H.R. 2815 — Cape Fox Land Entitlement Finalization Act of 2025

This section defines terms used in the Act: (1) "Cape Fox" as the Cape Fox Village Corporation, a Village Corporation for the Native Village of Saxman, Alaska, organized pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act; (2) "Federal land" as approximately 180 acres of surface land within the Tongass National Forest in Alaska, as generally depicted on the Map; (3) "Map" as the map entitled "Cape Fox Village Corporation Final Selection" and dated December 18, 2023; and (4) "Secretary" as the Secretary of the Interior.

This section waives the core township land selection requirement of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) for the Cape Fox Village Corporation with respect to approximately 185 acres of unconveyed land (40 acres in T. 74 S., R. 90 E., sec. 10, SWNE; and 144.57 acres in T. 75 S., R. 91 E., sec. 1, lots 1, 3, and 4, Copper River Meridian) located within the township of the Native Village of Saxman, Alaska. (As background, ANCSA generally requires Village Corporations to select lands including the townships enclosing their villages.)

This section directs the Secretary, if Cape Fox Corporation submits written notice of selection of Federal land outside its exterior selection boundary within 90 days of enactment, to convey the surface estate in that land to Cape Fox and the subsurface estate to Sealaska Corporation as soon as practicable but not later than 180 days after receiving the notice. These conveyances fulfill (1) Cape Fox's surface estate entitlement of 23,040 acres as a village corporation under section 16 of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1615), and (2) Sealaska Corporation's subsurface estate entitlement in that land under section 14(f) of that Act (43 U.S.C. 1613(f)).

This section subjects the conveyance of federal land under section 4 to a reservation of a public easement under section 17(b) of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1616(b)) (i.e., easements across Native corporation lands to ensure public access for recreation, hunting, transportation, and other uses). The easement allows public access from George Inlet to National Forest System lands further inland on Revillagigedo Island.

This section subjects land conveyances under this Act to valid existing rights, reservations, rights-of-way, and other third-party encumbrances on the federal land as of the date of enactment, unless otherwise agreed to by the Secretary, the Secretary of Agriculture, and Cape Fox.