On August 15, the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced the completion of a land exchange with the Calista Corporation. The history of this exchange dates back to November 26, 1991, when Congress, under Public Law 102-172, authorized the Secretary of the Interior to pursue a land exchange with the Calista Corporation in order to acquire lands, and interests in lands, within the boundaries of the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge. These lands and interests in lands were conveyed to various village corporations and Calista under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971.
For nearly a decade, substantial differences in the estimated value of the land and associated subsurface rights hindered efforts to complete the exchange. The impasse was broken on October 31, 1998, when, under Public Law 105-333, Congress directed the Secretary of the Interior to implement the exchange. The funds from the exchange are being made available to Calista in installments spread over a period of six years. The funds can be used for the purchase of surplus Federal property, which can be in the form of lands or Treasury Certificates. Calista and three village corporations will use the proceeds from this exchange to "develop economically, to carry out their corporate goals and responsibilities and to realize the benefits of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act for the people of the region."
In exchange, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has obtained a total of 29,579 acres of fee estate (which includes both surface and subsurface rights) and 17,356 acres of non-development conservation easement conservation easement
A conservation easement is a voluntary legal agreement between a landowner and a government agency or qualified conservation organization that restricts the type and amount of development that may take place on a property in the future. Conservation easements aim to protect habitat for birds, fish and other wildlife by limiting residential, industrial or commercial development. Contracts may prohibit alteration of the natural topography, conversion of native grassland to cropland, drainage of wetland and establishment of game farms. Easement land remains in private ownership.
Learn more about conservation easement and subsurface estate. These lands contain wetland habitats for migratory waterfowl, such as geese, swans, sandhill cranes, ducks and loons, and various shorebirds. Additionally, the Service received 161,748 acres of subsurface estate under lands retained by Native Village Corporations. Calista also extinguished 10,000 acres of Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act entitlement to land outside of the refuge. The total area involved in the exchange, including surface and/or subsurface estate, is 218,683 acres.
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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 94-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System which encompasses more than 535 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 70 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resource offices and 78 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces Federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Aid program that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agenciesTimes New.
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