Title 16 — ConservationRelease 119-73not60
§3215 Public Land Entries in Alaska
Title 16 › Chapter 51— ALASKA NATIONAL INTEREST LANDS CONSERVATION › Subchapter VI— ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS › § 3215
Summary
Approves most Alaska land claims that were filed on time under the laws of June 1, 1938; May 3, 1927; May 14, 1898; and March 3, 1891, as long as the land was open to entry when claimed. Those claims will be treated as approved 180 days after the law takes effect unless the claim must be changed, the applicant gave it up, or one of several protests is filed. Protests that stop automatic approval include a Native corporation claiming the land for selection under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, the State of Alaska saying the land is needed for access (with specific facts and no reasonable alternative), someone saying the land has their improvements, the State challenging an entry made before a valid State selection, or entries in new or expanded National Wildlife Refuges that were not properly made or timely filed. Claims for land inside National Park, National Wildlife Refuge, or certain Wilderness units, or land already owned or validly selected by the State and not withdrawn under ANCSA, will be handled under the specific laws instead of being automatically approved. An applicant may correct a mistaken land description, and approval or review then applies to the corrected description only. The Secretary must notify Alaska and other interested parties, who have until 180 days after the law takes effect or 60 days after mailing (whichever is later) to file a protest. The Secretary can set a final date for all amendments with at least 60 days’ notice and must not allow changes after a final survey plan is adopted. Land withdrawn or classified for power purposes will still be treated as open for these old-entry laws unless it is part of a licensed power project or actually used for power; entries made after withdrawal can be subject to a federal right of reentry that ends 20 years after the law takes effect if no power license or use exists. Before issuing a patent (official title), the Secretary must find and resolve any other recorded claims to the same land (except certain Alaska acts) and decide if those claims are valid.
Full Legal Text
Title 16, §3215
Conservation — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(a)(1)Subject to valid existing rights, all applications made pursuant to the Acts of June 1, 1938 (52 Stat. 609),11 See References in Text note below. May 3, 1927 (44 Stat. 1364),1 May 14, 1898 (30 Stat. 413),1 and March 3, 1891 (26 Stat. 1097), which were filed with the Department of the Interior within the time provided by applicable law, and which describe land in Alaska that was available for entry under the aforementioned statutes when such entry occurred, are hereby approved on the one hundred and eightieth day following the effective date of this Act, except where provided otherwise by paragraph (3) or (4) of this subsection, or where the land description of the entry must be adjusted pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, in which cases approval pursuant to the terms of this subsection shall be effective at the time the adjustment becomes final.
(2)Where an application describes land within the boundaries of a unit of the National Park System or a unit of the National Wildlife Refuge System, or a unit of the National Wilderness Preservation System in the Tongass or Chugach National Forests established before the effective date of this Act or by this Act, and the described land was not withdrawn pursuant to section 11(a)(1) of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act [43 U.S.C. 1610(a)(1)], or where an application describes land which has been patented or deeded to the State of Alaska or which on or before the date of entry was validly selected by, tentatively approved, patented, deeded or confirmed to the State of Alaska pursuant to applicable law and was not withdrawn pursuant to section 11(a)(1)(A) of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act [43 U.S.C. 1610(a)(1)(A)] from those lands made available for selection by section 11(a)(2) of the Act [43 U.S.C. 1610(a)(2)] by any Native Village certified as eligible pursuant to section 11(b) of such Act [43 U.S.C. 1610(b)], paragraph (1) of this subsection and subsection (c) of this section shall not apply and the application shall be adjudicated pursuant to the requirements of the Acts referred to in paragraph (1) of this subsection, the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act [43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.], and other applicable law.
(3)Paragraph (1) of this subsection and subsection (c) shall not apply and the application shall be adjudicated pursuant to the requirements of the Acts referred to in paragraph (1) of this subsection, if on or before the one hundred and eightieth day following the effective date of the 22 So in original. Probably should be “this”. Act—
(A)a Native Corporation files a protest with the Secretary of the Interior (the Secretary) stating that the applicant is not entitled to the land described in the application, and said land is withdrawn for selection by the corporation pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act [43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.]; or
(B)the State of Alaska files a protest with the Secretary stating that the land described in the application is necessary for access to lands owned by the United States, the State of Alaska, or a political subdivision of the State of Alaska, to resources located thereon, or to a public body of water regularly employed for transportation purposes, and the protest states with specificity the facts upon which the conclusions concerning access are based and that no reasonable alternatives for access exist; or
(C)a person or entity files a protest with the Secretary stating that the applicant is not entitled to the land described in the application and that said land is the situs of improvements claimed by the person or entity; or
(D)the State of Alaska files a protest with the Secretary respecting an entry which was made prior to a valid selection tentative approval, patent, deed, or confirmation to the State of Alaska pursuant to applicable law; or
(E)regarding public land entries within units of the National Wildlife Refuge System established or expanded in this Act, any such entry not properly made under applicable law, or not the subject of an application filed within the time required by applicable law, or not properly maintained thereafter under applicable law shall be adjudicated pursuant to the Act under which the entry was made.
(4)Paragraph (1) of this subsection and subsection (c) shall not apply to any application which was knowingly and voluntarily relinquished by the applicant.
(b)An applicant may amend the land description contained in his or her application if said description designates land other than that which the applicant intended to claim at the time of application and if the description as amended describes the land originally intended to be claimed. If the application is amended, this section shall operate to approve the application or to require its adjudication, as the case may be, with reference to the amended land description only: Provided, That the Secretary shall notify the State of Alaska and all interested parties, as shown by the records of the Department of the Interior of the intended correction of the entry’s location, and any such party shall have until the one hundred and eightieth day following the effective date of this Act or sixty days following mailing of the notice, whichever is later, to file with the Department of the Interior a protest as provided in subsection (a)(3) of this section, which protest, if timely, shall be deemed filed within one hundred and eighty days of the effective date of this Act notwithstanding the actual date of filing: Provided further, That the Secretary may require that all applications designating land in a specific area be amended, if at all, prior to a date certain which date shall be calculated to allow for orderly adoption of a plan or survey for the specified area, and the Secretary shall mail notification of the final date for amendment to each affected applicant, and shall provide such other notice as the Secretary deems appropriate, at least sixty days prior to said date: Provided further, That no application may be amended for location following adoption of a final plan of survey which includes the location of the entry as described in the application or its location as desired by amendment.
(c)Where the land described in application (or such an application as adjusted or amended pursuant to subsection (b) or (c) of this section), was on that date withdrawn, reserved, or classified for powersite or power-project purposes, notwithstanding such withdrawal, reservation, or classification the described land shall be deemed vacant, unappropriated, and unreserved within the meaning of the Acts referred to in subsection (a)(1) hereof, and, as such, shall be subject to adjudication or approval pursuant to the terms of this section: Provided, however, That if the described land is included as part of a project licensed under part I of the Federal Power Act of June 10, 1920 (41 Stat. 24), as amended [16 U.S.C. 791a et seq.], or is presently utilized for purposes of generating or transmitting electrical power or for any other project authorized by Act of Congress, the foregoing provision shall not apply and the application shall be adjudicated pursuant to the appropriate Act: Provided further, That where the applicant commenced occupancy of the land after its withdrawal or classification for powersite purposes, the entry shall be made subject to the right of reentry provided the United States by section 24 of the Federal Power Act, as amended [16 U.S.C. 818]: Provided further, That any right of reentry reserved in a patent pursuant to this section shall expire twenty years after the effective date of this Act if at that time the land involved is not subject to a license or an application for a license under part I of the Federal Power Act, as amended, or actually utilized or being developed for a purpose authorized by that Act, as amended [16 U.S.C. 791a et seq.] or other Act of Congress.
(d)Prior to issuing a patent for an entry subject to this section, the Secretary shall identify and adjudicate any record entry or application for title to land described in the application, other than the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act [43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.], the Alaska Statehood Act, or the Act of May 17, 1906, as amended, which entry or application claims land also described in the application, and shall determine whether such entry or application represents a valid existing right to which the application is subject. Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect rights, if any, acquired by actual use of the described land prior to its withdrawal or classification, as affecting National Forest lands.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
References in Text
Act of
June 1, 1938 (52 Stat. 609), referred to in subsec. (a)(1), is act
June 1, 1938, ch. 317, 52 Stat. 609, which was classified to sections 682a to 682e of Title 43, Public Lands, was repealed by Pub. L. 94–579, title VII, § 702, Oct. 21, 1976, 90 Stat. 2787, 2789. Act of
May 3, 1927 (44 Stat. 1364), referred to in subsec. (a)(1), probably means act Mar. 3, 1927, ch. 323, 44 Stat. 1364, which was classified to section 687a of Title 43, and was repealed by Pub. L. 94–579, title VII, § 703(b), Oct. 21, 1976, 90 Stat. 2789, 2791. Act of
May 14, 1898, referred to in subsec. (a)(1), is act
May 14, 1898, ch. 299, 30 Stat. 409, which is classified to section 607a and 615a of this title, section 270, 270–4, 687a, 687a–2, 687a–3, 687a–4, 687a–5, and 942–1 to 942–9 of Title 43, and section 392 of Title 48, Territories and Insular Possessions. Section 270 of Title 43 was repealed by Pub. L. 94–579, title VII, § 703(a), Oct. 21, 1976, 90 Stat. 2789. Section 270–4 of Title 43 was repealed by Pub. L. 94–579, title VII, § 702, Oct. 21, 1976, 90 Stat. 2787. section 687a and 687a–2 to 687a–5 of Title 43 were repealed by Pub. L. 94–579, title VII, §§ 703(a), 704(a), Oct. 21, 1976, 90 Stat. 2789, 2792. Section 392 of Title 48 was eliminated from the Code as obsolete. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Tables. Act of
March 3, 1891, referred to in subsec. (a)(1), is act Mar. 3, 1891, ch. 561, 26 Stat. 1095, which is classified to section 161, 162, 165, 173, 174, 185, 202, 212, 321, 323, 325, 327 to 329, 663, 671, 687a–6, 718, 728, 732, 893, 946 to 949, 989, 1165, 1166, 1181, and 1197 of this title, section 471, 607, 611, 611a, and 613 of Title 16, Conservation, former section 495 of Title 25, Indians, and section 30, 36, 44, 45, 48; and 52 of Title 30, Mineral Lands and Mining. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Tables. The
Effective Date
of this Act, referred to in subsecs. (a) to (c), probably means the date of enactment of Pub. L. 96–487, which was approved Dec. 2, 1980. This Act, referred to in subsec. (a)(2) and (3)(E), is Pub. L. 96–487, Dec. 2, 1980, 94 Stat. 2371, known as the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see
Short Title
note set out under section 3101 of this title and Tables. The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, referred to in subsecs. (a)(2), (3)(A) and (d), is Pub. L. 92–203, Dec. 18, 1971, 85 Stat. 688, which is classified generally to chapter 33 (§ 1601 et seq.) of Title 43, Public Lands. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see
Short Title
note set out under section 1601 of Title 43 and Tables. The Federal Power Act and that Act, referred to in subsec. (c), is act
June 10, 1920, ch. 285, 41 Stat. 1063, which is classified generally to chapter 12 (§ 791a et seq.) of this title. Part I of the Federal Power Act of
June 10, 1920 as amended, is classified generally to subchapter I (§ 791a et seq.) of chapter 12 of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see section 791a of this title and Tables. The Alaska Statehood Act, referred to in subsec. (d), is Pub. L. 85–508,
July 7, 1958, 72 Stat. 339, which is set out as a note preceding section 21 of Title 48, Territories and Insular Possessions. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Tables. Act of
May 17, 1906, as amended, referred to in subsec. (d), is act
May 17, 1906, ch. 2469, 34 Stat. 197, which was classified to sections 270–1 to 270–3 of Title 43, Public Lands, prior to its repeal by Pub. L. 92–203, § 18(a), Dec. 18, 1971, 85 Stat. 710. See section 1617 of Title 43.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
16 U.S.C. § 3215
Title 16 — Conservation
Last Updated
Apr 5, 2026
Release point: 119-73not60