Feds concede: Alaska owns navigable North Fork of Fortymile River

By SUZANNE DOWNING

Big news out of US District Court on Monday came late in the day: The federal government formally backed down in a long-running dispute with the State of Alaska over ownership of the North Fork of the Fortymile River, acknowledging that the waterway is navigable and that the submerged lands belong to the state.

In a filing under the Quiet Title Act, the United States issued a disclaimer and asked US District Court Judge Sharon Gleason to confirm what Alaska has argued for the past seven years—that the North Fork of the Fortymile River is a navigable waterway and that the riverbed between its high-water marks vested in the state at the time of statehood. The Fortymile River is located in east-central Alaska and is a tributary to the Yukon River.

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy hailed the move as a major shift in federal posture toward Alaska land disputes. His administration has worked for years to resolve conflicts over lands Alaska has owned since 1959, and he credited the change to direction from President Donald Trump.

“My Administration has been working tirelessly to end senseless disputes over lands Alaska has owned since Statehood, and we finally have a federal partner committed to doing the same,” Dunleavy said. “President Trump made clear on day one that the Department of Interior should work with Alaska on the disputes over title to its lands, and his Administration is now putting that directive into action.”

The Fortymile River filing is the first navigability disclaimer issued since the federal government began reviewing its program under President Trump’s Day One executive order focused specifically on Alaska. The order directed the Department of the Interior to resolve submerged land disputes consistent with the equal footing doctrine, which holds that states enter the Union with the same rights as existing states, including ownership of navigable waters.

Alaska Attorney General Stephen Cox said the filing represents a long-overdue acknowledgment of what Alaskans have known for generations.

“With today’s filing in the Fortymile case, the Department of the Interior comes a step closer to acknowledging what Alaska Native communities, hunters, and recreation enthusiasts have known for a long time,” Cox said. “There are thousands of miles of navigable rivers and millions of acres of navigable lakes in Alaska. Yet sadly, for nearly 65 years, the federal government hasn’t kept its promise that Alaska would be on an equal footing with other states.”

Cox said the state was often forced into prolonged litigation as the federal government repeatedly disputed Alaska’s title to waterways it promised at statehood, creating uncertainty for communities, recreation, and development. He called the federal government’s decision to stop litigating the Fortymile case an encouraging sign that a more lawful and cooperative approach may finally take hold.

Navigable waters play a central role in Alaska’s economy and way of life, supporting transportation routes, fishing and hunting access, and development of homesites and mineral resources. State officials say those rights vested at statehood but have been repeatedly delayed or denied by federal agencies over the decades.

While the disclaimer resolves the Fortymile River dispute, state officials noted it follows a familiar pattern in which the federal government delays recognition of Alaska’s ownership until years of litigation and substantial expense have already occurred—often conceding only on the eve of trial.

This case, which dates back more than a decade through a series of administrative and court proceedings, required the state to pursue ownership incrementally rather than through a single, comprehensive process. The latest disclaimer covers the final unresolved segment—16 miles of the upper North Fork—bringing the Fortymile dispute to a close.

“It should not take years of litigation to recognize the State’s title to clearly navigable rivers,” said John Crowther, commissioner-designee of the Alaska Department of Natural Resources. He said the department’s Public Access Assertion and Defense section applies rigorous legal standards to ensure state claims are unquestionably valid, calling the disclaimer a vindication of that work.

State officials said Alaska will work with the US Department of the Interior to fully implement settled law governing navigable waters and to avoid similar disputes in the future, with the goal of ending what they describe as a costly and unnecessary cycle of federal resistance followed by eventual concession.