State of Alaska v. Bruce Babbitt, Secretary of the Interior, Katie John v. United States of America

I

The issue in this case should be a simple one to resolve: Is the fish camp located in navigable waters at the confluence of the Tanaga Creek and Copper River, in the midst of the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, “public land” for the purposes of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA), 16 U.S.C. §§ 3101, et seq.? It is, unfortunately, an incredibly complex issue1 whose resolution will impact all the navigable waters in Alaska. Because I feel that we, as judges, are not empowered to resolve this issue without direction from Cqn-gress, I dissent.

I agree with the majority…