H.R. 2815: Cape Fox Land Entitlement Finalization Act of 2025

The bill is narrowly focused, but it carries real weight for the Native Village of Saxman, Alaska. Congress is telling the Interior Department to stop applying one technical rule that would otherwise force Cape Fox to take remaining land from a specific township. Instead, the corporation can satisfy its final land entitlement with about 180 acres inside the Tongass National Forest shown on a 2023 map.

That matters because the bill is designed to clean up a land selection problem left over from the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. Rather than reopening a broad land fight, it creates a one-time fix for this specific corporation. If Cape Fox submits written notice within 90 days, the Secretary of the Interior must convey the surface estate to Cape Fox, and the subsurface estate goes to Sealaska Corporation, matching the usual ANCSA split between village and regional corporations.

The legislation also tries to avoid future disputes. It says these transfers fully satisfy Cape Fox's remaining entitlement and Sealaska's related subsurface interest, which should close the books on this claim. It also protects public access by reserving an easement across the conveyed land so people can still reach inland National Forest System land from George Inlet on Revillagigedo Island.

The bill does not create a big new spending program, and it does not appear to authorize compensation or development funding. Its main effect is administrative and legal: transfer title, preserve access, and recognize existing rights-of-way and other valid claims already attached to the land. In short, it is a targeted settlement bill meant to deliver certainty to Cape Fox, Sealaska, and the federal government.