Ninth Circuit affirms Kuskokwim subsistence protections

The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld a federal injunction blocking the State of Alaska from overriding subsistence fishing protections on the Kuskokwim River, according to a press statement by the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission. The decision rejected Alaska’s challenge to the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act and confirmed that the Katie John precedents remain intact despite the Supreme Court’s ruling in Sturgeon.

The ruling affirms that federal law requires a subsistence preference for rural residents when fish populations need conservation. In 2021 and 2022, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game issued emergency orders opening the river to all fishing, which the court found unlawful. “Our Fish Commission is very pleased to see this court ruling in favor of the people of the Kuskokwim River,” said KRITFC Chair Martin Andrew.