# Cape Fox Land Entitlement Finalization Act of 2024

This bill resolves a long-standing land dispute involving the Cape Fox Corporation, a Native Alaskan business entity, and the federal government. Essentially, it finalizes land that was promised to Cape Fox decades ago but never officially transferred. The bill directs the federal government to complete the transfer of approximately 24,000 acres of land in Alaska that Cape Fox is legally entitled to receive under previous agreements and Native claims settlements.

The practical effect is that Cape Fox will finally gain full ownership and control of land that has been in a kind of legal limbo. This matters because the corporation uses its land holdings to generate revenue for its shareholders—primarily Alaska Native people from the Cape Fox region—through timber operations, real estate development, and other business ventures. Once the land transfer is complete, Cape Fox can develop these properties, create jobs in the region, and generate income for the Alaska Native community it represents. The bill essentially removes bureaucratic obstacles that have prevented this transfer from happening, allowing a settlement that was supposed to occur years ago to finally be implemented.

For most Americans outside Alaska, this bill has minimal direct impact. However, it's significant for Alaska Native communities and represents the federal government following through on commitments made to Indigenous peoples. The bill is relatively straightforward—it's about honoring an existing legal obligation rather than creating new policy or programs.

Cape Fox Land Entitlement Finalization Act of 2024

Murkowski, Lisa

Cape Fox Land Entitlement Finalization Act of 2024This bill waives a statutory core township selection requirement for the Cape Fox Corporation and allows Cape Fox to receive&nbsp;other lands to fulfill its remaining land entitlement. Cape Fox is an Alaska Native village corporation for the Alaska Native village of Saxman, Alaska.Specifically, the bill states that Cape Fox shall not be required to receive its previously selected land of approximately 185 acres located within the township in which the Alaska Native village of Saxman, Alaska, is located. Instead, the bill allows Cape Fox to receive&nbsp;land outside of Cape Fox's current exterior selection boundary upon written notice of the new selection to the Department of the Interior.&nbsp;In particular, if Cape Fox submits written notice of its selection of approximately&nbsp;180 acres of surface land within the&nbsp;Tongass National Forest in Alaska to Interior within 90 days of the bill's enactment, then Interior must convey the federal land to Cape Fox. Upon conveyance of the surface estate of the federal land to Cape Fox, Interior must convey the subsurface estate of the federal land to Sealaska Corporation (the Alaska Native regional corporation representing southeastern Alaska).The bill reserves a public access easement on the federal land conveyed to Cape Fox and Sealaska.