Statement by Jim Stratton on Lawsuit That Seeks to Circumvent Park-Protective Process

- Access to private land within Alaska's national parks is governed by a set of rules written during the Reagan administration to protect park values while at the same time providing for reasonable right of entry. Unfortunately, this litigation seeks to avoid these rules and it does not further a reasonable discussion on how best to provide access while protecting Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and its world-class natural and cultural resources for all park visitors.

There is a long-established procedure for a state and the federal government to determine the validity of RS 2477 proposals. Concern about how rights-of-way are adjudicated is one of the reasons NPCA will be filing to intervene in this lawsuit.

NPCA is being represented by Trustees for Alaska.