Alaska moves to drop land claims near Statehood Act limit

Why Alaska is reducing its claims

The Alaska Department of Natural Resources is preparing to relinquish Statehood Act claims covering as much as 5.7 million acres across Alaska. The department has identified 18 groups of claims for possible surrender, including land under Eielson Air Force Base, a bombing range near Fort Greely, parcels surrounded by other owners in western Alaska and land once considered for a road near Unalakleet.

The 1958 Alaska Statehood Act entitled the state to select 105 million acres of federal land. Before the selection period ended in 1993, Alaska claimed more land than it was entitled to receive because some preferred parcels were unavailable or already being used for other purposes.

About 3.2 million acres remain to be transferred. Federal law allows Alaska to maintain active selections totaling no more than 125% of that remaining amount. As federal transfers reduce the balance, the state must narrow its outstanding claims.

What happens next

Each claim relinquishment requires its own public process. Giving up all 18 identified groups would not bring Alaska below the federal limit, so DNR expects to review additional selections.

The state plans to prioritize land that is more valuable or more likely to become available. Alaska also holds millions of acres in “top-filed” selections, which give the state priority if an existing federal use, such as a mining claim, ends. Those selections do not count toward the 125% ceiling, although DNR may review some of them too.

Federal land transfers require surveys, boundary marking and administrative processing. Earlier in 2026, the federal government removed restrictions that had prevented the transfer of 1.4 million acres along the Dalton Highway and trans-Alaska oil pipeline. Decisions about which final selections to preserve could fall to future governors and DNR commissioners.