Hundreds attend meeting on Native land swap

Friday, February 22, 2008  

Hundreds of people attended a public meeting on a controversial land swap between the federal government and an Alaska Native regional corporation.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is taking comments on a draft environmental impact statement for a swap in the Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge. The proposal calls for exchanging 110,000 acres of refuge land, plus mineral rights on an 97,000 acres, for 150,000 acres owned by Doyon Ltd.

The Doyon lands are considered important to wildlife conservation. The refuge lands are considered valuable for oil and gas development.

Local tribes and some Doyon shareholders oppose the swap. They said the Fish and Wildlife Service failed to consult individually with each of the 60 tribes affected. A tribal representative also said the EIS should have been translated into Native languages.

According to The Fairbanks Daily News Miner, only one person spoke in favor of the swap.

Get the Story:
Land swap debate draws hundreds (The Fairbanks Daily News Miner 2/22)

Relevant Links:
Doyon Ltd. - http://www.doyon.com
Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge Proposed Land Exchange - http://yukonflatseis.ensr.com
Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge - http://yukonflats.fws.gov

Related Stories:
Draft EIS on Alaska Native corporation land swap (1/23)
Gwich'in tribe opposes Alaska Native land swap (6/1)
Some Native corp shareholders oppose land swap (03/23)
Alaska Native corporation land swap proposed (10/22)
Stevens rider allows land swap with Native corporation (09/17)
Norton's intervention won't help Native corporation (09/16)
Norton intervened in Native corporation-park dispute (09/03)
Purchase of Native allotment clears Congress (07/23)
Stevens rider pays Native friends $2.5M for land (07/12)