Sen. Sullivan reacts to secretary of the Interior opening up an additional 11 million acres for Alaska Native Veterans [Video]

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU)—According to the Department of the Interior, approximately 1,900 Alaska Native Vietnam-era veterans are eligible to select a 160-acre land entitlement under the Alaska Native Vietnam-era Veteran Land Allotment Program (ANVLAP).

However, the implementation of this program has been poor, according to U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, a member of the Veterans Affairs Committee.

Now, the Department of Interior has announced a move that Sen. Sullivan says is a “little late.”

“Secretary [Deb] Haaland, President Biden, they have completely, in my view, slow rolled this,” Sullivan said.

Following through on a Central Yukon Resource Management Plan recommendation, the Secretary of the Interior has authorized a Public Land Order that makes an extra 11.1 million acres of BLM-managed public lands in central Alaska available for selection under ANVLAP – a program created in 2019 under the Dingell Act.

The Dingell Act established ANVLAP as the primary method for transferring …