WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today announced that the Department of the Interior is distributing $26.5 million to Alaskan communities in compensation for taxes that could not be levied on federal lands in their jurisdictions during fiscal year 2013.

The Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program provides monetary compensation to local governments that contain National Forests, Bureau of Land Management public lands, National Parks and other lands dedicated to water resource development projects. The revenue helps local governments provide vital services, such as firefighting and police protection, construction of public schools and roads, and search-and-rescue operations.

“Local governments provide many of the vital services that their residents depend on, from maintaining roads and schools to firefighting and police protection,” Murkowski said. “With the federal government managing 60 percent of Alaska, the payment in lieu of taxes program ensures that our local communities have the appropriate funds to provide services that would otherwise be supported through property taxes.”

Below are 2012 and 2013 payments to individual areas:

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