263 Acres of Timbered Agricultural Land West of the Chena River

Before you buy this parcel

• This land is held under State of Alaska Agricultural Land Patent No. 14112, dated 25 January 1995 and recorded 21 March 1995 at Book 896, Page 297 (document 1995-004428-0, Fairbanks Recording District). It traces to DNR case ADL 402578, a 1980 Two Rivers agricultural "rights only" auction. The patent conveys the surface estate only. The owner covenants to use the property for agricultural purposes only, which may include personal residential use incidental to farm operations, and to operate under a Farm Conservation Plan approved by the State. The covenant runs with the land, so it binds every later owner. The patent also sets a condition subsequent: if the property is used for non-agricultural purposes, the State may enter and terminate the estate. The borough's GU-1, General Use-1 zoning does not override the patent. A search of the recorder's index found no later State conveyance releasing these terms against Plat 86-90 Tract A. Borough records cite the patent as 896-297, which is its book and page, not a patent number.
• Minerals are not included. The patent reserves to the State of Alaska all oil, gas, coal, ores, minerals, fissionable materials, geothermal resources and fossils, with rights of surface entry, and the State keeps them even if an owner later acquires its remaining interests. The patent is also subject to a 50-foot public access and utility easement (ADL 403474) and a 20-foot recreational trails easement (ADL 402378), which stay in place either way. Water rights have not been established.
• The Alaska Department of Natural Resources sets out the options in its April 2016 fact sheet, Acquiring Fee Title on Agricultural Patents, Contracts, and Agricultural Homesteads. Agricultural patents issued before 5 August 1997 conveyed the agricultural interests only, and an owner may apply under Chapter 20, SLA 1997 to acquire the State's remaining interests. The land then stays under a perpetual covenant restricting it to agricultural purposes, and the right to construct housing generally has to be paid for; the fact sheet put that at $6,088 per parcel in 2016 dollars, adjusted annually. Subdivision is restricted as well. Confirm current terms and costs with the Department of Natural Resources before you rely on any of this.
• Whether harvesting or selling the standing timber counts as an agricultural purpose under the covenant has not been confirmed with the State. Ask the Department of Natural Resources before you plan a harvest or value the land on its timber.
• Access and encumbrance both come off the plat. Amended Plat 86-90 records that every section line carries a 50-foot easement on each side, reserved to the State of Alaska for public highways under AS 19.10.010. That is the statutory basis for reaching ground like this, and it is worth more here than a private easement would be - but it also means those strips along your section lines are encumbered and the State may open them as public way. The same plat notes a 50-foot pedestrian access easement running upland along the ordinary high water line of any water body or watercourse, which matters given the Chena River frontage.
• Flood zones differ between the two tracts. Tract A is entirely in Zone X, the borough's minimal-hazard designation. On Tract B, 12.01 of its 104.53 acres fall in Zone A, a special flood hazard area, with the remaining 93.43 acres in Zone X. Neither tract sits in a fire service area, which is worth knowing if you intend to build and insure.
• There is no road access to these parcels. An application to the US Army Corps of Engineers for a private road easement across the Chena River Lakes Flood Control Project was denied on 27 May 2026. Getting in means crossing Alaska Mental Health Trust land, or using the section line easements marked in green on the plat and aerial maps. The Trust Land Office lets the public onto Trust land on foot without a permit for day-use, non-commercial recreation, including hunting and fishing. Motorized travel there needs a Trust Land Office general permit (TLO Project 2019-171): it covers ATVs and snowmobiles up to 1,500 pounds curb weight on established roads and ATV trails, allows off-trail travel only in winter with enough snow cover, does not cover highway vehicles such as pickups, and can be revoked. The section line easements run 50 feet either side of the section line and can be developed without the Trust Land Office's permission, but anything more than a pedestrian trail should be raised first with the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, including its Public Access Assertion and Defense unit where a navigable water crossing is involved, and with the Fairbanks North Star Borough.
• Buyers should verify access, zoning and permitted uses independently before closing.