BLM advances ANCSA land transfer near Flat to Doyon, Limited

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Today, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) issued an interim conveyance for approximately 1,085 acres of public land near Flat, Alaska, to Doyon, Limited, an Alaska Native regional corporation, under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA). This conveyance reflects continued advancement of one of the nation’s most extensive and longstanding public land transfer efforts. 

Doyon, Limited’s Section 12(c) entitlement totals about 8.36 million acres. Of that, roughly 1.48 million acres have been transferred through interim conveyances, and about 6.68 million acres have been fully patented. Approximately 202,040 acres remain to be transferred. 

“Since passage of ANCSA in 1971, Alaskans have seen a profound shift in land ownership, reflecting both opportunity and self-determination. Today’s conveyance marks continued progress in fulfilling the promises of ANCSA.” said BLM Alaska State Director Kevin Pendergast. 

ANCSA was a landmark settlement between the United States and Alaska Native peoples intended to resolve aboriginal land title claims. Through ANCSA, Alaska Native regional corporations were authorized to select lands within their regions for conveyance. While the initial selections were completed in the 1970s, the BLM continues to work through the more complex land conveyances and legal patents to fulfill these entitlements.  

To date, the BLM has successfully conveyed the vast majority of the eligible acreage selected by Alaska Native corporations. Of the roughly 45.7 million total ANCSA entitlement acres, more than 44.3 million acres (97%) have been conveyed through patents or interim conveyances.  

These transfers provide Alaska Native corporations with legal land title enabling long-term economic planning, cultural preservation, and community development.  

BLM administers ANCSA land conveyances as part of the broader Alaska Land Transfer Program, the largest federal land transfer effort ever undertaken in the United States. For more than 50 years, the BLM has been involved with the survey and conveyance of lands in Alaska under four statutes: the Native Allotment Act of 1906; the Alaska Statehood Act; the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act; and the Dingell Act. The program also includes cadastral surveying and related actions, such as adjudication by legal land law examiners, necessary to clarify legal boundaries and titles before lands can be patented to Alaska Native corporations, individual allottees, and the State of Alaska.