Alaska loses lawsuit that challenged the western boundary of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Cottongrass wafts over the tundra in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge on Sept. 2, 2006. (Steve Hillebrand/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
A U.S. District Court judge in Anchorage has ruled against the state of Alaska in an 11-year-old legal dispute that has significant implications for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and state finances.
On Wednesday, Judge Sharon Gleason ruled that laws and regulations setting the western border of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge are “ambiguous,