Federal forest land transferred to Alaska Native corporation in oil-spill recovery swap
S. 2016 — Chugach Alaska Land Exchange Oil Spill Recovery Act of 2025 · Filed by Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) · 1 cosponsor · Introduced Jun 10, 2025 · Reported out
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What it does
This bill authorizes a land exchange between the Chugach Alaska Corporation (a Native Alaskan regional corporation) and the federal government. CAC will convey approximately 231,000 acres of subsurface land it owns to the U.S. government, and in return will receive approximately 65,374 acres of federal land (mostly in the Chugach National Forest). The exchange is framed as part of oil-spill recovery efforts, consolidating federal ownership of lands acquired through the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council's habitat protection program.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core mechanism is a land swap between a Native Alaskan regional corporation and the federal government, framed as oil-spill recovery but functionally transferring federal forest and park land (including subsurface mineral rights) to a private entity in exchange for subsurface acres where the government already holds surface control.
What the text implies
- CAC gains subsurface mineral rights to federal National Forest System land and National Park Service land, potentially enabling future mineral extraction or development on public lands.
- The exchange transfers surface and subsurface estate of federal land to a for-profit regional corporation; the public benefit (habitat consolidation) is achieved through CAC's conveyance of land where the U.S. already holds surface easements or title.
- The bill excludes only 209 acres from CAC's conveyance for Village Corporation development rights and shareholder homesites, leaving the vast majority of subsurface acres available for CAC's use or development.
- No explicit environmental review, mineral assessment, or public comment process is mandated before the exchange; the Secretary has discretion to accept CAC's offer within one year of enactment.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
The exchange consolidates federal control over habitat acquired for oil-spill recovery, which serves public conservation interests. However, CAC—a for-profit regional corporation—gains valuable federal forest and park land (including subsurface mineral rights) in return for subsurface acres where the federal government already holds surface control or easements, raising questions about whether the public receives equivalent value and whether subsurface mineral development rights are being transf
Who stands to gain
- Chugach Alaska Corporation (gains federal forest and park land with subsurface mineral rights)
Named in the bill
Chugach Alaska Corporation (CAC), U.S. Department of Interior, U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council, State of Alaska, Village Corporations (Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act)
Where it stands
1 cosponsor: 1 Republicans.
- Jun 10, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
- Jun 10, 2025 — Referred to Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources”
- Dec 2, 2025 — Hearing held · Congress.gov: “Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining. Hearings held”
- Dec 17, 2025 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a…”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
3 lobbying clients named this bill on 5 disclosure filings across 3 quarters, Jun 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $1,870,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 6 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 61% of bills with at least one filing.
Lisa Murkowski, the sponsor, reported $364,800 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- Alzheimer's Association — $1,790,000 on 1 filing
- Chugach Alaska Corp — $80,000 on 2 filings
- Chenega Corporation — $0 on 2 filings
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (17,453 characters) on Jun 8, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Jun 2025 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 20, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-20.
“Federal forest land transferred to Alaska Native corporation in oil-spill recovery swap” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/s2016 Report an error
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