Sturgeon case navigates its way back in front of Supreme Court

John Sturgeon
John Sturgeon discusses his U.S. Supreme Court case on Feb. 17, 2016, with the Alaska Senate Resources Committee. Sturgeon is the plaintiff in Sturgeon v. Frost, a case involving a dispute over federal control over navigable waters. (Photo by Skip Gray/360 North)

The State of Alaska will weigh in again on a lawsuit over management rights of navigable waterways, known as the Sturgeon case, which is back before the U.S. Supreme Court.

The case began more than a decade ago. Federal officials told Anchorage resident John Sturgeon that he couldn’t operate his hovercraft on a river in Yukon-Charly Rivers National Preserve.

Sturgeon sued, and the disagreement about whether the state or federal government had regulatory authority has gone back and forth between the courts.

The Supreme Court agreed in June take up the Sturgeon case again.

The state of Alaska filed a brief with the court Tuesday offering its take in an amicus brief.

Alaska Attorney General Jahna Lindemuth talked  about the brief and why the state has continued to pursue the issue all these years.

Alaska Public Media

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