Too often, Native allotments or other shareholder-owner property gets conveyed without a dedicated easement to the property. To resolve this, Ahtna implemented a policy in 2015 that allows shareholder-owners up to a 60-foot-wide easement across Ahtna land to their property.

The Land Department staff works with local utility companies and the Alaska Recorders Office to establish and officially record the easement. Shareholder-owners are responsible for construction costs and necessary permits.

Ahtna also issues sand and gravel permits that allow shareholder-owners to take up to 100 cubic yards of pit-run gravel annually for personal use. If a shareholder-owner needs more gravel, the Land Department can issue a one-time permit for a larger quantity. Only pit-run gravel is allowed at no charge and the shareholder-owner must provide loading and transportation. Other sand and gravel products may be available locally and sold at the production price.

Other services provided by Ahtna include:

• Firewood and house logs, although certain 
 restrictions apply to Shareholder Village 
 Corporation stock and assistance while harvesting
• Property assistance in the form of survey-
 monument location and marking, land-title 
 research, land-document preparation and mapping
• The Merger Land Use Program (MLUP)

Established during the 1980s after the Ahtna ANCSA village corporations merged with Ahtna, Inc., the MLUP allows shareholder-owners to select one acre of Ahtna land for every 20 shares of original village corporation stock. The process includes an application, land selection, testamentary disposition or will, approval by the successor village organization and Land Committee, identification and marking the property corners and then the issuance of a lifetime estate for the property. Shareholder-owners must have a testamentary disposition (TD) or will on file before the lifetime estate can be issued. Shareholder Records can guide you through the process.