Title 38, Public Land

The lien given for the performance of annual labor by AS 38.05.230, if the work is done in good faith and necessarily for the protection either of possession under a certificate of sale or of an attachment, levy, mortgage, judgment, or other lien, remains in effect notwithstandin…

In AS 38.05.210 — 38.05.235, “labor” includes work performed or improvements made in good faith on or for the benefit of a mining claim, leasehold location, or mining lease that is directly related to exploring for, developing, or producing minerals, including (1) excavating, tun…

In AS 38.05.210 — 38.05.240, (1) “airborne survey” means a survey from the air for mineral deposits by the proper application of magnetometers, electromagnetic input systems, infrared detectors, side-looking radar, vertical and panoramic cameras, and other devices as they relate …

(a) Before the discovery of valuable minerals, an exclusive right to prospect by geophysical, geochemical, and similar methods may be acquired by establishing a prospecting site in accordance with the MTRSC system and regulations prescribed by the commissioner. A certificate of l…

(a) The exclusive right to prospect for deposits of minerals subject to AS 38.05.185 — 38.05.275 in or on tide and submerged state land may be granted by a permit issued by the director. A permit shall be granted to the first qualified applicant. A permit may not include an area …

(a) Extralateral rights under shoreland, tideland, and submerged land are confirmed and granted to an owner of a lode mining claim located before January 3, 1959, under the mining laws of the United States. (b) In this section, “extralateral rights” means rights given to an owner…

(a) Surface uses of land or water included within a mining property by the owners, lessees, or operators shall be limited to those necessary for the prospecting for, extraction of, or basic processing of minerals and shall be subject to reasonable concurrent uses. Leases for mill…

(a) Failure to perform the labor or make improvements or make a payment in lieu of labor under AS 38.05.210(a), timely record a certificate of location or statement of annual labor, timely pay any required annual rental, or timely pay any required production royalty under AS 38.0…

Evidence of a sale, lease, or other transfer of mining property or interest in mining property shall be recorded.

(a) Mining locations made on state land, including shoreland, tideland, or submerged land, or state selected land, under AS 38.05.185 — 38.05.275 or in the manner described in AS 27.10, acquire for the locator mining rights under AS 38.05.185 — 38.05.275, subject to existing clai…

Disposal and use of state land shall conform to the constitution of the State of Alaska and the principles of multiple purpose use consistent with the public interest.

(a) The selection of grant, lieu and indemnity land shall conform to this chapter and the policy, orders and regulations adopted by the commissioner. The commissioner shall give preference of selection to the land which will provide the maximum benefits to the people of the state…

The commissioner shall establish a policy and adopt regulations by which parks and recreation areas, including public scenic overlooks and cultural sites, shall be developed and managed in a manner that will best serve the interests of the people of the state. The commissioner ma…

(a) The commissioner shall classify for surface use land in areas considered necessary and proper. This section does not prevent reclassification of land where the public interest warrants reclassification, nor does it preclude multiple purpose use of land whenever different uses…

(a) The department shall include in a document that conveys state land classified as agricultural land (1) a perpetual covenant for the benefit of all Alaska residents and running with the land that restricts or limits the use of the land for agricultural purposes; and (2) one of…

The people of the State of Alaska determine that: (1) the intent of the framers of the Constitution of the United States was to guarantee to each of the states sovereignty over all matters within its boundaries except for those powers specifically granted to the United States as …

(a) The Department of Natural Resources shall manage the land which is the subject of AS 38.05.500 — 38.05.505. The department will use the provisions of this chapter for the management of the land except to the extent that the provisions of AS 38.05.500 — 38.05.505 provide to th…

Subject to valid existing rights of applicants for land, upon February 21, 1983, all land in the state and all minerals not previously appropriated are the exclusive property of the people of the state and the state holds title to the land and minerals in trust for the people of …

Land in the state which has been administered by the United States under international treaties and interstate compacts will continue to be administered by the state in conformity with those treaties and compacts.

The proceeds of sales, fees, rents, royalties or other receipts from the land paid to the state under the provisions of AS 38.05.500 — 38.05.505 shall be deposited in the general fund, and the legislature may provide for payments in lieu of taxes to local governments.

(a) The state has exclusive jurisdiction to enforce the provisions of AS 38.05.500 — 38.05.505. (b) An individual may institute a civil action to recover damages for injury or loss sustained as the result of a violation of the provisions of AS 38.05.500 — 38.05.505 or for the fai…

(a) All materials owned by the state may be sold or conveyed as provided in AS 38.05.550 — 38.05.565. (b) Materials may only be sold or removed from sources or sites designated by the department. The department shall issue a decision under AS 38.05.035(e) that the sale and extrac…

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of AS 38.05.550 — 38.05.565, the director may negotiate the sale of any amount of materials from a source or site designated under AS 38.05.550(b). The period of a contract for a sale of materials negotiated under this section may not excee…

(a) The department shall offer materials from a source or site designated under AS 38.05.550(b) for competitive sale if the department determines that (1) the sale would result in an exclusive use by the purchaser of a designated source or site; (2) materials available at a desig…

Violation of any provision of AS 38.05.550 — 38.05.565 or the terms of the contract of sale subjects the purchaser to appropriate legal action.

(a) The department may negotiate the sale or otherwise dispose of materials from sources or sites other than those designated under AS 38.05.550(b) to (1) municipalities, other state and federal agencies, or other entities under AS 38.05.872; sales under this paragraph may be at …

(a) The commissioner may provide for the sale or lease of state land for remote recreational cabin sites. Sales under this section shall be at fair market value determined as of the time of entry, and the purchaser shall reimburse the state for the appraisal, survey, and platting…

(a) The provisions of AS 38.05.700 — 38.05.795 apply to the licensing of state land for carbon storage exploration and the leasing of state land for carbon storage. (b) The commissioner may adopt regulations necessary to implement AS 38.05.700 — 38.05.795.

(a) The commissioner may issue carbon storage exploration licenses on state land. (b) A carbon storage exploration license gives the licensee (1) the exclusive right to explore, for carbon storage purposes, the state land described in the license for a five-year term; and (2) the…

(a) To apply for a carbon storage exploration license under AS 38.05.705, an applicant shall submit to the commissioner a proposal that (1) identifies the specific area to be subject to the license; (2) proposes minimum work commitments; (3) proposes commercial terms applicable t…

(a) The commissioner may convert a carbon storage exploration license to a carbon storage lease if the licensee complies with (b) of this section. (b) To convert a carbon storage exploration license to a carbon storage lease, a licensee shall provide to the commissioner a copy of…

(a) A lessee under AS 38.05.180 shall acquire a carbon storage lease before engaging in carbon storage activity that is not associated with enhanced oil or gas recovery. (b) At the commissioner's discretion, the commissioner may issue a carbon storage lease to a lessee under AS 3…

(a) The commissioner shall require the filing and approval of a plan of development and operation for a carbon storage lease. (b) To prevent or assist in preventing waste, and to protect the correlative rights of persons owning interest in the tracts of land affected, with the ap…

Except as otherwise provided in AS 38.05.705(h) or under art. IX, sec. 15, Constitution of the State of Alaska, the department shall deposit in the general fund the money it collects under AS 38.05.700 — 38.05.795.

The commissioner shall prepare an annual report that includes an accounting of the carbon storage closure trust fund established under AS 37.14.850 and information on carbon storage licensing applications and decisions and the issuance of carbon storage leases. The commissioner s…

Upon termination of a license under AS 38.05.705 or a lease under AS 38.05.715 or 38.05.720, a licensee or lessee shall promptly remove all improvements and equipment, except as otherwise approved in writing by the commissioner, and shall restore the land to a condition that is a…

In AS 38.05.700 — 38.05.795, unless the context requires otherwise, (1) “carbon storage” means the underground storage of carbon dioxide in a carbon storage reservoir; (2) “enhanced oil or gas recovery” has the meaning given in AS 41.06.210; (3) “reservoir” has the meaning given …

(a) Mental health trust land shall be managed consistent with the trust principles imposed on the state by the Alaska Mental Health Enabling Act, P.L. 84-830, 70 Stat. 709 (1956). (b) Subject to (a) of this section, the department (1) shall manage mental health trust land under t…

(a) Except as otherwise provided in AS 38.05.183(h), the (1) lease, sale, or other disposal of state land or resources may be made to a state or federal agency or political subdivision, (2) lease, sale, or disposal of coal deposits suitable for mining may be made to a utility own…

(a) It is the policy of the state to allow preference rights for the acquisition of tide and submerged land occupied or developed for municipal business, residential or other beneficial purposes on or before the date of admission of Alaska into the Union. Nothing in this section …

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a home rule or general law municipality that accepts by conveyance or other disposition from the state a public recreation area facility developed under the terms of P.L. 84-507, 70 Stat. 130, upon application, shall receive by conv…

(a) Unless the commissioner finds that the public interest in retaining state ownership of the land clearly outweighs the municipality's interest in obtaining the land, the commissioner shall convey to a municipality tide or submerged land requested by the municipality that is oc…

Before a sale, lease under AS 38.05.070 — 38.05.105, or other disposal of state land in the unorganized borough, the commissioner shall consider the effect that the sale, lease, or other disposal may be expected to have on the density of the population in the vicinity of the land…

(a) Land may not be sold or leased, or a renewal lease issued, except in the case of an oil or gas or mineral lease, unless it has been appraised within two years before the date fixed for the sale or lease. When land is offered at public sale but is not sold and is available at …

(a) The director, without the prior approval of the commissioner, may issue permits, rights-of-way, or easements on state land for roads, trails, ditches, field gathering lines or transmission and distribution pipelines not subject to AS 38.35, telephone or electric transmission …

(a) The commissioner may require an applicant seeking the sale, lease, or other disposal of land or an interest in land, other than under an oil and gas lease, gas only lease, or mineral lease, to deposit an amount covering the estimated cost of an appraisal, survey, and other co…