SCI Member John Sturgeon Wins in Supreme Court
USA – -(Ammoland.com)- The U.S. Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision, sided with Safari Club International (SCI) member John Sturgeon in his long-running battle with the National Park Service over the use of his hovercraft for access to moose hunting in a National Preserve in Alaska.
SCI filed an amicus brief with the Court and, along with Mr. Sturgeon, advanced some of the arguments on which the Court relied. In particular, SCI and Sturgeon argued that the Ninth Circuit’s interpretation of the federal law at issue would lead to absurd results.
SCI also explained the adverse impact the Ninth Circuit’s and NPS’s interpretation would have on the world-class hunting and fishing opportunities available in Alaska.
SCI presented several real-life examples to demonstrate the absurd results of the statutory interpretation adopted by the Ninth Circuit. These examples demonstrated that NPS regulations directed specifically to activities in Alaska would apply to “public lands” within Park units in Alaska but would not apply on “non-public” lands if a nationwide regulation was contrary to the Alaska-specific regulations.
The Supreme Court adopted its own hypothetical example. The Court explained that if the NPS adopted a regulation that allowed hovercraft use on NPS lands in Alaska during hunting season, the regulation would apply to public lands within NPS units in Alaska, but the nationwide ban on hovercraft use would continue to apply to non-public lands within the same NPS lands.
In its 19 page opinion, the Supreme Court agreed that the Ninth Circuit’s interpretation of the law was nonsensible and contrary to the federal government’s relationship with the State of Alaska. The Court concluded that the unique history of Alaska’s statehood and management of its natural resources further exposed the absurdity of the Ninth Circuit’s interpretation. The Supreme Court vacated the Ninth Circuit’s ruling.
Unfortunately, the Supreme Court did not resolve all the issues between the parties and instead sent several issues back to the lower courts to decide. Specifically, the Court did not decide whether the part of the Nation River located within the Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve was public or non-public. This is important because if the river is deemed “public lands,” then arguably the NPS’s nationwide ban on hovercraft use would apply and Sturgeon could not use his hovercraft on these public lands. If, however, the river qualities as “non-public lands” the NPS arguably would not have the authority to regulate that use on the river. The Court also did not resolve the question of whether the NPS has other authority to regulate hovercraft use regardless of whether the river is public or non-public. The Court left these issues to the Ninth Circuit and district court in Alaska to decide.
While John Sturgeon, SCI, and others who supported him have achieved a significant victory in the Supreme Court, more litigation awaits. Unfortunately, Mr. Sturgeon, who has battled the NPS for almost ten years, will not immediately be able to use his hovercraft to assess his favorite moose hunting spot.
This litigation will bring Mr. Sturgeon more expense, more delay, and more barriers to access. Because the issues affect hunting opportunities throughout Alaska, and possibly beyond, SCI will continue to stay involved in this case.
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Safari Club International – First For Hunters is the leader in protecting the freedom to hunt and in promoting wildlife conservation worldwide. SCI has approximately 200 Chapters worldwide and its members represent all 50 of the United States as well as 106 other countries. SCI’s proactive leadership in a host of cooperative wildlife conservation, outdoor education and humanitarian programs, with the SCI Foundation and other conservation groups, research institutions and government agencies, empowers sportsmen to be contributing community members and participants in sound wildlife management and conservation. Visit the home page www.safariclub.org or call 520-620-1220 for more information