Water Resources

Water Rights

It is the Service's policy to comply with State laws, regulations, and procedures in obtaining and protecting water rights. State of Alaska water law allows private individuals and government agencies to apply for water rights to appropriate instream flows to protect fish and wildlife habitat, recreation, water quality, and navigation. Following Service policy and statutory mandates, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Alaska files for instream reservations under State law with the Alaska Department of Natural Resources. Filing for State instream water rights does not diminish the existing, unquantified Federal reserved water rights of every national wildlife refuge in Alaska . Under ANILCA, each refuge has a Federal water right for water quality and necessary water quantity to conserve fish and wildlife populations and their habitats in their natural diversity.  When necessary, Federal reserved water rights will be asserted to accomplish this primary purpose of national wildlife refuges in Alaska .

State water right applications are prepared using stream flow and lake elevation data, combined with fish and wildlife information, to quantify instream water requirements for rivers and lakes on Alaska refuges. Applications are also submitted to protect groundwater supplies of refuge facilities such as campgrounds and offices. Applications have been filed for 12 river segments and 140 lakes on the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Applications have also been filed for 13 stream segments and 34 lakes in the Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge. An application has been filed for one river of the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge.

Water Rights Applications for Lakes and Rivers in Alaska Refuges:

Arctic NWR
Yukon Flats NWR
Kodiak NWR

Last updated: September 4, 2008

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