No. 17-949October Term 2018Decided Mar 26, 2019
Sturgeon v. Frost
John Sturgeon challenged the National Park Service’s ban on using his hovercraft on Alaska’s Nation River, which runs through a national preserve but is not federally owned.
Case status
- Current stage
- Decided
- Latest event
- Decision released Mar 26, 2019
- What it's about
John Sturgeon challenged the National Park Service’s ban on using his hovercraft on Alaska’s Nation River, which runs through a national preserve but is not federally owned. The case is about whether ANILCA lets the Park Service regulate nonfederal lands and waters inside Alaska park boundaries the same way it regulates federal park land.
Question presented
Whether the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act prohibits the National Park Service from exercising regulatory control over State, Native Corporation, and private land physically located within the boundaries of the National Park System in Alaska.
- Case path
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit / Decision released Mar 26, 2019
- Area
Decided Supreme Court case
Timing
Decided March 26, 2019
The Court released its decision on March 26, 2019 without hearing oral argument.
Related cases
Grounding
- Grounding
- Primary-source trail available.
- Note
- Plain-English explainer. Official filings and opinions remain authoritative.
- Checked
- Jul 3, 2026
- Method
- Methodology