Click here to view most recent Large Parcel Status Report (pdf)
Most large parcels acquired by the Trustee Council were owned by Native corporations. The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 provided for Native villages to select 44 million acres of public lands in Alaska and set up corporations to manage those lands and provide economic benefits for their Native shareholders. Lands were selected for proximity to villages, historical uses, and future development opportunities. Large blocks of land were selected, including some of the finest timber tracts, most productive estuaries and bays, and valuable salmon streams. These lands provide critical habitat for many of the fish and wildlife resources injured by the 1989 oil spill.
Negotiations with landowners have resulted in creative habitat protection measures, including fee-simple purchases, conservation easements, timber easements, and retention of shareholder home sites. The Trustee Council works only with willing sellers to craft protection packages that provide the highest benefit for the resources, Native shareholders, and the public. Most agreements allow public access for camping, hunting and fishing, restrict development, and maintain subsistence uses, while protecting injured resources and providing economic benefits to Native corporations. To date, the habitat protection agreements have been strongly supported by Native shareholders. In most cases, shareholders were required to approve the agreements by a two-thirds vote or better. Shareholder approval has ranged from 81 to 88 percent.
The Trustee Council's large parcel program is essentially complete. Following are highlights, a table listing the parcels protected, and a map showing these parcels' locations. Both the table and the map are linked to more detailed information on each large parcel.
Large Parcel Status Table
| Afognak Joint Venture | 41,376 | 73,966,348 | 73,966,348 |
| Akhiok-Kaguyak | 113,388 | 46,000,000 | 36,000,000 |
| Chenega | 60,001 | 34,000,000 | 24,000,000 |
| English Bay | 32,470 | 15,156,790 | 14,128,074 |
| Eyak / Orca Narrows | 78,138 | 48,576,704 | 48,576,704 |
| Kachemak Bay State Park | 23,701 | 22,000,000 | 7,500,000 |
| Koniag (Fee) | 59,674 | 26,500,000 | 19,500,000 |
| Koniag (Easement) | 56,823 | 32,100,000 | 31,950,000 |
| Old Harbor | 31,609 | 14,500,000 | 11,291,000 |
| Seal Bay/Tonki Cape | 41,549 | 39,549,333 | 39,549,333 |
| Shuyak Island | 26,958 | 42,000,000 | 42,000,000 |
| Tatitlek | 72,129 | 34,719,461 | 24,719,461 |
| TOTAL: | 635,770 | 429,343,410 | 373,200,065 |
Highlights
Prince William Sound
Prince William Sound, where spilled oil did its greatest damage, is also home to five of the seven most valuable parcels in terms of
restoration value. Each available parcel in the spill region was ranked for its value as habitat for injured resources.
Jackpot and Eshamy bays in western Prince William Sound, Bligh Island and Two Moon Bay in the northeastern sound, and Sheep Bay in the eastern sound are all regarded as having exceptionally valuable habitat. Logging was already underway at Two Moon Bay when habitat protection efforts began and other areas were slated for timber harvest.
Under agreements with Chenega Corporation, Tatitlek Corporation, and Eyak Corporation, 204,759 acres were protected, including nearly 600 miles of shoreline and 175 salmon streams. About 40 percent of the total acreage is protected through conservation and timber easements. Chugach National Forest has taken over management of most of the land, with smaller areas set aside for the state to manage as part of the marine park system.
Lower Kenai
Peninsula
Two protection packages that received overwhelming public support
are located on the Kenai Peninsula. The first occurred in 1993, when
the state acquired 23,000 acres within popular Kachemak Bay State
Park, across the bay from Homer, to prevent logging of the
old-growth maritime forest. The Trustee Council provided $7.5
million for the purchase, and the State of
Alaska contributed $7 million from the Exxon criminal settlement and
another $7.5 million from its civil settlement with Alyeska Pipeline
Service Company.
In 1997, the Trustees funded the purchase of 32,537 acres within Kenai Fjords National Park and adjacent islands within the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. The $14.1 million land package with English Bay Corporation includes some of the most valuable coastal habitat within the park, which is the second most popular park in Alaska, behind Denali National Park and Preserve.
Afognak-Shuyak
Islands
Shuyak Island State Park
quadrupled in size in 1997 when 26,665 acres protected by the
Trustee Council were added to the park along with other state lands.
The habitat on Shuyak Island was ranked among the highest in the
spill region and is very popular for recreational purposes.
Afognak
Island State Park was created in 1994 after protection of 41,549
acres through the Trustee Council process. This highly productive
coastal habitat was threatened by imminent clearcut logging of the
mature spruce forest.
Another 41,350 acres were protected on northern Afognak Island, adjacent to the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge and Afognak Island State Park. This $70.5 million agreement protects the most highly ranked habitat in the spill region, including large buffers around the popular Paul’s and Laura lakes. The extremely high economic value of the timber resources on Afognak Island make protection of this area the most costly in the spill region. Ironically, the trees valued as good marbled murrelet nesting habitat are also those most highly valued for timber.
Kodiak
Island
The protection of habitat on Kodiak Island includes the high value
land around Olga Bay and the very popular salmon systems of the
Karluk and Sturgeon rivers. The Trustees have protected 262,658
acres on the island, all of it within Kodiak National Wildlife
Refuge. In addition to providing protection for pink and sockeye
salmon, harlequin ducks, bald eagles, black oystercatchers, and
other injured resources, the Kodiak Island acquisitions also help
protect habitat important to Kodiak brown bears.
Olga Bay, Upper Station lakes, and the Aiulik Peninsula on the southern tip of the island are all considered among the most valuable habitats for injured species.
The Karluk and Sturgeon rivers, among the most productive salmon systems in Alaska, were given temporary protection through a non-development easement that expires in 2011. The terms of the agreement with Koniag Corporation include establishment of a fund that might be tapped for acquisition at some date in the future.
Large Parcel Map
Click on the parcels shown on the map for detailed information about each parcel.
