The Three Affiliated Tribes could get back some 36,000 acres of reservation land that was taken 50 years ago for construction of Garrison Dam.

The land was taken by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which has specific authority to return tribal land no longer needed to maintain or operate the dam project.

The tribe made its request late this fall.

The acres are on both sides of Lake Sakakawea on the reservation, excluding land on the upper Van Hook peninsula.

Corps spokesman Jerry Alexander said the corps wants to establish transfer authority this year, then action could be imminent. He said the corps has yet to determine which of the acres could be returned.

Among properties that could be transferred is the McKenzie Bay recreation area, with $2.5 million in a ramp and facilities. The Watford City Park Board and the McKenzie Marine Association jointly operate the site.

McKenzie County developer Gene Veeder said the recreation lease is an asset to the county's quality of life, well developed with mature trees, a ramp and 50 trailer sites.

He said any change in ownership would be a concern.

Besides McKenzie Bay, the only other non-tribal corps' lease involved in the transfer would be a 1,000-acre wildlife management area leased by the North Dakota Game and Fish Department at Deepwater Bay.

A tribal press release said Three Affiliated Tribes is continuing a lengthy quest to regain land that belongs to them.

"The tribes have always sought, and will continue to seek, the transfer of these lands until they are rightfully transferred back to the tribes," the release said.

Tim Kolke, Corps' Lake Sakakawea real estate manager, said the transfer could include language that would protect existing leases.

The corps would not be required to hold public meetings on the issue.

Alexander said arrangements could be made if a strong desire for public input was expressed.

This is the same land that nearly transferred along with a $143 million federal trust fund settlement in the early '90s, to make reparation for the 140,000 tribal acres lost to the lake.

Three Affiliated Tribes can spend the trust interest on health, education and development.

About 5,000 fringe acres furthest from the lake did go back, but the transfer of acres closer to the lake that's on the table now failed in negotiations then.

An old lawsuit filed by the tribe relating to the '90s transfer was dismissed this summer, opening the way for the latest request.

Most of the acres are used for grazing.

Cabin sites at Red Butte Bay are privately owned, but they would be inside the reservation if the transfer takes place.

Parshall Bay, Van Hook and New Town recreation areas would be excluded from the proposed transfer.

The tribes have corps leases for all remaining recreation areas on the reservation, such as Skunk Bay, Charging Eagle and Pouch Point.

Kolke said the land involved is a continuous strip along the lake, but varies in width.

The corps would keep land and shoreline below 1,854 feet elevation - the maximum lake pool level, reached only once in the lake's history, in the great flood year of 1997.

Alexander said the corps also would retain the right to flood land above 1,854 feet, which seems unimaginable given the lake's record low level of 1,810 feet now.

The transfer authority is set out in the federal Fort Berthold Mineral Restoration Act and is specific to the reservation.

The corps has similar land around the lake, but for now doesn't have authority to return it to other public entities.

Action on the Three Affiliated Tribes' request would require a land transfer from the secretary of the Army to the secretary of the interior, and then to the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The BIA would hold the land in trust for the reservation, like it does other tribal trust lands, Kolke said.

(Reach reporter Lauren Donovan at 888-303-5511 or lauren@westriv.com.)