North Dakota Trust Lands Completion Act of 2025

This legislation establishes a mechanism for the State of North Dakota to relinquish certain state land grant parcels located wholly or partially within the boundaries of any recognized Indian reservation in the state. The primary purpose is to facilitate the restoration of these lands and minerals to the respective Indian Tribes. In return, the State is authorized to select one or more parcels of **unappropriated Federal land** of substantially equivalent value. The Secretary of the Interior must approve or reject the State's selection within 180 days, and the valuation of both the relinquished State land and the selected Federal land will be determined by independent appraisals, ensuring an **equal value** exchange. If values are not equal, the difference can be balanced through payments or managed via a ledger account, which must be balanced within three years and closed within five years of the last conveyance. Once the Secretary approves a selection, the federal land is conveyed to the State, and concurrently, the State relinquishes its interest in the original state land grant parcel. Crucially, if the relinquished State land is within a reservation, it will be taken into trust by the Secretary for the benefit of the applicable **Indian Tribe** upon their request and considered part of that Tribe's reservation. The State and Secretary are required to consult with affected Indian Tribes before such conveyances. The Act specifies that all conveyed land and minerals remain subject to applicable Federal, State, and Tribal laws. It explicitly protects existing **treaty rights** and other recognized rights of Indian Tribes, and does not affect land or minerals already held in trust for Tribes or individual Indian allotments. Provisions also address hazardous materials inspections prior to conveyance and ensure the continuation of existing grazing permits, leases, or contracts on conveyed lands, while clarifying that the Act does not apply to or affect pending litigation regarding land or mineral ownership.