Supreme Court declines to review Alaska's challenge to rural subsistence priority

The U.S. Supreme Court announced Jan. 12, 2026, that it will not review the State of Alaska's challenge in United States v. Alaska. The decision leaves in place the federal subsistence priority for rural hunting and fishing on certain federal public lands and waters in Alaska. The case established federal control over subsistence salmon harvests on the Kuskokwim River within the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge.

The United States and intervenors prevailed at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in August 2025. The appeals court affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment in their favor and upheld a permanent injunction against the state. In September 2025, the state petitioned the Supreme Court to review the rulings affirming federal authority under the Katie John line of cases.

"Today's decision leaves intact the Ninth Circuit's repeated affirmations of federal authority over rural subsistence priorities under Title VIII of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA), including the Katie John trilogy of cases—a victory for Alaska Native communities and all who value their traditional way of life," the Alaska Federation of Natives said in its January statement.

The Alaska Department of Law has argued the dispute is about "who has the authority to manage fish and wildlife resources in Alaska, for the benefit of all Alaskans: the State or the federal government." The department has also said that if the Katie John decision were found to be no longer good law, the state would still be bound by its constitutional mandate to manage resources for the benefit of all Alaskans, and that "subsistence is and will remain the highest priority use under State management."

Tribal organizations involved in the case are separately seeking more than $1.1 million in combined attorneys' fees from the state.