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Requesting Input on Proposed Relinquishment of State Entitlement Lands- Atigun River Selection

PUBLIC NOTICE

Requesting Input on a Proposed
Relinquishment of State Entitlement Lands

Comment Period Ends 3:00 PM, April 13, 2026

The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is proposing to relinquish the State of Alaska's (State) entitlement land selection for fee estate (all surface and subsurface interests) on approximately 3,968 acres, located in Township 14 South, Range 10 East, Umiat Meridian. The lands are located approximately 7 miles west of milepost 258 of the Dalton Highway, within the Endicott Mountains of the Brooks Range, between the Itkillik River and the Atigun River.  A location map is attached to this notice. The lands are not currently owned by the State, they are under Federal management and ownership. The purpose of relinquishment is to facilitate conveyance of the lands to the University of Alaska.

The Consolidate Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2023 (CAA) (Pub. L. 117-328) created a mechanism for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to convey Alaska Statehood Act lands to the University of Alaska (University). The CAA enabled the University to select up to 500,000 acres of State selected lands for possible acquisition, with a final conveyance of up to 360,000 acres. The State must concur with the final list of selected lands and submit conditional selection relinquishment letters to BLM. The program terminates on December 29, 2026.

More information about the CAA and University selections can be found here: https://www.alaska.edu/ualand/about/land-grant/


Information about hunting on University lands can be found here:
https://www.alaska.edu/ualand/permits/hunting-revised.php

Information about the State’s role in the CAA program can be found here: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/e796f8301c0047c4ab828b2036229c6f


Alaska Statute (AS) 38.05.035 allows for disposals of interests in state lands, and AS 38.05.945 provides procedures for notice of those disposals.


This notice and any future decisions on this proposed action are available on the State of Alaska online public notice portal: http://aws.state.ak.us/OnlinePublicNotices/. 

For assistance in obtaining documents by an alternative method, to request auxiliary aids, services, or special accommodations, contact DNR’s Public Information Centers on State work days, Monday through Friday, between 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. in Anchorage at (907) 269-8400, Fairbanks at (907) 451-2705, Southeast Land Office in Juneau at (907) 465-3400, TTY: 711 for Alaska Relay or 1-800-770-8973, or go to http://dnr.alaska.gov/commis/pic/ for additional contact information. Individuals who require special assistance must request assistance from the Public Information Center in Anchorage no later than 3:00 p.m., April 6, 2026.

The public is invited to submit comments addressing the proposed action: is it in the public and State’s best interests to relinquish the land selection so the lands can be conveyed to the University of Alaska. Comments should be limited to the proposed action. If commenting on more than one proposed action, separate comments should be submitted for each action. 

The deadline for public comment is 3:00 PM, Monday, April 13, 2026. Only persons from whom the Department of Natural Resources receives timely, written comment during the identified comment period will be eligible to file an appeal of the decision. Written comment may be received by email or postal mail. To submit comments or for direct inquiries, contact Ashley Hovis at ashley.hovis@alaska.gov or +1 (907) 269-8585.

After public input is considered, the decisions will be issued without further notice. A copy of the decision will be sent to any persons who provided input, and a copy will be posted on the States online public notice portal http://aws.state.ak.us/OnlinePublicNotices/. To subscribe to the State’s online public notice portal, visit the link and set up an email or RSS subscription using available criteria. 

DNR reserves the right to waive technical defects in this notice.

Attachments, History, Details

Revision History

Created 2/26/2026 12:08:24 PM by athovis

Details

Department: Natural Resources
Category: Public Notices
Sub-Category:
Location(s): Statewide
Project/Regulation #:
 
Publish Date: 2/26/2026
Archive Date: 4/14/2026
 
Events/Deadlines: