Haa Aaní FAQ

Jump to section:
Legislation and Sealaska ANCSA Land Entitlement
Public Access
Sustainability
Economy
Energy
Un-conveyed Lands Left in Original Withdrawal Areas

Legislation and Sealaska ANCSA Land Entitlement
Q: What does the Haa Aaní legislation do?
A: The legislation will authorize Sealaska to select lands outside the original withdrawal areas created by the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) that will fulfill the promise of ANCSA to create sustainable economies on Prince of Wales Island and in Southeast Alaska.

Q: What are ANCSA ‘withdrawal areas’?
A: Nine townships of land that surround the Southeast Alaska Native villages recognized by ANCSA from which Alaska Natives are allowed to select their land entitlement.

Q: Were all ANCSA corporations forced to only select lands from within withdrawal areas?
A: Southeast Alaska Native corporations were the only ones restricted to these kinds of withdrawal areas.

Q: Is it true Sealaska would get more land than it otherwise is entitled to get under ANCSA?
A: No, Sealaska will not get a single acre more than its fair share in accordance with ANCSA.

Q: What is Sealaska’s ANCSA land entitlement and how many more acres is it due?
A: Sealaska is entitled to at least 354,000 acres but we believe as much as 375,000 acres; to date we have received 290,000 acres, meaning we have between 64,000 and 85,000 acres yet to receive.

Q: Why the urgency for this legislation?
A: Sealaska may be forced to cease its timber operations within 2 to 3 years without these lands but after waiting 37 years since ANCSA was passed it seems fair that our lands be granted to us.

Q: Why is Sealaska’s ANCSA land entitlement unknown?
A: Sealaska is the only ANCSA regional corporation whose land entitlement comes from section 14(h). All the other regions’ lands were allocated in section 12 according to population. Section 14(h) is the most complex land allocation section in all of ANCSA. Congress set aside two million acres of land to meet specific purposes: historic sites; Native groups not villages; urban corporations; Native primary places of residences; and Native allotments. Set aside lands not necessary to meet those purposes are allocated to the 12 regional corporations on the basis of population; this means Sealaska gets 22 % of these surplus lands, but it also means all these issues must be resolved in all regions before the final allocation is known. This has been done for most but not all regions, but nevertheless after 37 years since ANCSA was passed it’s time to complete Sealaska’s ANCSA land entitlement.

Public Access
Q: Will the public be able to use Sealaska lands outside the original withdrawal areas?
A: Yes, Sealaska requested specific provisions in the legislation to protect the public’s access to out-of-withdrawal lands selected for economic development.

Q: What does the term ‘unprecedented public access’ mean?
A: Sealaska’s out-of-withdrawal economic development land is the only private land in all of Alaska where public access through and to these lands is allowed and protected in legislation.

Q: Why would Sealaska seek such protection?
A: Sealaska seeks to be a good neighbor and member of the community of Southeast Alaska and concern over public access and use of these lands was the dominant issue we heard in the 150+ meetings we had with the public, tribes, organizations and others.

Q: How important is public access to Sealaska?
A: Resoundingly we heard from our neighbors in the 150+ meetings we had with them that their continued subsistence and recreational use of these lands is important; so much so that Sealaska requested these specific provisions be included in legislation.

Q: How does the legislation protect the public’s access to lands?
A: Haa Aaní protects the publics’:

ability to travel through out-of-withdrawal economic development lands to neighboring Tongass National Forest lands by reserving in legislation {Section 4(d)(1)(A)and 4(d)(1)(B)}:
a. specific road easements for roads identified in the Tongass Access Management Plan to be kept open – this means the public can continue to drive on these roads
b. trail easements for roads identified in the Tongass Access Management Plan to be closed – this means the public can hike on these trails to use the land
access for noncommercial subsistence consistent with ANILCA and recreational uses {Sec. 4(d)(1)(D)(i))}

Q: How will these roads with easements reserved be maintained?
A: Road maintenance costs are a challenge for all land owners including Sealaska and government agencies such as the Tongass National Forest and the State of Alaska, and Sealaska will do its part through use agreements with the Tongass and the State, application for highway funds, timber harvest operations and regional transportation planning to keep these roads maintained appropriately for public use; examples of this are the roads to Hydaburg, Kasaan and the Big Salt Highway to Thorne Bay, Naukati, Coffman Cove and Whale Pass.

Q: How will public safety be assured during unsafe times on these roads and lands?
A: Sealaska may restrict access and post certain lands and roads in accordance with State law during commercial timber harvest operations and other such situations where general public use is not safe.

Sustainability
Q: What does sustainability mean to Sealaska?
A: Sustainability is a balance between our ancestral heritage and social needs; use and stewardship of our natural resources; and jobs and economic development for Southeast Alaska.

Q: How will lands selected as authorized by Haa Aaní make Sealaska sustainable?
A: Sealaska will select:

over 200 sacred sites from our ancestral heritage, approximately 3,600 acres throughout Southeast;
approximately 5,000 acres of land for Native futures sites that will allow Sealaska to diversify our economic presence by allowing us to create cultural, ecotourism opportunities distributed throughout Southeast.
the remainder of our ANCSA entitlement is for economic development; these lands when combined with our existing ANCSA lands will allow us to establish a sustainable forestry program and are a combination of:
young growth that will mature sooner than the young growth on our existing lands, and
old growth to sustain our harvest until the above young growth matures.

Economy
Q: How will Haa Aaní benefit the Prince of Wales Island economy?
A: Haa Aaní is the economic stimulus bill for Southeast because it will:

allow Sealaska to continue its contribution to the POW economy which in 2008 was:

$6 million of personal income
210 jobs
$25 million for logging contracts
Spending for 31 POW businesses and organizations

create new economic opportunities for Sealaska to partner with local tribes, businesses and village corporations.

Q: Is there reason to be concerned for the POW Island economy?
A: Yes!

All of the larger communities on the Island have seen population declines; since 2000:
Craig down 18 percent
Klawock down 8 percent
Thorne Bay down 21 percent
In the absence of Sealaska timber harvests, the population decline would have been much more severe.
Future Sealaska timber harvests will be key in mitigating further economic decline on Prince of Wales Island

Energy
Q: High diesel fuel costs and energy costs are a major concern for much of Prince of Wales Island; how does Sealaska help address this?
A: By partnering with Viking Lumber, Crown Alaska Logging, and local cities and tribes in Craig, Klawock, Kasaan and Hydaburg to create a community firewood program. We can help because of our existing lands and timber operations and this way homes can be heated when it’s cold.

By working with Alaska Power and Telephone (APT) to create the Black Bear Lake and South Fork hydropower electric generation on Sealaska land in the Black Bear Valley that provides economical electricity to Hydaburg, Craig, Klawock, Thorne Bay, and Kasaan, and soon to Naukati and Coffman Cove.
By working with APT and Haida Corporation to develop the Reynolds Creek hydro facility for a future addition to the Black Bear/South Fork power grid.
Sealaska’s operations contribute to the critical mass demand for fuel deliveries to Prince of Wales; as demand goes down fuel deliveries get more difficult.
By partnering with Viking Lumber and others in the pursuit of alternate energy products manufactured from wood residues.

Un-conveyed Lands Left in Original Withdrawal Areas
Q: What about the rest of the land in the withdrawal areas?
A: These lands, some 327,000 acres, will be managed by the Tongass National Forest (TNF) in accordance with the Tongass Land Management Plan (TLMP).

Q: What are these 327,000 acres like?
A: These lands are biologically valuable and are important for subsistence and other public uses:

112,000 acres are classified as Productive Old Growth by TNF and
61,000 acres are in Old Growth Reserves.

careers

media

FAQ

Join Our eNews Network