Lisa Murkowski: “the Alaska Land Transfer Acceleration Act of 2003 will transfer millions of acres of land to Alaska Natives, the State…”

“the Alaska Land Transfer Acceleration Act of 2003 will transfer millions of acres of land to Alaska Natives, the State of Alaska and to Native Corporations by 2009. The Federal agencies in Alaska have management jurisdiction of over 63 percent of the State. It is time to transfer these public lands from Federal Government control to private ownership. This legislation creates a strategic plan for the Bureau of Land Management to finally resolve long-standing land survey, land entitlement issues and land claims issues, some of which date back to 1906. Since 1906 Congress has enacted other legislation that requires the BLM to transfer public lands to Alaska Natives, the State of Alaska and to Alaska Native Corporations. The land conveyance program is the largest and most complex of any in United States history. For many years, BLM's primary goal was to convey title to unsurveyed lands to the State and Native Corporations by tentative approval and interim conveyance, respectively. This management practice allowed the State and Native Corporations to manage their lands, subject only to the survey of the final boundary. This legislation will accelerate release of lands for conveyance to Native corporations and the State of Alaska. It will complete land patterns to allow land owners to more efficiently manage their land. It will clarify that certain minerals can be transferred to Native landowners. And frankly, split estates can be minimized.”