§1610 Withdrawal of Public Lands

Summary

Certain public lands around Alaska Native villages are set aside and taken out of the normal public land programs, like mining, mineral leasing, and state land selection, while keeping any valid existing rights. The set-aside covers the township that contains any listed Native village, the townships that touch that township, and the townships that touch those. Any lands the State has picked but not yet received title to are also set aside. If those townships do not give a village enough acres, the Secretary must take three times the missing amount from the nearest unclaimed public lands that are similar and nearby, except lands inside a National Wildlife Refuge when those must be kept for the refuge. The Secretary had to make these withdrawals based on the best information within 60 days after December 18, 1971, or as soon as possible. The Secretary made a list of eligible Native villages and had 2½ years from December 18, 1971, to review them. A village loses its land benefits if the Secretary finds fewer than 25 Native residents on the 1970 census date or if the village is modern and mostly non-Native. Villages not on the original list could become eligible if, within 2½ years, the Secretary finds they had 25 or more Native residents in 1970 and are not modern and are mostly Native.