Case: Native Village of Hooper Bay v. Doug Burgum
3:25-cv-00316 | U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska
Filed Date: Nov. 12, 2025
Case Ongoing
Clearinghouse coding complete
Case Summary
This complaint challenged the Department of the Interior’s approval of a land exchange intended to enable construction of a road through the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge.
On November 12, 2025, three Alaska Native Tribes—the Native Village of Hooper Bay, Native Village of Paimiut, and Chevak Native Village—together with the Center for Biological Diversity, filed this action in the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska against Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, the Department of the Interior, the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and King Cove Corporation. The complaint challenged an October 2025 land exchange in which Interior transferred approximately 490 acres of federal public lands—484 acres inside the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge and largely designated Wilderness—to King Cove Corporation to establish an 18.9-mile road corridor between King Cove and Cold Bay. Plaintiffs alleged the road would harm Izembek’s internationally important eelgrass ecosystem, diminish populations of black brant, emperor geese, and cackling geese relied on for subsistence, and injure ESA-listed Steller’s eiders, northern sea otters, and their critical habitat.
The complaint asserted that DOI violated ANILCA § 810 by failing to adequately evaluate or avoid significant restrictions on subsistence uses, failing to consider less harmful alternatives, and failing to hold required subsistence hearings in the Yukon–Kuskokwim Delta communities most affected. Plaintiffs also alleged that Defendants unlawfully bypassed ANILCA Title XI, the exclusive process for authorizing transportation routes through Alaska conservation lands and Wilderness. WL 3187710. Plaintiffs further argued that ANILCA § 1302(h) could not authorize the exchange because that provision permitted land swaps only when they furthered ANILCA’s conservation and subsistence purposes, not the broader “economic and social needs” relied upon by the Secretary. They also alleged NEPA and ESA violations in light of Defendants' failure to conduct an environmental review before approving the exchange. Plaintiffs sought attorneys fees and declaratory and injunctive relief vacating the land exchange, the land patent to King Cove Corporation, the ANILCA § 810 analysis, the ESA biological opinion, and requested that the court bar any action enabling road construction until the agencies complied with federal law.
The case remains ongoing.
Summary Authors
Jack Buckfire (12/12/2025)
People
For PACER's information on parties and their attorneys, see: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/71903568/parties/native-village-of-hooper-bay-v-doug-burgum/
Gleason, Sharon Louise (Alaska)
Goska, Marlee (Alaska)
Noblin, Rebecca Lynn (Alaska)
Clark, James Francis (Alaska)
Documents in the Clearinghouse
Docket
See docket on RECAP: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/71903568/native-village-of-hooper-bay-v-doug-burgum/
Last updated April 20, 2026, 3:29 a.m.
Case Details
State / Territory:
Case Type(s):
Special Collection(s):
Trump Administration 2.0: Challenges to the Government
Trump Administration 2.0: Litigation and Investigations Involving the Government
Key Dates
Filing Date: Nov. 12, 2025
Case Ongoing: Yes
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
Three Alaska Native Tribes and the Center for Biological Diversity
Public Interest Lawyer: Yes
Filed Pro Se: No
Class Action Sought: No
Class Action Outcome: Not sought
Case Details
Causes of Action:
Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. §§ 551 et seq.
Declaratory Judgment Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2201
Ex parte Young (federal or state officials)
Other Dockets:
District of Alaska 3:25-cv-00316
Available Documents:
Outcome
Prevailing Party: None Yet / None
Relief Sought:
Relief Granted:
Source of Relief:
Issues
General/Misc.:
Environmental Justice and Resources:
Environmental Impact Statements
Case Summary of Native Village of Hooper Bay v. Doug Burgum, Civil Rights Litig. Clearinghouse, http://www.dev.clearinghouse.net/case/47272/ (last updated 12/12/2025).