43 U.S.C. § 1635 State Selections and Conveyances

• Library: United States Statutes
• Edition: 2023
• Currency: Current through P.L. 118-34 (published on www.congress.gov on 12/26/2023), except for [P. L. 118-31]
• Year: 2023
• Citation: 43 U.S.C. § 1635

(a) Omitted

(b) School lands settlement

(1) In full and final settlement of any and all claims by the State of Alaska arising under the Act of March 4, 1915 (38 Stat. 1214), as confirmed and transferred in section 6(k) of the Alaska Statehood Act, the State is hereby granted seventy-five thousand acres which it shall be entitled to select until January 4, 1994, from vacant, unappropriated, and unreserved public lands. In exercising the selection rights granted herein, the State shall be deemed to have relinquished all claims to any right, title, or interest to any school lands which failed to vest under the above statutes at the time Alaska became a State (January 3, 1959), including lands unsurveyed on that date or surveyed lands which were within Federal reservations or withdrawals on that date.

(2) Except as provided herein, such selections shall be made in conformance with the provisions for selections under section 6(b) of the Alaska Statehood Act. Selections made under this subsection shall be in units of whole sections as shown on the official survey plats of the Bureau of Land Management, including protraction diagrams, unless part of the section is unavailable or the land is otherwise surveyed, or unless the Secretary waives the whole section requirement.

(3) Lands selected and conveyed to the State under this subsection shall be subject to the provisions of subsections (j) and (k) of section 6 of the Alaska Statehood Act.

(c) Prior tentative approvals

(1) All tentative approvals of State of Alaska land selections pursuant to the Alaska Statehood Act are hereby confirmed, subject only to valid existing rights and Native selection rights under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act [ 43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.], and the United States hereby confirms that all right, title, and interest of the United States in and to such lands is deemed to have vested in the State of Alaska as of the date of tentative approval; except that this subsection shall not apply to tentative approvals which, prior to December 2, 1980, have been relinquished by the State, or have been finally revoked by the United States under authority other than authority under section 11(a)(2), 12(a), or 12(b) of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act [ 43 U.S.C. 1610(a)(2), 1611(a), or 1611(b) ].

(2) Upon approval of a land survey by the Secretary, such lands shall be patented to the State of Alaska.

(3) If the State elects to receive patent to any of the lands which are the subject of this subsection on the basis of protraction surveys in lieu of field surveys, the Secretary shall issue patent to the State on that basis within six months after notice of such election. For townships having such adverse claims of record, patent on the basis of protraction surveys shall be issued as soon as practicable after such election.

(4) Future tentative approvals of State land selections, when issued, shall have the same force and effect as those existing tentative approvals which are confirmed by this subsection and shall be processed for patent by the same administrative procedures as specified in paragraphs (2) and (3) of this subsection.

(d) Prior State selections

(1) In furtherance of the State's entitlement to lands under section 6(b) of the Alaska Statehood Act, the United States hereby conveys to the State of Alaska, subject only to valid existing rights and Native selection rights under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act [ 43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.], all right, title and interest of the United States in and to all vacant, unappropriated, and unreserved lands, including lands subject to subsection (l) of this section, which are specified in the list entitled "Prior State of Alaska Selections to be Conveyed by Congress", dated July 24, 1978, submitted by the State of Alaska and on file in the Office of the Secretary except those Federal lands which are specified in a list dated October 19, 1979, submitted by the State of Alaska and on file with the Office of the Secretary. If any of those townships listed above contain lands within the boundaries of any conservation system unit, national conservation area, national recreation area, new national forest or forest addition, established, designated, or expanded by this Act, then only those lands within such townships which have been previously selected by the State of Alaska shall be conveyed pursuant to this subsection.

(2) In furtherance of the State's entitlement to lands under section 6(a) of the Alaska Statehood Act, the United States hereby conveys to the State of Alaska, subject only to valid existing rights and Native selection rights under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act [ 43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.], all right, title and interest of the United States in and to all valid land selections made from the national forests under authority of said section 6(a) which have been approved by the Secretary of Agriculture prior to July 1, 1979.

(3) As soon as practicable after December 2, 1980, the Secretary shall issue tentative approvals to such State selections as required by the Alaska Statehood Act and pursuant to subsection (i) of this section. The sequence of issuance of such tentative approvals shall be on the basis of priorities determined by the State.

(4) Upon approval of a land survey by the Secretary, such lands shall be patented to the State of Alaska.

(5) If the State elects to receive patent to any of the lands which are the subject of this subsection on the basis of protraction surveys in lieu of field surveys, the Secretary shall issue patent to the State on that basis within six months after notice of such election for townships having no adverse claims on the public land records. For townships having such adverse claims of record, patent on the basis of protraction surveys shall be issued as soon as practicable after such election.

(6) Future valid State land selections shall be subject only to valid existing rights and Native selection rights under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act [ 43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.].

(e) Future "top filings"

Subject to valid existing rights and Native selection rights under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act [ 43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.], the State, at its option, may file future selection applications and amendments thereto, pursuant to section 6(a) or (b) of the Alaska Statehood Act or subsection (b) of this section, for lands which are not, on the date of filing of such applications, available within the meaning of section 6(a) or (b) of the Alaska Statehood Act, other than lands within any conservation system unit or the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. Each such selection application, if otherwise valid, shall become an effective selection without further action by the State upon the date the lands included in such application become available within the meaning of subsection (a) or (b) of section 6 regardless of whether such date occurs before or after expiration of the State's land selection rights. Selection applications heretofore filed by the State may be refiled so as to become subject to the provisions of this subsection; except that no such refiling shall prejudice any claim of validity which may be asserted regarding the original filing of such application. Nothing contained in this subsection shall be construed to prevent the United States from transferring a Federal reservation or appropriation from one Federal agency to another Federal agency for the use and benefit of the Federal Government.