Page:John Sturgeon v. Bert Frost, in his official capacity as Alaska Regional Director of the National Park Service.pdf/38

4 Against this backdrop, Congress enacted ANILCA. As the Court explains, ANILCA added millions of acres of federal land to the National Park System in Alaska and simultaneously swept around 18 million acres of nonfederally owned lands within the geographic boundary lines of the new Alaska parks. Ante, at 6–8; see also Sturgeon v. Frost, 577 U. S. ___, ___–___ (2016) (slip op., at 5–6). In ANILCA, Congress directed the Service to manage Alaska’s new and expanded parks “as new areas of the National Park System” under its Organic Act authority. 94 Stat. 2383, 16 U. S. C. §410hh–2.

ANILCA reflects Congress’ expectation that the Service will manage Alaska’s parks with a particular focus on rivers and river systems. For instance, the agency must “maintain unimpaired the water habitat” for salmon in Katmai National Monument, preserve “the natural environmental integrity and scenic beauty of… rivers” in Gates of the Arctic National Park, and “maintain the environmental integrity of the entire Charley River basin, including streams, lakes and other natural features.” §§410hh(4)(a), (10); §410hh–1(2); see also §§410hh(1), (6) (7)(a), (8)(a); §410hh–1(1). Some provisions of ANILCA direct the Service to regulate boating in Alaska’s parklands. See, e. g., §3170(a). Others command the Service to regulate fishing. See, e. g., §3201. Together, these provisions make clear that Congress must have intended for the Park Service to have at least some authority over navigable waters within Alaska’s parks.

And yet, ANILCA includes one provision that can be read to throw a wrench into that authority: §103(c). This provision says that “[o]nly those lands within the boundaries of any conservation system unit which are public lands (as such term is defined in this Act) shall be deemed to be included as a portion of such unit.” 16 U. S. C. §3103(c). Section 103(c) then says that no state, native, or private lands “shall be subject to the regulations