BBNC shareholders own thousands of allotments around the Bristol Bay region – parcels of land of up to 160 acres patented to individuals under various federal allotment statutes. Collectively, these allotments account for nearly 150,000 acres of privately-owned lands in the region.

While Native allotments are privately owned, the federal government retains trust obligations on behalf of the allotment owner. This affords the allotment owner with important benefits, but also complicates transactions – for example, earnings from the allotment are not subject to federal income taxes, but the federal government (through the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA)) is required to provide realty services. In most instances, BIA provides its realty services through Bristol Bay Native Association (BBNA) as the federal service provider.

BBNC’s Land Department has been using Geographic Information System (GIS) tools to assess Native allotment parcels in Bristol Bay across a series of different metrics with the goal of prioritizing potential acquisition targets. The metrics being assessed are far reaching and include, but are not limited to, conservation values, economic development potential, presence of rock or gravel resources, waterfront acreage, access to subsistence resources, and other strategic importance. These scores enable the Land Department to identify specific allotments that would be promising acquisition targets. Equipped with this information, the Land Department can contact the current owners to assess their interest in discussing a potential sale of the parcel. If there is mutual interest, the allotment owner can work with BBNA’s land management office to begin the sale process. In many instances, a field appraisal or survey would be required – thus most transactions take 1-2 years to complete.

To date, BBNC has acquired six parcels, including two over the past few months – a 20-acre parcel north of Ekwok that was used as a trap-line and an 80-acre parcel on Amanka Lake that supports both conservation and economic development values.

Any Native Allotment owners from the Bristol Bay region can contact BBNC’s Land Department with further questions or to discuss a potential acquisition transaction.