Alaska Appealing Judge's Decision to Ban Jet-Skis On Kachemak Bay

Fish and Game repealed the ban a few years ago, while residents are now fighting to reinstate it.

By: Jonathon Klein

Apr 24, 2024 at 8:56am ET

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Not everyone likes PWCs, more commonly known as jet-skis, as much as we do. Case in point, Alaska residents off of Kachemak Bay.

Twenty-plus years ago, the state's Fish and Game department banned jet-skis from the inlet, a space spanning over 230,000 acres. But as of 2021, the department lifted the ban and allowed the watercraft to return to the area. However, residents and a handful of groups sued Fish and Game's commissioner Doug Vincent-Lang, and recently those residents won. But things aren't quite done.

Though Judge Adolf Zeman ruled that F&G's Vincent-Lang "did not have the authority to repeal the regulation in November" according to Alaska Public Media—thus reinstating the ban—the state is now appealing the Judge's decision.

Alaska Public Media also states, "After denying the state’s motion for reconsideration, the Superior Court issued a final judgment in February," which is Zeman's ruling adding, "However, the state filed a motion for a stay on putting the ban back in place, as well as notifying the public of the change. A stay temporarily stops a legal action from going through. The stay was partially granted on March 19. The state doesn’t have to follow its public notice process, but the ban must stay in effect."

As for the argument for, as early as last year, Vincent-Lang told the outlet "We didn’t see any potential impact from allowing jet skis." The area is an important locale for both fish and wildlife, with area environmentalist groups arguing that jet-skis do more damage than traditional boats and other watercraft.

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Right now, jet-skis remain banned in the area, though the state is appealing the decision, as mentioned above. "We’re very perplexed with the judge’s ruling,” says Vincent-Lang, “We seem to have the ability to adopt a regulation that prohibits jet skis, but we don’t have the ability to revisit that regulation based on current science.”

The State's Supreme Court will hear oral arguments from both parties later this summer, with the appeal scheduled to be heard on July 31st.