JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected Alaska's ownership claims of the waters of Glacier Bay, one of the state's most visited national parks and a popular cruise ship destination.
In a decision released Monday, the court ruled the state cannot claim ownership of the submerged lands in Glacier Bay National Park and other pockets within Southeast Alaska's Alexander Archipelago.
Justice Antonin Scalia, joined by Chief Justice William Rehnquist and Justice Clarence Thomas, wrote a partial dissent in which he disagreed with the Glacier Bay decision.
Gov. Frank Murkowski has lobbied to increase the number of cruise ships allowed in the bay. Conservation groups praised the Supreme Court's decision as way to control cruise ship traffic that could threaten the bay's wildlife.
The ruling ends a five-year lawsuit in which the state attempted to wrest control of Southeast Alaska's waterways. Both federal and state governments had previously agreed to Alaska's claims to about 80 percent of the submerged land in the region.
The Supreme Court ruled the state can't claim under the Alaska Statehood Act land set aside by the federal government for the protection of wildlife, which includes Glacier Bay's submerged lands.
The statehood act made clear the land transfer directive "did not apply to lands withdrawn or otherwise set apart as refuges or reservations for (wildlife) protection," according to the ruling.
The court also ruled against other submerged lands claims in Southeast Alaska made by the state, disagreeing with the state's arguments that they are historic inland waters.
Those pockets or enclaves included portions of Chatham Strait, Stephens Passage, Frederick Sound, Icy Strait, Clarence Strait, Sumner Strait and Revillagigedo Channel.
The lawsuit was filed in 2000 and presided over by special master Gregory Maggs, a George Washington University professor. Maggs said he could not comment on the case when reached at his office Monday.
Marcia Blaszak, National Park Service regional director for Alaska, said she was pleased the court recognized the federal ownership of the disputed waterways and said because of the decision there will be no changes in the management of the park.
However, she said, a study is under way to find out if more cruise ships in Glacier Bay will harm the wildlife there. A decision on whether to increase the number of ships into the park is expected in October.
"We are looking at incrementally increasing the number of cruise ships should the science determine that there would be no adverse effect," she said.
One hundred thirty-nine cruise ships are now allowed into the bay's waters during summer season, which is from June through August. The study will find out whether the park can handle up to 184 each season.
Murkowski was in Fairbanks on Monday and not available for comment. His spokeswoman, Becky Hultberg, said Murkowski was disappointed with the decision but conceded its finality.
"It's important to have a clear understanding of ownership. Now we do have that clear understanding" Hultberg said. "Since we have a decision we will continue to work with the Park Service on specific access issues."
Those issues, she said, include access for state ferries and an increase in the number of cruise ships.
Jim Stratton, director of the National Parks Conservation Association's Alaska region, said if the case had gone the other way, he feared "the carefully crafted regime of marine vessels would have been thrown out." If that happened, he said, the noise and increased activity would likely have caused a decline in the marine and land animals in the park.
"In order to maintain the natural environment that is there, there needs to be rules on the number of boats and how those boats behave," he said.
Glacier Bay National Park, unreachable by land, contains just under 3.3 million acres. Humpback whales, orcas, Steller sea lions, harbor seals, sea otters and Dall's porpoises in the bay draw tourists from around the world. On the shores and the mountainsides of the park roam bears, moose, wolves, coyotes and mountain goats.
The number of visitors to the park for 2004 was 353,680, according to park service spokesman John Quinley. Visitors to the park have been declining since 2002, when 406,952 people visited, but that number is forecast to increase to just under 356,000 this year, Quinley said.
The park service last increased the number of cruise ships allowed into Glacier Bay in 1996, when the number jumped from 107 to 139.
For other vessels, 276 tour boats, 552 charter boats and 2,300 private boats are allowed in the bay each year between June and August, according to the park service.
www.nps.gov/glba/
