The bill would let Sealaska Corp. of Juneau pick lands outside designated areas -- a feature that has led to charges that the Native corporation is cherry-picking lands in the Tongass National Forest.
Sealaska is entitled to 85,000 acres under the 1971 Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, the federal law that created the Native corporations in settlement of their aboriginal claim to most of Alaska.
Fifty-eight House members signed the letter that says the bill would "severely threaten the economic and ecological well-being of the Tongass."
Sealaska says the letter is "misleading" and "ill-informed." It says the bill would maintain and create jobs, while preserving old-growth trees.
Important warning about e-mails purporting to be from the adn.com staff.