Alaska Native communities secured a victory in their fight to maintain federal subsistence fishing protections after the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear Alaska’s appeal, leaving in place a lower-court ruling that preserves decades of precedent.

 The court declined to review Alaska v. U.S., which concerned the state’s authority to issue fishing openings that would conflict with existing federal subsistence rules, according to a Native American Rights Fund news release. By declining review, the high court allowed a Ninth Circuit decision to stand. As the state continues recovering from plummeting salmon populations, a federally-enforced priority for rural — primarily Alaska Natives — communities has limited the state’s ability to open fishing to others. 

The Supreme Court’s refusal effectively ends decades of legal battles sometimes referred to as the “Katie John” cases after the Ahtna Athabascan elder who first challenged Alaska’s subsistence authority in 1985. John’s lawsuit, brought after the state denied her request to open fishing in her community, centered on the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act and its guarantee to prioritize rural communities relying on subsistence fishing over others. 

John’s early 1990s victories, culminating in a 1995 ruling, established a precedent that handed control over that subsistence priority to the federal government due to its reserved water rights. That precedent was then reaffirmed in later cases in 2001 and 2014.The state’s most recent appeal sought to overturn those rulings and return control to Alaska, which argued that subsistence fishing should be open to anyone, not just rural communities. 

“NARF filed Katie John’s first case in December 1985 and for 40 years has worked to protect the subsistence rights that sustain Alaska Native communities and cultures,” NARF Senior Staff Attorney Erin Dougherty Lynch said in a statement. “Today’s decision closes the door on decades of litigation aimed at eroding those rights.”

The conflict that led to this week’s decision began after years of declining salmon returns on the Kuskokwim River. According to court filings, managers restricted gillnet openings to rural residents during conservation periods to protect the remaining runs. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game issued overlapping emergency orders opening the same waters to all state residents, creating two sets of rules on the river at the same time.

The dispute began in 2021 when the state issued orders to open fishing that contradicted federal fisheries managers’ decision to keep it closed during a salmon shortage.

Federal agencies and tribal organizations challenged the state’s actions, arguing that the river segments in question fall within the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge and are therefore subject to federal subsistence management. Alaska Native groups, including the Alaska Federation of Natives and the Association of Village Council Presidents, sided with the federal government.

A federal district judge agreed and issued an injunction preventing the state from issuing conflicting openings. The Ninth Circuit upheld that ruling in 2025 and rejected Alaska’s broader challenge to the federal subsistence framework, according to Courthouse News Service.

The appellate panel’s decision relied on the earlier Katie John rulings, which recognized federal authority over certain navigable waters connected to federal lands. Because the Supreme Court declined review, that Ninth Circuit ruling — and federal subsistence priority under the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act — remains in force.

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Koa Peat had 24 points and 10 rebounds, Tobe Awaka added 25 points and top-ranked Arizona remained undefeated with an 89-82 win over rival Arizona State on Wednesday night.

The Wildcats (17-0, 4-0 Big 12) had a hard time shaking the Sun Devils in a physical first half before Peat came alive in the second. The 6-foot-8 freshman, who shot 2 of 8 in the first half, made all seven of his shots in the second as Arizona built a 12-point lead.

The Sun Devils (10-7, 1-3) kept hanging around behind Moe Odum, whose 3-pointer with 55 seconds left pulled Arizona State within 87-82.

Arizona’s Jaden Bradley followed with a short jumper and the Wildcats made two free throws to join No. 8 Nebraska and Miami (Ohio) as the only remaining undefeated Division I teams following No. 10 Vanderbilt’s loss to Texas. The Wildcats are off to their best start since opening 21-0 in 2013-14.

Odum led Arizona State with 23 points and Massamba Diop added 16.

Arizona State led 39-38 at halftime by holding its ground, bumping and banging the physical Wildcats while limiting their transition opportunities.

They also got the ball inside to Diop.

The 7-1 Senegalese freshman averaged 21.5 points in two games last week and beat Arizona with a variety of moves, scoring 13 first-half points on 6-of-9 shooting.

Awaka used his might to bull his way through the Sun Devils for 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting.

Arizona found more of an offensive rhythm midway through the second half, hitting 11 straight shots to build a 75-63 lead before Arizona State fought back to make it close.

Up next

Arizona State: plays at No. 7 Houston on Sunday.

Arizona: plays at UFC on Saturday.

___

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

It looked like the silvery blade of a knife.

Peering through his goggles, diver Ted Judah had laid eyes on a deep-sea creature rarely encountered by humans. He and wife Linda were diving off McAbee Beach in Monterey County in late December when, near the surface, he spotted the “undulating thing.”

“It was some kind of ribbon fish,” he wrote in a post on the Facebook group Monterey County Dive Reports.

Kevin Lewand solved the mystery. The Monterey Bay Aquarium marine biologist was among those chiming in with their assessments on the group, which is popular among local divers. He said he’d shared the image with an ichthyologist who had identified it as a juvenile king-of-the-salmon, scientifically known as Trachipterus altivelis, which is part of the ribbonfish family.

“I wanted to stay with it, but I felt like I was harassing it,” Judah wrote of his encounter. He posted snapshots of the tiny creature. “It had this keen ability to orient itself so that its narrowest profile was always facing me.”

The king-of-the-salmon got its name from the Makah, Indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest coast who believed the species led salmon back to their spawning grounds, according to the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute.

Bruce Robison, a senior scientist at MBARI, said this was a rare occurrence as this type of fish is typically found at depths that are hundreds of feet lower.

“They live in a place that, for the most part, is inaccessible, except for people who have submersibles or remotely operated vehicles,” Robison said in a phone call.

In nearly four decades of ocean exploration, MBARI has logged 16 sightings of king-of-the-salmon, and six sightings of closely related ribbonfish. The most recent was in 2021, according to the institute.

In terms of beauty, “ it’s hard to beat the king-of-the-salmon,” said Robison, adding that part of its allure comes from its enormous lacy red fins and silver sides.

One reason for the rare sighting could be the fish’s feeding time. At nighttime, various ocean animals migrate to the surface to avoid predators. Robison suspects that this majestic creature might have stayed there after feeding on small crustaceans and larval fish.

Another reason could be climate change.

“ These are regarded as warm-water fishes. The fact that the ocean, including Monterey Bay, is getting warmer may indicate that the geographical range of these animals is expanding,” Robison said.

 Warm water holds less oxygen than cold water does, and as the ocean gets warmer, it can drive animals toward another region. According to Robison, fish, crustaceans, squid and other warm-water species are moving into what used to be considered cooler waters.

“It could be” climate change, Robison said of this latest king-of-the-salmon sighting. “We haven’t nailed it down yet.”