Navigability Project
General Information
The Navigability Project is one of several efforts by the Division of Mining, Land and Water's Public Access Assertion and Defense unit to ensure Alaskans may exercise their rights to access public lands and waters. This website provides links to information related to several different aspects of the Navigability Project:
Mission Statement
The mission of the Division of Mining, Land & Water's Navigability Project is to protect the public rights associated with navigable and public waters, and to ensure that the state's title to lands beneath navigable waters is protected. The Alaska Constitution provides for free access and common use of public and navigable waters by any citizen of the United States or resident of the State of Alaska. State ownership of the beds of navigable waters is an inherent attribute of state sovereignty protected by the U.S. Constitution.
Governor's Unlocking Alaska Initiative
A central element of this initiative is asserting state management authority over submerged lands beneath navigable waters the state has owned since statehood. This tab includes links to maps showing how the initiative expands the extent of state-controlled waters inside conservation system units created by the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act of 1980 (ANILCA). It also includes links to Alaska Mapper, a geographic information system (GIS) that lets users customize Alaska maps by adding layers depicting various elements and features. It also has links to a variety of background documents on the initiative and navigability issues.
Help Preserve Public Access
The State of Alaska Public Access Assertion and Defense team needs your assistance to help preserve public access on Alaska's lakes and rivers. Please complete our waterbody use questionnaire to help us keep public access open.
Navigable Waters Map
Links to the Alaska Mapper GIS tool. Those seeking to view the "ANILCA Navigable Waters" layer and/or the "Navigable Waters" layer must first read and accept a disclaimer. For assistance in using this tool, consult the Alaska Mapper User Guide, or contact the DNR Public Information Centers in Anchorage, Fairbanks and Juneau.
PAAD / Department of Law Reports & Letters
Provides copies of letters and reports as examples to the public for public water uses and information regarding contentious areas.
Quiet Title Litigation
Information about previous quiet title litigation in federal or state court systems and outcome documentation. This site is incomplete and a work in process; staff are working to obtain clean copies of decision documents or permission to post copywrited decisions.
Recordable Disclaimers of Interest (RDI)
Documents the results to date of a separate legal process by which the State of Alaska obtains clear title to specific submerged lands and full recognition of its authority to manage the associated navigable waters.
Reports from State and BLM Cooperative Agreement
Documents previous efforts between the State of Alaska and the Bureau of Land Management to cooperate in assessing and reporting on the navigability of specific rivers in Alaska.
State Policy on Navigability
Details principles underlying the state's position on navigable waters and outlines legal and policy considerations guiding state ownership and management.
Statutory Information
Links to selected state and federal laws relating to navigability.
Fishing and Fisheries Management
Navigability and access to waterways are distinct from fishing and fisheries management in Alaska. The ”Unlocking Alaska“ Initiative may not change federal fishery management authorities. Fishermen, whether for commercial, sport, subsistence, or personal fisheries, should always be aware of where they are fishing, should remember that state and federal agencies may have different fishing regulations, and should check current regulations before going fishing.
For state regulations, click here.
For federal subsistence fishing regulations, click here and here.