Ann Ellingson and Joanne Dorman, Co-Personal Representatives of the Estate of Charles Hugh Dorman, Deceased…

Summary

The Alaska Supreme Court held that the Board of Game acted unlawfully by defining privately owned bison as feral solely when they crossed the boundary of the owner's grazing lease. That definition was arbitrary because the Board failed to consider ownership, the animals' history, and other fact-based indicators of feralization, and it conflicted with statutes excluding lawfully owned bison from the definition of game. The court reversed summary judgment for the State, invalidated the challenged regulations, vacated the attorney-fee award, and remanded the fee issue.