Interior Secretary Gale Norton's intervention in a land dispute won't help an Alaska Native corporation with friends in high places.

The National Park Service was moving to dismantle a disputed fish camp in Lake Clark National Park that is claimed by Cook Inlet Region Inc. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the camp can be removed.

But Norton stepped in after a professor name-dropped Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) and CIRI's connections to wealthy donors. However, the park service has since said it cannot help CIRI gain control of the land without Congressional approval.

CIRI claimed the camp was located on an allotment promised to Alaska Natives.

Get the Story:
Park Service can't give Lake Clark land to CIRI nonprofits (The Anchorage Daily News 9/16)
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Norton intervened in Native corporation-park dispute (09/03)