Press Statement regarding U.S. v. Alaska Fishing Rights Victory
Photo by Lisa Hupp/FWS.
Thursday, August 21, 2025
Contact: Kevin Whitworth, Executive Director | kevinwhitworth@kritfc.org | 907-574-0388
Download this statement as a PDF file here.
Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, the United States, and Alaska Native Rights Advocates Claim Victory in Protecting Subsistence Fishing Rights and Defending the Katie John Cases from Attack by the State of Alaska in the Ninth Circuit
KUSKOKWIM RIVER, AK | Yesterday morning, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a thorough and well-reasoned opinion affirming the Federal District Court for the District Court of Alaska’s permanent injunction blocking the State of Alaska from repeating its unlawful actions on the Kuskokwim River. The opinion rejected the State of Alaska’s attack on federally protected subsistence rights, and held the Katie John precedents were not overruled by the Supreme Court in Sturgeon. As the court stated: “Although Katie John, the Ahtna woman who advocated for subsistence fishing rights on behalf of Alaska Natives, has since passed away, the precedent that bears her name lives on.”
In the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA), Congress recognized the fact that subsistence fishing is a key element to maintaining Indigenous ways of living for the people of our region, and mandated a subsistence fishing preference for rural residents whenever it becomes necessary to restrict fishing to conserve fish populations. However, because the State of Alaska continues to refuse to comply with federal law, it falls on the United States, in partnership with KRITFC, to regulate fishing on the portion of Kuskokwim River that lies within the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge (Refuge).
In recent years, the communities that depend on the Kuskokwim River for food, well-being, and culture have experienced the devastating effects of a severe, multi-year, multi-species salmon crash. Federal and KRITFC managers have been forced to implement ANILCA’s rural subsistence priority in the Refuge, and Alaska Native communities of the Kuskokwim River watershed have voluntarily reduced their customary and traditional harvests to allow for salmon to spawn and rebuild stocks. However, in 2021 and 2022, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game directly interfered with federal management and issued emergency orders that purported to open the river to fishing by all.
The United States, joined by the KRITFC and later other Alaska Native subsistence rights advocates, filed a lawsuit to stop the State from undermining federal and tribal fisheries management efforts. In response, the State of Alaska expanded its attack on federally protected subsistence rights by directly challenging ANILCA and the Katie John line of cases.
“Our Fish Commission is very pleased to see this court ruling in favor of the people of the Kuskokwim River. Not only does this uphold rural subsistence rights in Alaska, but this upholds the participation of local people, elected by the Tribes, in the co-management of Kuskokwim salmon. We are encouraged that this court recognizes our Tribes’ role in the sustainable stewardship of Kuskokwim salmon, which have provided for our families’ food security, culture, and well-being for tens of thousands of years, and will continue to do so in the future,” said KRITFC Chair, Martin Andrew.
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