(Anchorage, AK) – After a decade-long legal dispute about securing State trails over federal lands, on Dec. 2 the U.S. District Court in Alaska accepted a consent decree between the State and the federal Bureau of Land Management that recognizes the existence of State-owned trails through a BLM-managed Wild and Scenic River Corridor near Chicken, Alaska.

“This is a victory for all Alaskans in the ongoing effort to secure our full rights to access State land,” said Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy. “Statehood defense is one of my administration’s core missions and I want to congratulate Attorney General Taylor and his legal team for their tenacity and hard work on this case.”

“This shows that our continuous efforts pay off in our statehood defense litigation,” said Alaska Attorney General Treg Taylor. “Given BLM’s historical reluctance to recognize State rights in any similar corridors, this knocks down a wall for public access for Alaskans. We will continue to secure access to these State-owned trails.”

“This agreement is a milestone in Alaskans’ right to access public lands,” said Department of Natural Resources Commissioner John Boyle. “We are using all of the tools in our toolbox to ensure that State lands, waters and corridors are open to the public without interference. Through RS-2477 right-of-way consent decrees, Quiet Title litigation or Recordable Disclaimers of Interest efforts, we will continue to fight to unlock Alaska in the public interest.”

Providing access is the priority of Governor Dunleavy’s Unlocking Alaska Initiative. DNR’s Public Access Assertion and Defense unit (PAAD), along with State attorneys, have tirelessly worked to systematically preserve access to State-owned trails and navigable highways throughout Alaska. The impact of this work is demonstrated by the additional progress PAAD has made in the Fortymile area. PAAD has secured “quieted title” to the Mosquito Fork River, which also provides access to the trails that were preserved through this litigation. In recent years, PAAD has also quieted title to portions of the North Fork of the Fortymile River as well as the Middle Fork of the Fortymile River, which also provides access to this area.

In this case, the State and BLM filed settlement documents in November in what’s called the Revised Statute 2477 Chicken litigation. RS 2477s are rights of way for the construction of trails, roads, and highways across federal public lands. The litigation was originally filed in 2013, and settlement negotiations had been ongoing since the end of the first Trump Administration in 2020. Under the agreement, the federal government disclaims any interest adverse to the State along four trails, sixty feet in width, known as the Chicken-to-Franklin Trail, the Franklin Creek Trail, the Hutchinson Creek Trail and the Montana Creek Trail. The State disclaimed its interest in two other segments that are now very overgrown and long ago fell into disuse.

The agreement will take effect 60 days after the Court accepted the disclaimer and consent decree.

• State of Alaska v. United States – consent decree (3.9MB PDF) and motion to enter agreement (146KB PDF)

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