A group of Nome-area miners have filed a federal lawsuit against the Alaska State Troopers and Sitnasuak Native Corp., one of the largest landowners in the region. The suit, filed last month in the U.S. District Court in Alaska, alleges the miners were unlawfully prevented from using a public beach to reach their mining claims.
The miners, Paul Fussell and Larry St. Clair, are representing themselves. They say they were threatened with arrest while traveling below the ordinary high water mark on Nome’s East Beach — an area they argue is state-owned public trust land that cannot legally be closed to the public.
The Submerged Lands Act of 1953 established that land along the beach below the ordinary high water mark is owned by the State of Alaska. The miners say Sitnasuak placed barriers, posted no trespassing signs and asked peace officers to enforce the restrictions and prevent the miners from reaching their claims.
“It’s actually simpler than it sounds,” Fussell said in an email to KNOM. “We hold valid access to mining leases, and the only way to reach them is to travel along the beach below the ordinary high water mark.”
“We didn’t go looking for a lawsuit,” Fussell said. “The lawsuit found us.”
The lawsuit names two Sitnasuak employees, CEO Charles E. Fagerstrom, and Land Manager Charles Ellanna. On Monday, Sitnasuak Chief Administrative Officer Heather Spear-Morris told KNOM that Ellanna was no longer employed by the corporation.
Spear-Morris provided a written statement to KNOM.
“As stewards of these lands, we take seriously our responsibility to protect and preserve them for our shareholders and future generations. As incidents of trespassing continue to increase, we will remain diligent in enforcing our private property rights and advancing our mission to safeguard lands that are vital to our shareholders, culture, and future.”
Two Alaska State Troopers and one officer with the Nome Police Department are also listed as defendants. The complaint says the dispute escalated this spring after a trooper called one of the plaintiffs to warn him he could be arrested if he continued traveling through the area.
"When a state trooper calls you and tells you to leave or be arrested — when you're standing on land that Alaska law says belongs to the public — that's not a property dispute anymore. That's a constitutional issue,” Fussell said. “The moment law enforcement gets used as a tool to enforce a private corporation's claim over public trust land, every Alaskans’ rights are at stake."
A spokesperson for the troopers declined to comment on the case.
Fussell said the case extends beyond the miners’ individual claims. Their lawsuit claims a "deprivation of civil rights."
“Our immediate concern is getting back to work on claims we have every right to access,” he said. “But we also recognize that what happened to us is happening or could happen to other miners, fishermen, kayakers, anyone who uses Alaska’s beaches below the high water mark.”
Fussell said the miners gave Sitnasuak 10 days to resolve the dispute before filing suit.
“We weren’t looking to go to court. We were looking for Sitnasuak and the troopers to simply acknowledge the law and stop blocking public access. That didn’t happen, which left us no choice.”
Sitnasuak’s former land manager, Ellanna, was involved in an unrelated dispute with Nome-based Arctic Placer Drilling and Mining in July. The dispute involved a state right-of-way Sitnasuak claimed could not be used without approval of the corporation. A Sitnasuak pickup truck was temporarily parked in the right-of-way, blocking access to Arctic Placer’s mine site. A state judge later ordered Sitnasuak to remove the truck.
The case is in front of Alaska District Court Judge Aaron Christian Peterson.
