State of Alaska v. United States of America

EUGENE A. WRIGHT, Circuit Judge:

This dispute over ownership of the bed of Slopbucket Lake raises an issue of first impression: whether floatplane use renders a small Alaska lake navigable for purposes of title under the “equal footing” doctrine. Our resolution of this issue potentially affects ownership of thousands of acres underlying small lakes throughout Alaska. FACTS

Slopbucket Lake is a small lake (approximately 20 acres) 1 in South Central Alaska, just north of Lake Iliamna, a much larger navigable body of water. Slopbucket, which was once a part of Iliamna, is now separated from the…