Applications are being accepted through Dec. 29, 2030. In fiscal year 2023, DNR received 29 similar relinquishment requests, approved three totaling 480 acres, and was processing nine more.

The Association of Village Council Presidents has urged caution in broader comments on federal land withdrawals and allotment policy, warning that expanding allotment eligibility could reduce land access or future management flexibility. Nothing in the available materials indicates the organization has taken a position on these three applications.

Comments go to Aleria Knudson at DNR. Only commenters may later seek reconsideration of the decision.